ENG 123: Assignment Two, Milestone One Guidelines and Rubric Draft Overview: Persuasion is a constant in each and every one of our lives. No matter where we look, what we read, what we see, or who we interact with, we are inevitably going to encounter some form of persuasion. Advertisements want us to buy things. Newspapers and television want to convince us of what we should feel about events. We are put into positions where we must defend our thoughts and beliefs to others, and the process we apply is typically some form of persuasion. Persuasive writing is one of the most powerful forms of writing—it has the ability to influence one's thoughts, and also the ability to change one's mind about a particular issue. The persuasive essay is an ideal opportunity to support an opinion on an issue utilizing researched facts and information. This also gives the chance to recognize that there is an opposing viewpoint to a position and to refute their argument, noting they are the intended audience of the piece. Prompt: For this milestone, you will submit a draft of your persuasive essay. At this point in the course, if you have completed the previous milestone guided activities, the textboxes should be combined and transformed into a draft. This milestone will help you address the critical elements from Sections II - IV below, which will ultimately inform your final submission of the persuasive essay. You have until the deadline to work on this draft. Whatever is completed by the deadline will be submitted to your instructor for grading and feedback. Specifically the following critical elements must be addressed: I. Introduction: This is where readers will have a chance to get an idea of what your essay will be about and what you will prove throughout. Do not give all of your information away here, but give readers a sample of what is to come. Do not forget to review your writing plan to make sure you are hitting all of the points that you planned out, while also stating your argument. A. Overview the issue you have selected, briefly describing main points and your argument. B. Compose an engaging thesis that states the argument that you will prove and support throughout your essay. This statement will give direction to your essay and should be well thought out. II. Body: The body is your opportunity to describe and support your argument in depth. Make sure your thoughts and evidence are clear and organized in a way that is easy for readers to follow and understand. A. Be sure that you write multiple paragraphs that are focused, clearly state their intent, and move logically from one to the other, building the thesis argument as the essay progresses. B. Your body paragraphs should support your argument by combining thoughts and ideas with evidence from sources. There is no such thing as a right or wrong argument; the key is how it is supported and the quality of the evidence used. C. Address and refute any opposing viewpoints to your argument. This i.

1. ENG 123: Assignment Two, Milestone One Guidelines and
Rubric Draft Overview: Persuasion is a constant in each and
every one of our lives. No matter where we look, what we read,
what we see, or who we interact with, we are inevitably going
to encounter some form of persuasion. Advertisements want us
to buy things. Newspapers and television want to convince us of
what we should feel about events. We are put into positions
where we must defend our thoughts and beliefs to others, and
the process we apply is typically some form of persuasion.
Persuasive writing is one of the most powerful forms of
writing—it has the ability to influence one's thoughts, and also
the ability to change one's mind about a particular issue. The
persuasive essay is an ideal opportunity to support an opinion
on an issue utilizing researched facts and information. This also
gives the chance to recognize that there is an opposing
viewpoint to a position and to refute their argument, noting they
are the intended audience of the piece. Prompt: For this
milestone, you will submit a draft of your persuasive essay. At
this point in the course, if you have completed the previous
milestone guided activities, the textboxes should be combined
and transformed into a draft. This milestone will help you
address the critical elements from Sections II - IV below, which
will ultimately inform your final submission of the persuasive
essay. You have until the deadline to work on this draft.
Whatever is completed by the deadline will be submitted to your
instructor for grading and feedback. Specifically the following
critical elements must be addressed: I. Introduction: This is
where readers will have a chance to get an idea of what your
essay will be about and what you will prove throughout. Do not
give all of your information away here, but give readers a
sample of what is to come. Do not forget to review your writing
plan to make sure you are hitting all of the points that you
planned out, while also stating your argument. A. Overview the
issue you have selected, briefly describing main points and your
argument. B. Compose an engaging thesis that states the

2. argument that you will prove and support throughout your
essay. This statement will give direction to your essay and
should be well thought out. II. Body: The body is your
opportunity to describe and support your argument in depth.
Make sure your thoughts and evidence are clear and organized
in a way that is easy for readers to follow and understand. A. Be
sure that you write multiple paragraphs that are focused, clearly
state their intent, and move logically from one to the other,
building the thesis argument as the essay progresses. B. Your
body paragraphs should support your argument by combining
thoughts and ideas with evidence from sources. There is no such
thing as a right or wrong argument; the key is how it is
supported and the quality of the evidence used. C. Address and
refute any opposing viewpoints to your argument. This is your
chance to discredit any opposing views, thus strengthening your
own. III. Conclusion: Think of the conclusion as a review of
your argument. Use this section to restate your argument and
remind readers of your supporting evidence. Think of this as
your last chance to persuade readers to agree with you. A.
Review your argument. This section should consist of a review
of your main points employed to support your argument. Think
of this as your last chance to prove your point or your closing
arguments. B. Your conclusion should articulate insights about
your argument established through your essay. This should
follow logically from your essay, referring to key points or
quotes used to support your argument. Rubric Guidelines for
Submission: This milestone will be completed through the
interactive activity provided in your MindEdge eLearning
materials and then submitted within Blackboard. Instructor
Feedback: This activity uses an integrated rubric in Blackboard.
Students can view instructor feedback in the Grade Center. For
more information, review these instructions. Cr iti cal El ements
Profi c i ent (100%) Ne eds Improvement (75%) Not Evident
(0%) Value Int roduc tion: Ove rvi ew Overviews the issue
being analyzed and briefly describes main points of argument
Overviews the issue being analyzed and briefly describes main

