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Turnitin.com
 Log in with your password and ID to participate in online discussions, turn in assignments, save assignments so that you can work on them at home or on campus, participate in peer reviews, and check your essays for plagiarism.
Pearson SuccessNet
 Take timed essay tests.
Citation Machine
 Format your parenthetical citations and your Works Cited page for MLA research papers.
Google
 Search for anything...
Interactive Grammar
 Grammar quizzes online.
NY Times
 Research current events and editorials. (Mostly liberal.)
Opinion Journal
 Research current events and editorials. (Mostly conservative.)
Time
 Research current events and editorials. (Mostly liberal.) {Note: See the "Blogs" page for some persuasive entries.}
FoxNews
 Research current events and editorials. (Mostly conservative.)
U.S. News and World Report
 Research current events and editorials.
CNN
 Research current events and editorials.
BBC
 Research current events and editorials.
Reader's Digest
 Research current events and editorials.
Anderson Cooper
360 deg.
 Editorials. Also on TV.
Hannity and Colmes.
 Editorials. Also on TV.
Glenn Beck
 Editorials. Also on TV.


How to Find an Editorial for the Weekly Current Issue Assignment

1. Go to one of the websites listed above.

2. Look on the menus of the website for "Opinion" or "Editorial". You must choose a persuasive article, not a simply informative one.

3. Choose an article that you want to use.

4. Start a Word file. Save it to the U: drive in the computer lab.

5. Copy and paste the URL of the article into your Word file.

6. Complete the assignment using the formatting instructions below.

7. Before you leave the lab, submit your file to Turnitin.com. If you need to work on it further, feel free to revise it and resubmit before Friday.


Format for the Weekly Current Issue Assignment
Your Name
Hr
Date

Current Issue for the Week Ending Sept. 8
ANALYSIS

1. URL. Copy and paste in the URL of article here.

2. Works Cited Entry. Use your Little, Brown Handbook, P. 710 to create the correct Works Cited entry.

3. Main Claim. In your own words, state the main claim of the argument.

4. Evidence. Write 1 sentence about the types and quality of evidence used. See LBHBk, P. 147 – 151.

5. Structure. Explain the overall structure of the argument in 2 or 3 sentences. (How are the parts arranged and how do they work to form an argument? Is it a series of personal anecdotes? Or several main points each one followed by many short examples?)

6. Appeals. Name one kind of appeal from the article, provide a quote from the article that demonstrates the kind of appeal, and then explain how it supports the speaker's position in one or two sentences.

7. Style devices. Name a kind of stylistic device used in the article, provide a quote from the article that demonstrates the style device, and then explain how it supports the speaker's position in one or two sentences.

ARGUMENTATION (updated)

Write one 10 to 12-sentence paragraph agreeing, disagreeing with, or qualifying the position taken by the speaker; argue your true position on the topic.

Include one parenthetical citation of the source article. (See LBHBk, P. 701.)

If there is anything in the speakers argument that you can agree with, include one concession statement and put this in italics. (Ex. Although Side A is correct about x,  y is more important.) If you can't concede anything, then put in one of their points and then explain why it is wrong and put this in italics to show me that you are thinking about the other side's views.