Final essay Islam

Have a very clear argument, key point, or thesis. The best way to do this is to explicitly, very simply, very clearly say: “In this essay, I argue/explain/show that …” or “In this essay, I challenge the claim that …” You can also simply say: “I aim to answer the following question: …” (And, no, you don’t necessarily have to say “in this essay.”) This should be the last sentence of your FIRST paragraph. • Have a brief introduction and a brief conclusion for your essay. Don’t just dive into the topic or your discussion. • Have clear evidence to support your argument. Rely on the material we have covered in class so far, or something similar – i.e., other academic papers, other books, trust-worthy, respectable sources online. • Your sources cannot be from some random website on the internet. You might find something on a blog, for example, and be tempted to use that as support for a claim you have, but that’s not sufficient. Another person’s opinion isn’t proof of anything unless your paper is specifically about “normal, ordinary, lay” people’s perspectives on something, or, in this case, a blogger’s perspectives. In such a case, still, one or two people’s opinions don’t prove anything; you have to find more evidence. • You must have a properly-cited Works Cited (or Bibliography) page. You can use MLA or Chicago or whatever format you prefer, but be consistent throughout the essay. • Cite sources that agree with you and those that disagree with you. You need to be able to explain why your argument or your point is the one that should be taken more seriously than the ones you disagree with. Or why the opposing perspectives aren’t helpful or why they need counter-arguments. • To cite your sentences/claims, you can go parenthetical (i.e., have a page number, the author’s name, and/or the date of the source you’re citing), or use footnotes. Click here (Links to an external site.)to know how to cite footnotes properly in Chicago format. Click here (Links to an external site.) for MLA format instead. NOTE: If you don’t know what footnotes are or how to use them, talk to a librarian. You can also talk to me during my office hours, and we’ll get it taken care of. • Be sure to proofread your essay. I will take points off for misspelling, incomplete or incomprehensible sentences or phrasing, and in-your-face bad grammar. A typo or an occasional mistake may be forgivable, but if there are consistent misspellings, bad grammar, typos, etc., they will affect your grade. • Do not use words you don’t know the meanings of; you’re not being graded for using big vocabulary – you’re being graded for clarity, strength of your claims, and your use of class readings. • Don’t use “you” or “I feel like” (or even “I think”) in the essays; this isn’t academic language. In very special cases can “you” be acceptable, and “I feel like” isn’t formal writing. Be Organized! Have a clear thesis statement, and then clear topic sentences! Paragraphs without topic sentences are no fun to read. A topic sentence is the first sentence of a paragraph, and it summarizes the whole point of that paragraph.