To ensure you include the appropriate elements in your argument paper, you must organize all of your research. This assignment will help you to determine what pieces of research you would like to include in your paper, and which claims and statements the selected research will support. The outline you create will be used as the basis for the Week 5 Final Argument Paper assignment. Follow these step-by-step instructions as they are presented, to guide you through the assignment.

Part 1: Research and Evaluation

Conduct a search in the University Library for three peer-reviewed journal articles that relate to your topic and the reasons you hold your position about that topic, which you outlined in your Week 1 Topic Selection Worksheet.

Review the articles you selected, and highlight information that supports your reasons for your position.

• If the articles you initially select do not support your position, continue to research until you find content that does.

Evaluate each article you intend to use with the Evaluating Resources Worksheet in the Center for Writing Excellence. Your sources should meet the evaluation criteria listed to ensure they are appropriate for your paper. You will use the information from this evaluation in Part 2 of this assignment, but you will not submit this evaluation document.

Part 2: Thesis Statement and Outline

Create an outline of your argument paper using the Argument Paper Outline Template.

Complete the following areas of the Argument Paper Outline Template. Replace the template text with your information.

• Title page

• On page 2: Title of Paper

• Revised thesis statement  

o Review the draft of your thesis statement from your Week 1 Topic Selection Worksheet, and make any necessary revisions to form a clear claim for your argument. Use your faculty feedback and the Writing a Thesis Statement Tutorial for tips on revising your thesis statement.

• APA-formatted level 1 headings for each of the reasons for your position

• Topic sentence  

o Topic sentences will begin each body paragraph about the particular topic. The topic sentence should focus on one of the reasons for your position.

• Main points you want to present about each reason for your position  

o Each main point should represent an additional detail in the discussion of each reason for your position.

• Supporting research for each main point, including the Information source from which the supporting research was retrieved

• Reference page with an APA formatted reference for each of the peer-reviewed sources used  

o Ensure your Reference page lists the sources in alphabetical order. You may use the Reference and Citation Generator, found in the Center for Writing Excellence, to help generate your references.

o Below each reference, include a 25- to 50-word justification for why the source is appropriate for use in this paper. Each justification should be based on the evaluation you completed in Part 1 of this assignment.

You do not need to include the introduction and conclusion paragraphs this week, as you will be working on those next week.

Submit your completed Argument Paper Outline Template to the Assignment Files tab.