Liberty University ENGL 101 Mindtap 1 assignment complete solutions correct answers updated

Liberty University ENGL 101 Mindtap 1 assignment complete solutions correct answers updated

There are different versions. Don’t just look at the first one, but check them every different question carefully.

1. Engagement – Argument and Persuasion

Selection 1

Start by thinking about what broad category interests you.

Select a subject: Culture

Culture refers to the beliefs, behaviors, customs, and characteristics of a society or a particular group of people.

Select a narrowed subject: Middle Class in the United States

You chose to make an argument about the middle class. Middle-class families earn $30,000 to $100,000 a year, have at least some college education, and typically own a home. They also have extra income to spend on luxury goods.

Select a narrowed subject: Growth of the middle class

A thesis statement of an argumentative essay should state the writer’s point of view in his or her own words. Which of the following is a working argumentative thesis statement about the growth of the middle class?

2. Define and Consider Purpose

A review of a new restaurant’s food

The purpose of this piece of writing would be:

An argumentative essay about the benefits of recycling

The purpose of this piece of writing would be:

Recognizing that the eye nerves translate information to the brain about the time of day, scientists observe that we adapt to the light conditions around us. Also, researchers have recently discovered that teenagers are essentially nocturnal. That is, they are more active at night but do not function as well early in the morning.

The purpose of this piece of writing would be:

Blogging–short for "Web logging," or logging thoughts and ideas on to a Web page–is a great way to share your ideas with like-minded people. You can easily upload your writing and ask other "bloggers" to post their comments.

The purpose of this piece of writing would be:

A health care pamphlet about the warning signs of skin cancer

A history essay about pioneer living

Kids at Morning Star Elementary School, in Bozeman, Montana, turned their ideas into actions. The fifth-grade class raised more than $1,100 for the Red Cross and Haiti.

I don't think that students should be paid for good grades. Students should just want to get good grades. It's also not fair to kids who work hard but don't always get good grades on tests.

A police report of a stolen vehicle

Characteristics of the participants in a sleep study

On Tuesday, scientists announced that they have identified the fossil remains of the smallest dinosaur ever to roam North America. The bones were discovered 30 years ago in Colorado.

Tobacco companies should be forced to pay major settlements to anyone who has become addicted or negatively affected by the use of their products. The clinical evidence of the terrible effects produced by even secondhand smoke is enough for legislators to consider legal action against the powerful corporations.

3. Define and Consider Intended Audience

A probable audience for this argumentative paragraph is:

What kind of evidence does this paragraph use to appeal to its audience? Select all that apply. Check all that apply.

4. Define and Consider Context in Writing Assignments

Once you know why you are writing (purpose) and who you are writing for (audience), consider the environment where and when this writing is taking place.

The context of a rhetorical situation is what surrounds the text—the time and place where it is written and the existing discussion it joins and responds to. This includes adjusting the text to follow guidelines; for example, a writer may be working on a four- to five-page essay, that is due in three weeks, for a specific course. The length, deadline, and subject all form part of the essay’s context. The diagram below illustrates the relationship of text and context:

Considering context also requires engaging with the larger conversation around your topic—among your classmates, the general population, and/or experts. No topic or position exists all by itself. What have others said about this information, these ideas, or this debate? Why does your position matter and how does it relate to the position of others? Understanding and responding to context will help you to achieve your purpose and to connect with your audience.

Rhetorical context includes the author, the intended audience, and the date and place of publication.

The “context” of a text also involves:

Rhetorical context includes the length of the written piece.

5 . Generating Ideas for an Essay Topic

A thesis statement is a sentence, typically placed at the end of the introductory paragraph, that expresses the main point of the entire essay. Just as supporting ideas in a paragraph provide evidence or support for the topic sentence, the topic sentences of each paragraph in an essay provide evidence or support for the thesis statement. Because a thesis statement covers the main point of an essay, it must be general enough to cover several paragraphs. Be careful not to make your thesis statement too general, though, because it needs to be specific enough to focus your essay around one particular idea that you will then discuss in the remaining paragraphs.

Like a topic sentence, a thesis statement contains two ingredients: (1) The subject that you're writing about + (2) A controlling idea that expresses your opinion about the subject. Take a look at the following example:

A Subject

A Controlling Idea

A Thesis Statement

The mantis shrimp

+

has unusual adaptations that assist it in hunting and killing prey

=

The mantis shrimp has unusual adaptations that assist it in hunting and killing prey.

