Now that you have outlined your paper, it is time to start your rough draft. A rough draft should expand on the ideas you included in your outline, and should include introduction and conclusion paragraphs as well as transitional statements between topics in your body paragraphs. This rough draft will compile all the content for your paper in a cohesive manner, and present your full argument.
It is important to think about how to integrate the research you have gathered into your paper. You have a voice, and your voice matters. The research you have found should be used to provide support to your voice and your argument. Extensive quotations or even paraphrased text are not always appropriate or helpful. You should try to limit these to no more than three to five instances throughout your paper. Use the learning activities, discussions, and resources from the Center for Writing Excellence to assist you with appropriately creating and using in-text citations to acknowledge where you have integrated your research within your rough draft.
Write your Argument Paper Rough Draft using the APA Paper Template. Your paper should be 700 to 1,050 words.
Create robust body paragraphs to present your full argument by expanding on the topics in your outline.
- Ensure each body paragraph has a topic sentence.
- Incorporate the research you have gathered to support your argument.
- Make your best attempt at formatting in-text citations and a reference page, which you will learn more about in Week 4. You may use the Reference and Citation Generator to help you construct your citations and references.
Create an introduction paragraph that includes your thesis statement and introduces your reader to the main topics included in your paper.
Create a conclusion paragraph to bring your paper to a close.
Ensure your paper includes the following elements prior to submission:
- A title page
- An introduction paragraph with a thesis statement that clearly states your argument.
- APA-formatted level 1 headings for each main topic
- A topic sentence to begin each body paragraph under each main topic
- No more than three to five instances of paraphrased or directly quoted material integrated throughout the paper, followed by the appropriate APA-formatted citation
- A conclusion paragraph
- A reference page with a reference listing for a minimum of three peer-reviewed sources
