Exploratory Essay

This assignment identifies at least three positions on your approved issue and allows you to get an idea about
where you might stand for your final paper.
INSTRUCTIONS
In no less than a five-page paper and no more than the top of seven pages, identify and summarize at least
three different positions that form possible answers to your issue question.
• These might be for, against, and somewhere in the middle or taking a different/more nuanced
position than for or against. Be sure to provide support for the validity of each position using in-text
MLA-formatted quotations and paraphrasing.
You will also present your position at this time on your approved issue with discussion of examples and
reasoning explaining your position before the conclusion paragraph. You will want your explanation of the
three perspectives to be as close to “objective reporting” as possible.
You will need to use five to seven academic sources (three from the MC Library) to present the three
positions on your approved issue, citing the five to seven sources at least once for each source in the body
of the essay and citing them in MLA format on a Works Cited page at the end of the essay.
• Good places to locate these sources are databases in the MC Library like CQ Researcher, Gale Opposing
Viewpoints, Academic Search Complete as well as Films on Demand.
• You will want to make sure the five sources you choose present three different positions on the issue
(at least one for each position) or three different ways of looking at it.
In the introduction, include background information to familiarize your audience with your issue and stress
why it is important. Also, provide a thesis statement incorporating the three general positions on the issue.
Be sure to review all materials on exploratory writing in the folder in the Blackboard area of your course and
provided in class and use the Exploratory Paper Worksheet to help you get started