English 96 Second Essay: Did Gore Get It Right?

Prewriting due Monday, September 22

Outline due Wednesday, September 24

Rough Draft due Friday, September 26

Final Draft due Monday, September 29

Grammar Version due Wednesday, October 1

Overview of the assignment: In the last essay, you analyzed your personal reactions to Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth.  Now that we have learned some background information from The Rough Guide to Climate Change and read other essayists’ critiques of Gore, we will hold him up to further scrutiny.  In this essay, you will compare his presentation of the facts to the summary of the science in The Rough Guide.

Gore has sometimes been accused of alarmism in his dire warnings about the possible effects of global warming.  Others, including scientists, defend him. In this essay, I would like you to evaluate how accurately and fairly Gore summarizes scientific predictions about one particular aspect of climate change in his book An Inconvenient Truth.  You will focus on the Rough Guide chapter topic on which you did your presentation.

Introduction: Your introduction should summarize how Gore approaches your topic in his book. How much time does he spend on it, how does he present it, and what is his overall message or messages? The introduction should also briefly summarize the kinds of critiques that have or that could be made of his approach. 

Thesis: Your introduction should finish with a thesis which evaluates Gore’s representation of the scientific evidence.  Your thesis should tell whether or not Gore missed anything important and whether or not Gore exaggerated or distorted anything. Did he prove himself an alarmist in relation to your particular topic?

Body Paragraphs: The essay should include at least three body paragraphs. Each should include a focused topic sentence that summarizes the main point of the paragraph. Each body paragraph should include at least two specific examples. An example could mean a direct quotation or a paraphrase from either of the books. Do not assume that your readers have read the books. After each quotation, explain in your own words how it proves your point. Use the MLA in-text citation format and make sure to punctuate your quotations correctly and introduce them with a variety of signal phrases.

Conclusion: The essay should end with a paragraph which returns to the question of how accurately and fairly Gore represented the science of global warming in relation to your topic. See pages 220-226 of From Inquiry to Academic Writing for conclusion-writing ideas.

Writing Style: Your writing should use connecting words (also called sentence connectors or transition words) to link ideas and simple sentences.  See the “Sentence Connectors” page in your course reader.  Remember that the quality of your grammar, word choice, and proofreading counts for as much as half of the essay grade. 

Format: Follow the MLA essay format guidelines in the handout at the beginning of your reader. MLA in-text citation format and a Works Cited page are required for this essay.