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Stating a Position and Showing how it Relates to Other Viewpoints: A successful Public Literacy Essay will have a clear main point that is treated in a well organized manner. A well-supported response -- that is, one in which the main point is well developed -- will draw on a range of evidence, including personal experience, observation, and textual evidence from the articles you have read.

By "taking a position," we mean that we want you to clearly define your response to the question you are exploring. This will typically take the form of explaining why or how something occurs. Often, the text you draw on will give a contrasting response, rather than one that agrees completely with your position or that of the other authors that you use in your essay.

It is important that you recognize the contrasts between your position on the issue and those of the other authors you draw upon in your essay. This means that you'll want to think carefully about how you use textual evidence from your sources. To read more about working with sources, click on the links below:

viewRead more about Quoting from a Source viewRead more about Paraphrasing from a Source viewRead more about Summarizing from a Source

If you would like to read more about focusing your response, click on the link below:

viewRead more about Focus

If you would like to read more about supporting your response, click on the link below:

viewRead more about Development

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