All essays for ENG-105 need to use the APA 7th, Ed. style template w/out the abstract.
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⚠Word count for the essay is 750-1,000 words only. This does NOT including the cover page and references page.
A Commentary is "an expression of opinion."
Therefore, the Commentary essay should express a view point on a social issue or trend!
Objectives and Commentary Rubric
The focus is to evaluate a social issue having to with your topic choice either ADHD or Technology. This is a persuasive essay that convinces your audience to agree with your stance on an issue. This may mean narrowing down your topic.
The focus is to evaluate a social issue having to with your topic choice either ADHD or Technology. This is a persuasive essay that convinces your audience to agree with your stance on an issue. This may mean narrowing down your topic.
Creating an Objective Argument Using Third Person Narrative is Required
The third person narrative is required to create an objective opinion that does not have bias. The third-person narrative is considered a more academic form of writing where the writer examines an issue, creates a stance, and distances themselves from the piece to express their point of view.
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Examples between a first and third person thesis:
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Step 1 Intro to the Commentary Essay and Brainstorming
Learn about Commentary writing and the types of brainstorming you could use to prepare yourself.
Step 2 Choosing a Topic and Narrowing it Down
Choose ONE topic to evaluate for your essay. All of these are broad, so you will need to narrow down your topic choice.
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⭐I have provided some narrowed down topic ideas that you might be interested below the some of the topic choices.
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ADHD Topics 1. Increase in ADHD Diagnoses Narrowed down topic ideas:
Narrowed down topic ideas:
Narrowed down topic ideas:
Narrowed down topic ideas:
7. ADHD Drug Overdoses Narrowed down topic ideas:
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Technology Topics 1. Does technology (choose one type of technology) make a person (adult, teen, or child ) more alone? Narrowed down topic ideas:
Narrowed down topic ideas:
4. Which is better for a person (college, high school, elementary student, or adult learner) online learning or face-to-face learning? 5. Are smartphones a great educational tool for students (college, secondary school, or elementary students)? 6. Can a video game be a work of art? (know what your own definition of art is to you and the type of video game) |
Step 3 Use Keywords To Learn More/Collect Evidence/Required Sources/APA Format
After brainstorming, come up with keywords to begin doing some library research using the GCU Library website.
- Do a search under the "Journals." This will help you start understanding your topic through your searches.
- Keep in mind, you do not need all sources gathered before you create a thesis statement.
- Find a better understanding of some topics that might come from your brainstorm. Then choose the final sources after your thesis argument has been developed. See Step 4 Part 1 below on how to develop your thesis.
📌Your sources should not be more than 10 years old since their publication.
Required Sources: GCU Library Sources only. EITHER 2 Popular (Magazines and News) and 3 Scholarly (journals, books)=5 total sources OR 5 Scholarly (journals and books).
**Reminder, Encyclopedias and dictionaries should not be used.** Click the button below to visit the video and slides on APA
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Step 4 Part 1 Create a Thesis Statement
Begin by developing your thesis after you have brainstormed, narrowed down your topic, and done a little bit of research.
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Thesis Statement Examples:
- Children diagnosed with ADHD are often over-medicated due to the glamorizing, over-publicizing, and misconceptions about the disorder, which leads to unnecessary and harmful use of medication.
- Elementary school students with ADHD, who are treated with medication, have better time management skills as adults because they are taught how to follow a set schedule at an early age, recognize time and sequencing, and make boring activities more fun, which makes them successful in life and their careers.
- Young teens should limit their social media usage by engaging in extracurricular activities because it improves their self-esteem, promotes confidence in themselves, and provides a sense of fulfillment that leads to a healthier self-image.
- To avoid distractions in the workplace, employees should limit their usage of mobile devices because it will help them to complete tasks on time, produce higher quality work, and improve their ability to focus so they can get more done in less time for their organization.
- Smartphones should be required in elementary school math classes because students can experience personalized lessons, immediate feedback, and interactive learning that will improve their academic performance.
- Parents of children with ADHD should utilize medication as a primary source of treatment because it improves concentration, increases self-esteem, and promotes good behavior, which leads them to make better decisions as an adult.
Step 4 Part 2 Introduction: Hook, Summary, and Thesis
After you have created your thesis, the introduction paragraph needs to be created. It has three parts.😉 The hook, summary background, and a thesis statement. Review the details and slides below to guide you:
1. Hook
Include a one-sentence hook at the beginning by choosing a surprising statistic 😮from one of the 5 GCU Library Sources for your essay.
2. Summarize the Background of Your Specific Issue/PolicyFollowing the hook, you need to introduce your trend/policy and summarize what the background info that will relate to your thesis.
3. Thesis |
Writing the Introduction Paragraph Slides |
Finalize your thesis from Step 4 Part 1. Remember, you need to have an argument stance, an audience type or subject, three reasons of your own, and overview outcome. The sentence should only be one-sentence in length and appear as the last sentence of the intro.
⚠️Eventhough the intro appears in this order within the essay, always create your thesis first before writing the intro paragraph hook and summary.