This thesis statement is specific in that it gives an opinion on one particular sea creature, but it is still general enough to allow you to write several body paragraphs to support it. For instance, through your research, you will learn that the mantis shrimp is multicolored, has independently moving eyes that can see nine more colors than human eyes can see, and has the world's strongest punch (which it uses to subdue or kill its prey). All of these qualities make the mantis shrimp unusual. Therefore, you might choose to write three body paragraphs, each focused on one of these qualities. The topic sentence for each body paragraph will act as a supporting idea for the thesis statement.

If you are asked to write about a broad topic, you can use various prewriting strategies to generate more specific ideas for your thesis statement:

Brainstorm

Freewrite

Cluster

Ask Questions

Jot down a list of things you know about the topic, or things you are interested in learning more about in the topic.

Write for ten to fifteen minutes about everything you can think of connected to the topic. Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation, or grammar for this exercise.

Draw a circle in the center of a piece of paper and write the topic in the circle; then use lines to add more circles with related ideas.

Think like a reporter who is trying to write an article. Ask the five key questions: Who? What? When? Where? How?

Below are some examples of brainstorming and clustering:

Brainstorm Topic: Marketing

1.

Advertising is a big part of marketing.

2.

Many companies use print ads in magazines.

3.

Internet ads are growing in popularity.

4.

Ads can be delivered in different forms—email, social media, etc.

5.

Internet ads reach more consumers than print ads.

Topic: Conserving Energy

Read the following scenarios and then answer the questions that follow.

“My economics professor assigned an essay on Internet retail sites, but I am having trouble coming up with an idea.”

What would you say to help this student?

“I have two ideas for my assignment about the over-prescription of antibiotics in my health class, but I can’t decide which one would make a better essay.”

“My education professor assigned an essay on physical fitness programs in elementary and high schools, but I am having trouble coming up with an idea.”

“I have two ideas for my assignment about Internet advertising in my marketing class, but I can’t decide which one would make the best essay.”

“My environmental studies professor assigned an essay on industrial air pollution, but I am having trouble coming up with an idea.”

“I have two ideas for my assignment about cyber-bullying in my psychology class, but I can’t decide which one would make a better essay.”

6 . Narrowing Your Topic

Once you have a broad general topic, you will need to narrow it down into a manageable size for an essay discussion. In order to narrow a topic, use the same prewriting strategies that lead to your idea to discover more specific subtopics related to it. You may need to go through this process several times:

Narrowed topic: How cell phone use in school zones can cause accidents

Directions: Identify which of the following topics are narrowed down to a manageable size for an essay.

Which of the following are narrowed subjects? Check all that apply.

7 . Developing a Controlling Idea

Much like a topic sentence, a thesis statement has two important pieces: (1) a subject, and (2) a controlling idea. Where topic sentences and thesis statements differ is in their scope: a topic sentence provides the main point of a paragraph, and a thesis statement provides the main point of an entire essay.

A Subject

A Controlling Idea

A Thesis Statement

Trend for couples to share passwords to e-mail

+

seems like a risky way to show trust

=

Sharing passwords with your boyfriend or girlfriend could lead to bad consequences.

When you sit down to plan an essay, you must first choose a subject. But remember, you're going to have to be able to write an entire essay about this one subject, so it is important that it is narrow enough in focus. Once you have narrowed down your subject, think of an opinion or idea about that subject that you can focus your essay on. The combination of a subject and a controlling idea gives you a thesis statement.

Directions: In the following table, subjects for an essay appear on the left. Select the controlling ideas from the dropdown lists to complete the thesis statements. (Hint: To help you determine the most appropriate controlling idea, eliminate the controlling ideas that are too narrow or too broad.)

8 . Writing a Strong, Clear Thesis Statement

Once you have a narrowed topic, you want to develop a critical opinion about it that you can support with facts and other evidence. Think about a question you want to answer. For example, imagine your communications instructor asks you to write about social media. Based on your experiences, you decide you want to answer the question “Are the negatives of Facebook overcome by its positives?” After doing some research, you develop a thesis statement that provides an answer to your question:

Example:

Although Facebook can be addictive and distracting, these disadvantages are outweighed by the benefits: it provides a way for friends and family in faraway places to stay in touch, enables the shy and homebound to find friends and communicate, and allows old friends to reconnect.

This is an opinion you can support with a variety of evidence, and it outlines for your reader what you will discuss in your essay. When you write your thesis statement, be sure to use exact language and replace vague words and ideas with more specific information.

