Assignment Paper

Your assessed writing task is a 5 or 6 paragraph essay of approximately 800 words (but no fewer than 600 words). In this essay you should put forward and support a position or point of view on the topic of beauty.
You should:
• Put forward a thesis (i.e. a position or point of view);
• Present a series of arguments to convince your reader of your position;
• Support your arguments with appropriate evidence; and
• Conclude in a way that sums up and reinforces your thesis.
You should make appropriate APA style in-text citations (a summary or a paraphrase, not a quotation) to support the development of your ideas. You must list all sources in a reference list at the end of your essay (in APA style).

General question: Do people need beauty?
Follow-up questions: All people? /Some people more than others? Need to be beautiful? /Need beauty around them in their lives? Why? /Why not?
Possible thesis statement: While being beautiful does seem to give some people an advantage, having beautiful things around them seems to be more important to more people, and there is a correlation between this and happiness. *You cannot use this thesis statement in your essay.
You should develop a unique and impressive thesis in order to obtain a higher mark.

Descriptors
Content:
Your essay is convincing, insightful and interesting.
• The opening engages the reader and the ending is powerful.
• Your arguments demonstrate a clear and full understanding of the issues and associated factors, suggesting that you have done wide reading on the topic.
• All your arguments are relevantly and substantially developed.
• At least one counter-argument is presented, and convincingly refuted.
• All citations are very well chosen to support a point, very well paraphrased, and very effectively integrated into the paragraph.

Organisation:
The organisation of your essay is skilfully managed.
• The introduction and conclusion are well-structured and very helpful.
• The argument laid out in the body paragraphs is balanced (considers different perspectives and comes to a reasonable conclusion based on those perspectives) and logical (clearly and consistently reasoned).
• All aspects of cohesion are managed very well, so that your writing flows very smoothly and fluently.

Vocabulary:
Your use of vocabulary is very good.

• You use a wide range of vocabulary appropriately and with some precision. This range includes idiomatic and academic vocabulary.
• You have only made a couple of minor errors or ‘slips’.

Grammar:
Your use of structures is very good.

• You have accurately used a wide range of grammatical structures.
• You use an academic style.
• You have only made a couple of minor errors or ‘slips’.