Are unpaid internships fair? An internship is a temporary position with a company or organization in which students or other inexperienced professionals work for free so they can gain experience and learn more about the industry. Is it fair that interns, the majority of whom are college students, do not get paid for this work? Should we continue the practice of unpaid internships? Why or why not?

Sources

Your essay must incorporate three of the articles listed below to help support your argument.

• “Unpaid Internships” (Issues & Controversies)
• “The Unpaid Intern, Legal or Not” by Steven Greenhouse (NYT)
• U.S. Dept. of Labor Wage and Hour Division Fact Sheet #71
• “Fox Unpaid Intern Case…” by Daniel Miller (LAT)
• “Unpaid Internships Unfairly Favor the Wealthy” by Liz Wessel (The Hill)
• “Why Unpaid Internships Make Sense” by Fergus Hodgson (AIER)

Please read all of the above articles so that you can learn more about the topic and the multiple perspectives surrounding this issue. Doing so will also allow you to pick the best and most relevant sources to cite in your essay. You may use more than three of the articles if you wish, but I do not recommend trying to weave all of them in your essay because it is not necessary and this is a brief paper.

I also do not recommend doing outside research and bringing in a bunch of outside sources, as this is not a lengthy research paper. If you must use limitedoutside research, to access the COC library databases (Links to an external site.), use your CanyonsID username, which is your email address (e.g. jdoe@my.canyons.edu). Your password is your WebAdvisor password. If you haven’t set up your Canyons ID or have trouble logging on to the library databases, click here for the Canyons ID help site (Links to an external site.).

How to Approach Your Argument

You must write a persuasive essay that directly answers the prompt. This means that your essay should take a contestable position, provide reasoning and evidence to support that position, and consider and address counterarguments and different perspectives. In other words, while you should certainly utilize the various persuasive strategies available to you (reason and evidence, appeals to emotion, and presenting yourself as a credible and informed writer), you should keep in mind that the best arguments don’t only present one side of a debate. Your opinion should be clear, but your essay should also demonstrate your ability to think critically about multiple perspectives and address counterarguments or potential objections to your position in a way that is effective yet fair.

How to Organize Your Essay

Recall from past English classes that your essay must have the following components:

• An introduction paragraph that compellingly introduces the topic at hand and ends in a thesis statement that directly answers the prompt and makes your position clear;
• A body paragraph for each distinct point you must prove to persuade your reader to agree with your thesis statement, each starting with a clear topic sentence that announces the point being made in that paragraph and including relevant textual evidence; and
• A conclusion paragraph that restates your thesis and leaves the reader with some insight on why this issue is important or worth writing about.

Your essay can have as many body paragraphs as you see fit. Please do not feel like you must force your sophisticated argument into the high school formula of a three-part thesis resulting in a five-paragraph essay.

How to Format Your Essay

Aim for at least four double-spaced pages. Your essay must be typed in MLA format, which means double-spaced with 1-inch margins in size 12 Times New Roman font. Since you are referencing texts, your essay should include in-text citations and a Works Cited in proper MLA format. Don’t forget your MLA heading, title, and pagination. The Works Cited does not count toward the page length.

Grading

This essay is worth 15% of your course grade and will be graded based on the following:

• The essay’s introduction appropriately and interestingly sets up the topic and ends in a clear thesis statement that directly answers the prompt and makes your position clear (2 pt).
• The essay demonstrates an understanding of the complex issue (including both positive and negative implications) (3 pts).
• The essay presents a persuasive argument, demonstrating the use of rhetorical strategies like authoritative evidence, logic or reason, appeals to emotion, building credibility as a writer, etc. (3 pts).
• The essay smoothly incorporates relevant textual evidence from three of the provided articles using proper quotation sandwiches (3 pts).
• The essay is organized logically with coherent paragraphs and smooth transitions (2 pts).
• In-text citations, Works Cited, and the document in general are in proper MLA format (1 pt).
• The essay is written in appropriate academic English with correct grammar, spelling, and mechanics (1 pt).

*Your essay must be submitted through Canvas or it will not receive a grade. Essays submitted through email will not be graded. Per the syllabus, one letter grade will be deducted each day your essay is late, so make special note of the deadline at the top of this page. You will not be able to submit anything more than three days late.