Unit 4 Assignment – The Pros and Cons of an Issue (ENG 110)

Unit 4 Assignment: Pro and Con of an Issue Submission Link

For this assignment, select one of these issues to write about:

• Climate Change
• Free Health Care
• Employer’s Access to Employee’s Social Media

Create one “pro” paragraph in support of the issue and one “con” paragraph against the issue.You need to include one academic and reliable source in the “pro” paragraph and one in the “con” paragraph. 

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ENG110 – College Writing

Unit 4 Assignment: Pro and Con of an Issue

Due Date: 11:59 p.m. EST, Sunday, of Unit 4
Points: 100

Overview:

This assignment requires you to write two paragraphs. The first paragraph will be the

“pro” in support of your issue. The second paragraph will be the “con” of your issue.

Each paragraph will have a paraphrased or summarized example.

Instructions:

1. Select ONE of these issues:

a. Climate Change

b. Free Health Care

c. Employer’s Access to Employee’s Social Media

2. Go to the Library database and search for one “pro” article and one “con” article on the
issue.

3. Read the article and underline important support that you will want to include in your
paragraphs.

4. Create your pro paragraph using your pro article; include a paraphrase or a summary of
the evidence from your article. Be sure to include an in-text citation: (author’s last name,
year of publication).

5. Create your con paragraph using your con article; include a paraphrase or a summary of
the evidence from your article. Be sure to include an in-text citation: (author’s last name,
year of publication).

6. Make sure you create a reference page for the two articles you use in your paragraphs.

Requirements:

• Submit a Word document or PDF.

• Include an APA formatted title page and proper APA style formatting on the document

(Times New Roman, 12-point font suggested), with 1-inch margins and double-
spaced.

https://postu.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=prodbb&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,cpid&custid=ns017336&group=main&profile=eds

• Each paragraph should be 7–9 sentences.

• Use evidence from an academic and reliable library resource that is either
paraphrased or summarized. Make sure to include that evidence in your essay
with a parenthetical citation and a references page. Follow proper APA format
when including that evidence.

• Use objective third-person language: “he,” “she,” “it,” “him,” “her,”

“himself,” “herself,” “itself,” “they,” “them,” “their,” “themselves.” (Avoid

subjective language, such as “I,” “me,” “you,” “we,” “us,” etc.)

Evaluation Rubric for Pro and Con of an Issue

CRITERIA Novice Emerging Competent Exemplary

Paraphrase/
Summary

(0–14 Points) (15–19 Points) (20–22 Points) (23–25 Points)

Paraphrase/summary
is not incorporated in
the paragraphs or
does not relate to the
topic of the
paragraph(s). No in-
text citations are
used.

Paraphrase/summary
is attempted but is
not incorporated in
the paragraph(s)
correctly. In-text
citations may not be
included or may not
be properly
formatted.

Paraphrase/summary
is present in the
paragraph and offers
basic support to the
topic of the
paragraph.
In-text citations
include very few
errors.

Paraphrase/summary
is present and
incorporated properly
and supports the
topic of the
paragraph. In-text
citations are included
and properly
formatted.

Paragraph
Structure

No topic sentence is
used to focus the
paragraph(s), and
the overall
paragraph(s) does
not have a clear topic
related to a pro/con
of the issue. The
paragraph is not
formatted correctly
and includes no
supporting
sentences.

A topic sentence is
attempted to focus
the paragraph(s) but
is, at times, either too
general or too
specific to show the
pro/con of the issue.
The paragraph itself
sometimes gets off-
topic and/or includes
supporting sentences
that do not relate to
the pro/con topic.

A topic sentence is
attempted to focus
the paragraph(s) and
is generally well
crafted to show the
pro/con of the issue.
The paragraph itself
generally stays on-
topic and includes
some supporting
sentences that relate
better to the pro/con
topics.

A topic sentence is
attempted that
effectively focuses
the paragraph(s) to
show the pro/con of
the issue. The
paragraph itself stays
consistently on-topic
and includes
supporting sentences
that relate well to the
topic.

Objective
Voice

(0–11 Points) (12–15 Points) (16–17 Points) (18–20 Points)

The writer’s voice
is not objective.
First- and second-
person are used
consistently.

The writer’s voice
is not always
objective.
Third-person is
used incorrectly,
and first/second
person is often
used.

The writer’s voice
is mostly objective,
using third-person
and only
occasionally
slipping into first- or
second-person.

The writer’s voice
remains objective,
using third person
without slipping into
first- or second-
person.

Paragraph
Length

(0–5 Points) (6–7 Points) (8 Points) (9–10 Points)

Paragraph is only
one sentence.

Paragraph is
between 2 and 4
sentences.

Paragraph is
between 5 and 6
sentences.

Paragraph is at
least 7 sentences
in length.

APA Format APA format is not
followed.

APA format is
sometimes
followed.

APA format is
mostly followed.

APA format is
followed.

CRITERIA Novice Emerging Competent Exemplary

Grammar and
Mechanics

Writing is hard to
understand
because of errors
in grammar,
spelling, and
punctuation.
Word choice is
inappropriate for an
academic setting.
Sentence structure
is often unclear.

Writing is
sometimes difficult
to understand
because of several
errors
in grammar,
punctuation, and
spelling. Word
choice is
sometimes
inappropriate for an
academic
setting. Sentence
structure is
sometimes unclear.

Writing is easy to
understand despite
minor errors in
punctuation,
spelling, and
grammar.
Appropriate word
choice is used for
an academic
setting. Sentence
structure is mostly
clear.

Writing is free of
almost all
punctuation,
spelling, and
grammar errors.
Appropriate word
choice is used for
an academic
setting. Sentence
structure is clear.