Another way to develop a thesis statement is to group ideas. Revisit the brainstorming or freewriting you did when you were narrowing your topic, and highlight or underline related ideas. Look for ways that they connect to develop an opinion about your topic. By identifying the ideas that indicate the similarities and differences between them, you could come up with a thesis to compare and contrast them. You can also categorize your ideas into causes and effects, advantages and disadvantages, and so on to discover a critical opinion. Also, keep in mind that as you conduct more research, think about your topic, and complete a first draft of your essay, your views might change and you might need to revisit and rewrite your thesis statement.

The thesis statement of your essay should take a stand on an idea and should attempt to change the way your readers think. Beware of factual statements that cannot be argued: a strong thesis must be debatable, meaning that reasonable people could disagree with your idea. To make sure that your thesis is debatable, you can construct an antithesis, or a statement that makes a claim opposite to your own.

Directions: Select the specific thesis statements from the following. Check all that apply.

Directions: Answer each of the questions below about thesis statements.

Which of the following is the best example of a debatable thesis statement?

Which of the following is not an example of a factual statement?

Directions: Select the specific thesis statements from the following. Check all that apply.

Which of the following is the best example of a debatable thesis statement?

Which of the following is an antithesis to the thesis statement below?

Beckett's Waiting for Godot employs repetition to suggest the lack of originality and energy in a human's day-to-day life.

Directions: Select the specific thesis statements from the following. Check all that apply.

Directions: Answer each of the questions below about thesis statements.

Which of the following is the best example of a debatable thesis statement?

Although George Eliot's Middlemarch has characteristics of Victorian novels, its treatment of marriage is more similar to those of modernist novels.

9 . Generating Topic Sentences

A topic sentence is typically located at the beginning of a paragraph and contains two ingredients: (1) The subject that you're writing about + (2) An opinion or idea about that subject. Here is an example of how these ingredients come together:

A Subject

An Opinion or Idea

A Topic Sentence

American Civil Rights leader Malcolm X

+

helped bring about positive social change during the 1960s

=

American Civil Rights leader Malcolm X helped bring about positive social change during the 1960s.

Forming a topic sentence isn't always easy. Many people find it challenging to think of an opinion or idea to pair with their subject. Fortunately, there are strategies for formulating topic sentences that can help a writer be successful.

Click on the tabs in the following table to learn about two topic sentence creation strategies.

Ask Questions

Example

Compare and Contrast

Example

One way to create a good topic sentence is to generate some ideas about your subject, then ask questions about those ideas. It's best to do this in three steps:

Step 1: Choose a subject to write about. If you're unsure which subject to focus on, consider using one or more prewriting activities—such as listing, clustering, or freewriting—to help figure this out.

Step 2: After you've chosen a subject, use one or more prewriting activities to generate ideas you'd like to discuss in your paragraph or essay. You might discard some of these ideas as you move through the writing process, but many you will keep and use as supporting ideas—information that proves or explains your main point.

Step 3: Examine the ideas in your prewriting and ask yourself some or all of the following questions:

•

What do these ideas have in common?

•

What main point do these ideas seem to support?

•

What do these ideas lead you to conclude about the subject?

•

Why are these ideas important?

Directions: Read this example of prewriting and select possible topic sentences from the options below.

Subject: Going to the movies from 1940 to 1960

•

Few or no advertisements played in theater.

•

Tickets inexpensive! Average price in 1940s was less than 40 cents.

•

One ticket usually enabled you to see two movies, plus a cartoon and a news documentary.

•

People often smoked during movies.

•

It was common for people to get to the theater long after the movie had started.

•

Many theaters had soundproof "cry rooms" where parents could bring upset children.

•

Seats were smaller and not necessarily comfortable.

•

Food was inexpensive.

Which of these would make a good topic sentence for a paragraph or essay containing the information listed in the prewriting activity? Check all that apply.

Read this example of prewriting and select possible topic sentences from the options below.

Compare and Contrast: E-mail vs. Handwritten Letters

E-mail

Handwritten Letters

•

Arrives at destination instantaneously.

•

Can take days or even weeks to arrive at destination.

•

Doesn't require much effort, because typing is often easier than writing by hand.

•

Require effort, as writing by hand feels slow compared to typing.

•

Doesn't cost money.

•

Cost money, at least for stamps.

•

Most people prefer that e-mails be short.

•

People typically enjoy receiving longer handwritten letters.

•

E-mail is often quickly deleted or forgotten; people don't cherish e-mail the way they do personal letters.

•

People often treasure handwritten letters from friends and family.

•

E-mail sometimes contains important information, but it's more often used to say relatively unimportant things.

•

Letters are often used to say important, personal things.

