Course: English 102
Assignment: Major Writing Assignment #1 = Exploratory Essay
First Draft: Your first draft must be a minimum of 500 words in order for you to fully participate in peer review and to earn points for peer review of drafts.
Final Draft: Your final draft will be submitted to this a site like this. https://aiwritingcheck.org/
Academic Integrity
Plagiarism – the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as your own – will not be tolerated. This includes the use of AI (Artificial Intelligence). Any student caught plagiarizing or engaging in academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade in the class and will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with YVC procedures. See YVC’s catalog for more information (http://catalog.yvcc.edu/content.php?catoid=5&navoid=317)
Purpose
Exploratory essays investigate a topic/question/issue in order to discover a deeper and more complete understanding of it. Unlike an argument essay which takes a position, an exploratory essay does not start out with a thesis. Instead the exploratory essay openly and objectively explores the topic through a question (presented at the end of the introduction paragraph) and searches for answers. It is more of a narrative (or story) of your investigation of a topic.
Too often people rush to form an opinion or try to make an argument by looking for evidence that supports a pre-formulated (and sometimes biased) claim. This first essay really requires that you NOT do that. Your exploratory essay should focus on your intellectual journey of answering the question you presented at the end of the introduction paragraph.
Task
1. To give your intellectual journey a clear purpose beyond simply restating and summarizing definitions of words from the text, formulate a central question about how minds change that you will use to guide your exploration. This question should be placed at the end of your introduction paragraph and used to guide the reader through your body paragraphs that are your intellectual journey/narrative.
2. Review the five chapters again with even greater care and take meticulous notes. Then, brainstorm and freewrite about your question.
3. Draft your essay following the instructions below for the Introduction, Body, and Conclusion. (During the drafting process, review our class schedule of due dates and peer review work and make appointments to work with tutors in the Writing Center, when possible.)
Introduction: Create interest for the reader in your topic beyond the book. Consider how we try to change others’ minds in our contemporary society through argument in various forms (social media, news shows, texts with emojis). Then, introduce the book and make sure the reader understands why the topic of how minds change is important to study and explore in our complex society. Finally, lead the reader to the question you will explore. This question should be placed at the end of your introduction paragraph and used to guide the reader through your body paragraphs that are your intellectual journey/narrative.
Body: Share your journey of answering the question. With each body paragraph deepen your answer to the question you presented at the end of your introduction paragraph. Include pertinent information from How Minds Change and explain why the information is significant and credible in relation to the question you are answering/exploring. Consider ending each body paragraph with the realization/answer you have for the question at the end of the introduction paragraph at this point in your essay. Then transition into the next body paragraph by returning to the question from the introduction paragraph and showing how you are going deeper in your quest to answer this question fully. Remember, this paper is to be presented like a narrative of your intellectual journey of returning over and over to the question you presented at the end of the introduction paragraph.
Note: Include summarized ideas, paraphrases, and quotes from How Minds Change in the body of your essay. Try to mostly summarize or paraphrase ideas from sources in your own words, and only use quotations that are especially striking or memorable.
Conclusion: Bring the reader up to date on your thinking about the topic/question/and related stories from your life. Focus on the new awareness you gained, what has been clarified in your thinking, what you now understand that you didn’t before, or the opinion you’re leaning toward and why. How can you now answer the question you proposed to your reader in the introduction? If you aren’t sure what you think, it’s okay to say that. You might then explain what you believe are the most important points to consider and invite your readers to decide.
Criteria for Success
Final Draft: Your final draft must a minimum of 1000 words in MLA format, be presented in clear and controlled sentences, and follow all of the requirements listed under “Task” above.