Step 5 Incorporate Opinion and Evidence and Apply Persuasion
Step 6 Organize Your Essay Using This Outline
INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH includes the following:
-Hook: At the beginning of your intro paragraph, include a one-sentence hook by choosing a surprising statistic from one of the 5 GCU Library sources.(You may want to add this last after you have written the essay)
-Thesis: It should be one sentence and the last sentence of the intro paragraph.
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BODY PARAGRAPH 1
BODY PARAGRAPH 2
BODY PARAGRAPH 3
Conclusion
-Hook: At the beginning of your intro paragraph, include a one-sentence hook by choosing a surprising statistic from one of the 5 GCU Library sources.(You may want to add this last after you have written the essay)
- Choose a signal phrase (of your own words to introduce) a quote (for more info, go to https://pettyeng105.weebly.com/transitionssignal-phrases.html), add a quote from that source with quotation marks “_”, and an APA in-text citation (https://pettyeng105.weebly.com/apa-citation-help-for-ce.html).
- It should be related to the narrowed-down topic.
- The introduction should be in your writing and not contain outside resource information or basic facts taken from a source. Therefore,❌no quotes or paraphrases should be used in this summary background (after the hook).
- Make sure you are focused, and your topic is narrowed to that subject rather than an overview of the whole topic choice, such as basic technology or ADHD.
- It should only be about 4-5 sentences in length before expressing your thesis.
-Thesis: It should be one sentence and the last sentence of the intro paragraph.
- Create a thesis statement that expresses a side or stance on your narrowed-down social issue/trend that you brainstormed. **For example, you can focus on addressing what should or should not be done about an issue, what is better to improve the issue or a policy, what will you advocate for to solve the problem, etc.**
- Include the following in your thesis:
- Choose who is affected by incorporating an audience (elementary children, young adults, etc.)
- Choose your argument/stance and
- Select 3 supporting reasons for your thesis. (These three reasons have about 4 or more words each in length.) These are your own reasons why. These supporting reasons must be your own and not factual information, such as proven statistics, symptoms, side effects, etc. These three sub-topics will help you build create topic sentences for each body paragraph.
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BODY PARAGRAPH 1
- Create Topic Sentence #1 to expand on the subtopics and reinforce the thesis statement argument. Therefore, include judgment expressed and an expansion of REASON #1 from the thesis. Connect key phrases from the thesis judgment statement and REASON #1 in your topic sentence.❌No quotes or paraphrases should be used in the topic sentence or replace any.
- Add a point about your topic sentence REASON #1.
- Add evidence to support that point with quotes and/or paraphrases (from any of the 5 📚GCU Library sources you selected)to convince your audience of your opinion and argument stance expressed in the thesis statement and REASON #1.
- Explain how your evidence (quote/paraphrase) supports your thesis statement argument.
- Use the quote sandwich method info to help organize and provide focus in your body paragraphs. You can do this by using a point, quote, and explanation method as described above. To learn more about this topic, go to the Body Paragraph Organization webpage.
BODY PARAGRAPH 2
- Create Topic Sentence #2 to expand on the subtopics and reinforce the thesis statement argument. Therefore, include judgment expressed and an expansion of REASON #2 from the thesis. Connect key phrases from the thesis judgment statement and REASON #2 in your topic sentence.❌No quotes or paraphrases should be used in the topic sentence or replace any.
- Add a point about your topic sentence REASON #2.
- Add evidence to support that point with quotes and/or paraphrases (from any of the 5 📚GCU Library sources you selected)to convince your audience of your opinion and argument stance expressed in the thesis statement and REASON #2.
- Explain how your evidence (quote/paraphrase) supports your thesis statement argument.
- Use the quote sandwich method info to help organize and provide focus in your body paragraphs. You can do this by using a point, quote, and explanation method as described above. To learn more about this topic, go to the Body Paragraph Organization webpage.
BODY PARAGRAPH 3
- Create Topic Sentence #3 to expand on the subtopics and reinforce the thesis statement argument. Therefore, include judgment expressed and an expansion of REASON #3 from the thesis. Connect key phrases from the thesis judgment statement and REASON #3 in your topic sentence.❌No quotes or paraphrases should be used in the topic sentence or replace any.
- Add a point about your topic sentence REASON #3.
- Add evidence to support that point with quotes and/or paraphrases (from any of the 5 📚GCU Library sources you selected)to convince your audience of your opinion and argument stance expressed in the thesis statement and REASON #3.
- Explain how your evidence (quote/paraphrase) supports your thesis statement argument.
- Use the quote sandwich method info to help organize and provide focus in your body paragraphs. You can do this by using a point, quote, and explanation method as described above. To learn more about this topic, go to the Body Paragraph Organization webpage.
Conclusion
- Include a transition word or phrase. To locate some of these, go to the Transitions/Signal Phrases page.
- Reiterate your thesis argument using different words.
- Close the three reasonings you discussed in the essay.
- Write it in your own words. ❌No quotes or paraphrases should be used.
- It should be only about 4-5 sentences.