SDE101 Argumentative Essay Jan 2025 : Essential English Skills and English Proficiency Assessment SUSS

Essay Question:

Even undergraduates can contribute to the scholarly conversation and provide solutions to issues in the contemporary world.

Applying the above idea, write an argumentative essay (between 700 and 800 words) that posits a current issue in your discipline. Specifically, you must: identify and problematise a contemporary Singaporean issue or gap that exists in the discipline, propose a solution as to how you can alleviate the implications as a budding practitioner, and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your solution.

Please review all the study units before attempting the assignment.

Step 1:

• Critically read, understand and examine the instructional verbs and content words in the above question. Jot down any ideas you have at this juncture.

Step 2:

• Every discipline has its pressing issues, limitations and gaps. Think about what they may be and jot down any ideas or thoughts worth arguing for.

Step 3:

With steps 1 and 2 completed, construct and draft an argumentative essay using prompts (a), (b) and (c) in the essay question. You must use the problem-solution order (see Unit 4) prescribed below. An argument is:

a carefully considered point of view supported by reasons and evidence, which can then be defended or refuted. An argument is more than just an opinion. What makes an academic argument special is that it is always supported by several pieces of evidence, which are then analysed to show how they strengthen and support the point of view (or thesis).’

Situation

Step 4:

Given that this assignment is an argumentative essay, you must cite and use at least two relevant academic sources from the SUSS Library, the National Library, or Google Scholar catalogues to support the thesis and argument. Preferred sources include academic journal articles and books found in the catalogues above. You may refer to the SUSS Library’s guide for further details.

Please ensure you have paraphrased all external ideas sufficiently and include in-text citations and a reference list in the APA 7 style. Further guidance can be found in this SUSS video.

You must respond to the essay question and address the three prompts by constructing an argument based on your real-world knowledge and supported by academic sources. For example, depending on your discipline, you may identify and problematise that:

• There is a need for better work-life balance and emotional support for school counsellors who may be experiencing burnout in Singapore or
• Singapore must diversify its food supply chain to remain nimble even during periods of uncertainty or
• A multimodal nationwide initiative must be implemented to prevent the elderly from falling prey to scams or
• any relevant issue or gap relating to your area of study

Following the above, you must propose probable solution(s). Please avoid vague and generic statements; you must explain how you can contribute to alleviating the implications as a budding practitioner in your discipline. And please critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the solution(s) provided.

In writing your prose essay, you must have:

• A succinct title
• a worded thesis statement in the introduction
• Strong academic evidence and analysis in the body
• A congruent summary in the conclusion

Step 5:

You must allocate sufficient time for editing your essay. Apply the relevant concepts from the study units to edit your essay thoroughly. Please ensure:

• All paragraphs are fully developed
• Words are spelt correctly
• punctuations are applied appropriately
• no contractions (see Unit 6) are used

As a reminder, your prose essay must be:

• between 700 and 800 words
• in the appropriate academic tone
• with in-text citations and a reference list in the APA 7 style
• using the problem-solution order
• including at least two external academic sources

All in all, you must write an original argumentative essay to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the topic and the conventions of academic English.