3. points of argument but contains issues regarding accuracy Does
not overview issue being analyzed 10 Int roduc tion: The sis
Composes a thesis that states the argument that will be
supported and proven throughout the essay Composes a thesis
but contains issues related to clarity or relevancy Does not
compose a thesis 10 Body: Int ent Writes multiple paragraphs
that are focused, clearly state their intent, and build the thesis
argument Writes multiple paragraphs but writing does not build
the thesis argument Does not write multiple paragraphs 10
Body: Body Paragraphs Body paragraphs communicate
argument by combining thoughts and ideas with evidence Body
paragraphs communicate argument but do not combine thoughts
and ideas with evidence Does not communicate argument
through body paragraphs 30 Body: Opposing Vi ewpoints
Addresses and refutes opposing viewpoints in a way that
strengthens the argument Addresses and refutes opposing
viewpoints but not in a way that strengthens the argument Does
not address or refute opposing viewpoints 10 Reviews claim and
summarizes key Reviews claim and summarizes key Does not
review claim 10 Conc lusion: Revi ew supporting points of
essay supporting points but contains issues regarding alignment
to the intent of the thesis Conc lusion: Insights Articulates
insights about argument established through your analysis,
following argument logically, referring to key points or quotes
used to support argument Articulates insights about argument
established through your essay, but does not follow argument
logically or does not refer to key points or quotes used to
support claim Does not articulate insights about argument 10 Ar
ti culation of Re spons e Submission has no major errors related
to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization
Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact
readability and articulation of main ideas Submission has
critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or
organization that prevent understanding of ideas 10 Earned
Total 100%

4. At times it can be difficult to know what information from your
sources to include in your paper. The PIE method can help you
make decisions about how to structure your writing to make
sure you are providing enough evidence at the appropriate
times. The following graphic describes the PIE method of
paragraph formatting.
Your responses to the questions below will be saved to the
Notebook, which can be found under the "Course Tools" menu.
At the end of the exercise, you will download all of your
responses to a single Word document by following the
directions at the bottom of this page.
(1)
I. Introduction
This is where readers will have a chance to get an idea of what
your essay will be about and what you will prove throughout.
Do not give all of your information away here, but give readers
a sample of what is to come. Do not forget to review your
writing plan to make sure you are hitting all of the points that
you planned out, while also stating your argument.
The next activity uses a rich text area. You can tab to the editor
body. Press ALT-F10 to get to the toolbar. Press ESC to return
to the editor body. A save button is available in the top toolbar
all the way to the right and will become visible when it receives
focus.
Introduction Paragraph: What is the topic of your essay? How
do you plan to grab your reader's attention at the beginning of
your essay?
(2)
Introduction Paragraph: What is your thesis statement?
(3)
I. Body
The body is your opportunity to describe the support your
argument in depth. Make sure your thoughts and evidence are

5. clear and organized in a way that is easy for readers to follow
and understand.
The next activity uses a rich text area. You can tab to the editor
body. Press ALT-F10 to get to the toolbar. Press ESC to return
to the editor body. A save button is available in the top toolbar
all the way to the right and will become visible when it receives
focus.
Supporting Paragraph 1: What is the first main point or reason
of your paper?
(4)
Supporting Paragraph 1: What evidence have you found that
supports your point?
(5)
Supporting Paragraph 1: Explain how this evidence supports
your point.
(6)
Supporting Paragraph 2: What is the second main point or
reason of your paper?
(7)
Supporting Paragraph 2: What evidence have you found that
supports your point?
(8)
Supporting Paragraph 2: Explain how this evidence supports
your point.
(9)
Supporting Paragraph 3: What is the third main point or reason
of your paper?
(10)
upporting Paragraph 3: What evidence have you found that

6. supports your point?
(11)
Supporting Paragraph 3: Explain how this evidence supports
your point.
(12)
Supporting Paragraph 4: What is the first counterargument you
will respond to?
(13)
Supporting Paragraph 4: How do you respond to or rebut the
counterargument described above?
(14)
Supporting Paragraph 5: What is the second counterargument
you will respond to?
(You may not have a second counterargument, and that's okay—
make sure you address at least one, though.)
(15)
Supporting Paragraph 5: How do you respond to or rebut the
counterargument described above?
(You may not have a second counterargument, and that's okay—
make sure you address at least one, though.)
(16)
III. Conclusion
Think of the conclusion as a review of your argument. Use this
section to restate your argument and remind readers of your
supporting evidence. Think of this as your last chance to
persuade readers to agree with you.
The next activity uses a rich text area. You can tab to the editor
body. Press ALT-F10 to get to the toolbar. Press ESC to return

7. to the editor body. A save button is available in the top toolbar
all the way to the right and will become visible when it receives
focus.
Conclusion Paragraph: What were the most important points you
made in the responses above?
(17)
Conclusion Paragraph: Reiterate your thesis statement. Be sure
to state your thesis statement differently than you did in the
introduction paragraph.