21W.730: FOOD for THOUGHT                                                                                   Fall 2009
                                                                                                                          

Essay 3 (9-10 pages/2250-2500 words)

Essay 3 is an essay organized around an Inquiry: writers ask a question related to a food issue, research it, and formulate a thesis. Then they write up their investigation in a way that interests readers in the question and the results of the inquiry process.

Your goals

• To frame an Inquiry Question that you find truly interesting, and that is a good size and shape (e.g., not a “What is…” question—Ask a question whose answer requires judgment, analysis, interpretation.
• To find credible, relevant, timely source material.
• To deploy evidence accurately and effectively as you build your argument.
• To demonstrate your own thinking.

• To write muscular, energetic sentences and to link them in paragraphs that unfold in a graceful, dynamic way.

• To make your essay as interesting as possible to readers—including readers outside our class.

Requirements
Your essay must:

• Begin with a clear Inquiry Question.
• Use 3-4 section headings to structure your paper

• Develop an argument, i.e., an idea, that is your own—not just be a whole lot of information.
• Make clear and accurate use of source material, and cite all source material, whether the material is quoted, paraphrased or summarized.
• Follow the Format for Essays (Stellar→Materials→General→Format)
• Follow MLA style for in-text citation and a Works Cited page.
• Be 9-10 pages double-spaced (2250-2500 words), not including the Works Cited.

Options

• Your essay must take its ideas seriously, but the tone and approach are still yours to choose: exploratory or persuasive; straightforward, or playful and humorous.
• Your audience is, most generally, high-school and college educated readers. But if you like, you may target a more particular audience—doctors; parents; school food programs; teenagers with eating disorders…