Which of these would make a good topic sentence for a paragraph or essay containing the information listed in the prewriting activity? Check all that apply.

A topic sentence is typically located at the beginning of a paragraph and contains two ingredients: (1) The subject that you're writing about + (2) An opinion or idea about that subject. Here is an example of how these ingredients come together:

A Subject

An Opinion or Idea

A Topic Sentence

American Civil Rights leader Malcolm X

+

helped bring about positive social change during the 1960s

=

American Civil Rights leader Malcolm X helped bring about positive social change during the 1960s.

Forming a topic sentence isn't always easy. Many people find it challenging to think of an opinion or idea to pair with their subject. Fortunately, there are strategies for formulating topic sentences that can help a writer be successful.

Click on the tabs in the following table to learn about two topic sentence creation strategies.

Ask Questions

Example

Compare and Contrast

Example

One way to create a good topic sentence is to generate some ideas about your subject, then ask questions about those ideas. It's best to do this in three steps:

Step 1: Choose a subject to write about. If you're unsure which subject to focus on, consider using one or more prewriting activities—such as listing, clustering, or freewriting—to help figure this out.

Step 2: After you've chosen a subject, use one or more prewriting activities to generate ideas you'd like to discuss in your paragraph or essay. You might discard some of these ideas as you move through the writing process, but many you will keep and use as supporting ideas—information that proves or explains your main point.

Step 3: Examine the ideas in your prewriting and ask yourself some or all of the following questions:

•

What do these ideas have in common?

•

What main point do these ideas seem to support?

•

What do these ideas lead you to conclude about the subject?

•

Why are these ideas important?

Directions: Read this example of prewriting and select possible topic sentences from the options below.

Subject: Reasons why movie ticket sales are falling

•

Ticket prices are too high.

•

Snacks sold at the theater are extremely expensive.

•

The cost for a family of four to go see a movie is usually more than just buying the DVD.

•

People can watch movies through Internet-based subscription services instead of going to the theater.

•

Local theaters don't always carry a desirable selection of movies.

•

People don't want to sit through half an hour of commercials before the movie starts.

•

People have a lot more things to spend their money on: video games, music, DVDs, etc.

Which of these would make a good topic sentence for a paragraph or essay containing the information listed in the prewriting activity? Check all that apply.

Read this example of prewriting and select possible topic sentences from the options below.

Compare and Contrast: College Athletes vs. Professional Athletes

College Athletes

Professional Athletes

•

Can be seriously injured while participating in athletic activities.

•

Can be seriously injured while participating in athletic activities.

•

Are not paid.

•

Are paid a lot—sometimes millions of dollars per season.

•

The organizations they play for can make millions by selling tickets, merchandise, broadcast rights, etc.

•

The organizations they play for can make millions by selling tickets, merchandise, broadcast rights, etc.

Which of these would make a good topic sentence for a paragraph or essay containing the information listed in the prewriting activity? Check all that apply.

A topic sentence is typically located at the beginning of a paragraph and contains two ingredients: (1) The subject that you're writing about + (2) An opinion or idea about that subject. Here is an example of how these ingredients come together:

A Subject

An Opinion or Idea

A Topic Sentence

American Civil Rights leader Malcolm X

+

helped bring about positive social change during the 1960s

=

American Civil Rights leader Malcolm X helped bring about positive social change during the 1960s.

Forming a topic sentence isn't always easy. Many people find it challenging to think of an opinion or idea to pair with their subject. Fortunately, there are strategies for formulating topic sentences that can help a writer be successful.

Click on the tabs in the following table to learn about two topic sentence creation strategies.

Ask Questions

Example

Compare and Contrast

Example

One way to create a good topic sentence is to generate some ideas about your subject, then ask questions about those ideas. It's best to do this in three steps:

Step 1: Choose a subject to write about. If you're unsure which subject to focus on, consider using one or more prewriting activities—such as listing, clustering, or freewriting—to help figure this out.

Step 2: After you've chosen a subject, use one or more prewriting activities to generate ideas you'd like to discuss in your paragraph or essay. You might discard some of these ideas as you move through the writing process, but many you will keep and use as supporting ideas—information that proves or explains your main point.

Step 3: Examine the ideas in your prewriting and ask yourself some or all of the following questions:

•

What do these ideas have in common?

•

What main point do these ideas seem to support?

•

What do these ideas lead you to conclude about the subject?

•

Why are these ideas important?

Directions: Read this example of prewriting and select possible topic sentences from the options below.

Subject: Making movies

•

One big step in making movies is called preproduction.

•

Preproduction = hiring actors, the director, and other members of the crew.

