Assignment 3: Writing Task - Argumentative Essay on Pros and Cons of the Welfare System

Welcome to your third assignment. Please for you to be able to improve your English and to do the tasks correctly and at your optimal capacity it is of vital importance that you make use of the Study Guide at all times.

This assignment consists of the following mandatory parts:

Source Evaluation

Writing

Reading Reflections  

1. Sources and Source Criticism.

To get a better understanding of the essay topic, you will need to read around the subject.

Before you use a source, you should evaluate its credibility.

Follow the guidelines in Study Guide 1 on how: To navigate and find digital sources, evaluate their credibility and relevance, and write a source critical discussion.

Include the following in writing   

• The reference list for the writing task.
• A brief, short critical discussion for all the sources outlined in the reference list (your sources and the texts in your course book, as well the student posts from Collaborative Learning you refer to in your essay)
• For texts in Solid Gold 2: Follow and answer some of  Critical Reading Questions that can apply to the text you are evaluating
• For digital sources: comment on the Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy and Purpose in this guide.

2. Writing Task: Argumentative Essay.

Requirements and assessment criteria  

• Do a critical reading of the required reading material: Analyze and relate the material to the topic of your essay.  
• Take a clear stand clearly outlined in your thesis statement, backed up by two supporting arguments and also one counterargument which you refute with a third supporting argument.
• Cite and paraphrase the material to show an in-depth comprehension of both the material and the topic, support your arguments and avoid plagiarism.
• Relate the topic to own experience and/or knowledge to show a deeper understanding of the topic.  
• Use at least one additional source of your own choice. Use only English sources.
• Follow the guidelines in Study Guide 3 on how to write an argumentative essay,  define a thesis statement, use a counterargument, as well as the general paragraph structure and citations and references.

Topic: The Pros and Cons of the Welfare System

Discuss and argue for either the advantages or the disadvantages of the welfare state by examining the texts and what they reveal about welfare.

Take a clear standpoint.

Use the source material to either support your arguments or as evidence in your counterargument.

3. Reflections on Your Reading: Develop a Preliminary Thesis Statement

We hope that you are getting on well with your chosen novel and that you find it interesting. As you know, you will write a literary analysis in Assignment 5, thus it is important that you spend a lot of time reading the novel.

See Study Guide 3: Critical Reading and Listening Strategies: 2. Reading Reflections: Inferences, Interpretation, and Evidence

In this task, you need to include the following

Preliminary thesis statement

Develop and present a preliminary thesis statement for the literary analysis

Reasons supported by textual evidence

• Explain your choice of the topic for the thesis statement with textual evidence: Present one citation from the novel that is relevant to support the thesis statement
• Ensure that the quotation is introduced, commented on, and related to the controlling ideas of the thesis statement: Textual evidence + interpretation and explanation of how the quotation illustrates your idea(s)

Do not forget to properly reference the citation (author, year, page number)