At first glance, some might assume that Michael Harris’s The End of Absence and Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death share nothing in common based on the titles alone. The first clearly focuses on the individual response whereas the latter speaks of a collective plural. However, upon closer examination readers should discern that these two books share more similarities than differences. In some cases, one could even find the causal nature in which one book informs the other.
 In a well-written essay prove the author’s (or authors’) argument as correct or invalid. Remember, in order to accomplish this task, one must identify the original argument. Also, a well-written argumentative essay acknowledges the other side of the argument but then explains why that side is faulty. Finally, do not forget to use four valid peer-reviewed secondary sources. Students may not use the previous material read in class for this essay; those texts do not count towards the four peer-reviewed secondary sources This paper must include either of the books mentioned in the prompt as well as four more valid peer-reviewed secondary sources.
The paper should abide to the most current MLA standards. Although there is no page minimum, papers less than seven pages are most likely are too short. The essay will be graded in the following areas with the point value occurring in parentheses: 
 Focus: a clear thesis statement within a well-written introduction that threads through each paragraph and concluding paragraph (50). Development: elaborates the response with well-chosen examples and persuasive reasoning (70). Coherence/Organization: conforms to an organizational pattern that facilitates reader understanding, using organizational patterns to demonstrate the relatedness of ideas and to enhance the power of the argument (15). Style: a sophisticated style that reflects aptly chosen words and rhetorically effective sentence variety (15). Conventions of Standard Written English (10) MLA Citation Format: exhibits mastery of the conventions and MLA citation format as well as other elements of MLA format (10). So, the essay portion of the assignment is worth a grand total of one hundred and seventy points. Note: If the mechanics, usage, grammar, and/or syntax of the essay make the content of the essay incomprehensible, then this rubric cannot apply, and the essay cannot receive a passing grade. Also, if the essay does not respond to what the prompt is requesting, then this rubric cannot apply, and the essay cannot receive a passing grade.