•

Development is another step in the movie-making process.

•

Development = figuring out a story to tell and writing the script.

•

Making movies is a very expensive process. Actors have to be paid, cameras rented, sets built, etc.

•

Production is another step in the process. This is where they actually film the movie.

•

Postproduction is another step. In postproduction they edit the film, add music and visual effects, and create the final cut.

•

Completing these steps can take months or even years.

Which of these would make a good topic sentence for a paragraph or essay containing the information listed in the prewriting activity? Check all that apply.

Read this example of prewriting and select possible topic sentences from the options below.

Compare and Contrast: Jay Z vs. Bill Gates

Jay Z

Bill Gates

•

Famous for being a musician and a fashion mogul

•

Famous for founding computer software company (Microsoft)

•

Didn't graduate from high school

•

Didn't graduate from college

•

Super rich—worth around $500 million

•

One of the richest people in the world—worth over $70 billion

•

Known as a savvy businessman

•

Known as a clever businessman

•

Has raised money for charity, tries to raise awareness about certain political issues

•

Has given billions to charity, started charitable foundation

Which of these would make a good topic sentence for a paragraph or essay containing the information listed in the prewriting activity? Check all that apply.

10 . Developing Strong Topic Sentences

A topic sentence must be tightly focused. A vague, fuzzy, or unfocused topic sentence most often leads to a paragraph that touches only on the surface of its subject or that wanders away from the main idea of the essay.

Directions: Read the thesis statement. Then, choose the best revision for the topic sentence that relates to the thesis statement.

Thesis Statement: The effects of stress are more than just a temporary foul mood and a sudden craving for junk food; stress over a long period creates damage to the body from our organs to our cells.

Topic sentence: Chronic stress weakens the immune system, and some researchers think that it also causes the metabolism to go into overdrive.

What is the best revision for this topic sentence?

Answer the following questions:

Which of the following make good topic sentences? Check all that apply.

A topic sentence must be tightly focused. A vague, fuzzy, or unfocused topic sentence most often leads to a paragraph that touches only on the surface of its subject or that wanders away from the main idea of the essay.

Directions: Read the thesis statement. Then, choose the best revision for the topic sentence that relates to the thesis statement.

Thesis Statement: Economic sanctions are the best way for the United States to force countries to stop creating weapons of mass destruction.

Topic sentence: Limiting or even blocking trade makes building difficult for countries.

What is the best revision for this topic sentence?

Answer the following questions:

Which of the following make good topic sentences? Check all that apply.

A topic sentence must be tightly focused. A vague, fuzzy, or unfocused topic sentence most often leads to a paragraph that touches only on the surface of its subject or that wanders away from the main idea of the essay.

Directions: Read the thesis statement. Then, choose the best revision for the topic sentence that relates to the thesis statement.

Thesis Statement: Although some college mascots seem inexplicable, the names of college mascots have intriguing origin stories that reveal the history and culture of the school.

Topic sentence: Some schools don't even have real mascots.

What is the best revision for this topic sentence?

Answer the following questions:

Which of the following make good topic sentences? Check all that apply.

11 . Using Topic Sentences to Support a Thesis

Each body paragraph in your essay will express one main point in the topic sentence. The topic sentence has three important functions: (1) it supports the thesis by clearly stating a main point in the discussion; (2) it announces what the paragraph will be about; and (3) it controls the subject matter of the paragraph. The entire discussion—the examples, details, and explanations—in a particular paragraph must directly relate to and support the topic sentence.

Directions: Read each of the thesis statements. Then, select which are topic sentences that support the thesis.

Thesis: Although enrolling in online courses is increasing in popularity, it can never take the place of attending a college with a physical campus.

Which are topic sentences that support the thesis sentence? Check all that apply.

Thesis: States that use water from the Colorado River Basin must adopt and enforce more water restrictions.

Which are topic sentences that support the thesis sentence? Check all that apply.

Thesis: College majors in the sciences or engineering are most worth a student's time and money.

Which are topic sentences that support the thesis sentence? Check all that apply.

Thesis: Even though job hopping—staying at a job for two years or less—is on the rise, staying with one company is better for your career and your self-improvement.

Which are topic sentences that support the thesis sentence? Check all that apply.

Thesis: Although often resulting in smaller salaries, degrees in the humanities lead to high levels of life satisfaction.

Which are topic sentences that support the thesis sentence? Check all that apply.

Thesis: All states should legalize involuntary treatment for prescription drug abuse.

Which are topic sentences that support the thesis sentence? Check all that apply.