Assignment:
Discussion Board (DB) 9 is the very last DB activity; hopefully, the total DB experience has helped you this semester develop three very specific essay writing skills:
How to write a thesis statement: WHAT (Conclusion) you come to about the topic and WHY that conclusion is important to you.
How to flesh out and develop ideas in support of the thesis, both your own ideas and others in support of your own arguments, (avoiding the common writer's pitfall of merely summarizing) and
How to properly use MLA style format to internally cite and create work(s) cited page entries for sources.
• DB 9 has only one part. DB 9 has no discussion board forum post. You have two weeks to complete and submit DB 9 via its course Assignment tab by its due date: Nov 26, 2017 (9 PM). To complete DB 9, follow the directions below:
First, from the McGraw Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines, 12th edition, carefully read both of the following essays:
o Salman Rushdie's "Not About Islam?" (pp 587-9)
o Karen Armstrong's "What's God Got to Do with it? (pp 565-8)
Second, outside of BB, draft and revise a short essay (at least 2, no more than 3 full double spaced pages) in response to the following topic question:
o On the surface, it may appear as if these authors are having two entirely conversations, but one could ask if there might be some ideas in these two essays upon which both authors can mutually agree? Based on your own reading of Armstrong's essay, decide why or (why not) Armstrong would agree or disagree with Rushdie's observations about Islam.
o Do not merely summarize the contents of the essays. Discuss (explain) why you think Armstrong would either agree or disagree with Rushdie's observations, using and internally citing ideas from both essays in support of your thinking.
o Include a works cited page entry for both essays on or following the last page of your essay.
Final Reminder Regarding MLA Rules of Internal Citation and Work(s) Cited Rules:
You must provide correct internal citations and a work cited page for all borrowed ideas in your essay response. Incorrect internal citations, work cited entries, and underdeveloped responses/posts will result in significant point reductions for this assignment.
The first time you cite an idea, you can either work the identity of the source into the sentence and put the page number in parenthesis (123) before the period or put both in parenthesis immediately following your borrowed material. Example: (Armstrong 47).
Generally, subsequent cites of the same source only require page numbers in parenthesis, immediately following the borrowed idea. Example: (49).
However, if a new source is cited between the first and next cite of an already cited source, then the next time you cite the already cited source, you have to repeat its identity along with the page number. Example: (Armstrong 50).
In MLA, there is no "p" "pp" or "page" written before the page number, only the page number itself.