English and Literature MLA

argumentative essay

Read Jessica Mitfords Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain on Blackboard. Once you have finished reading the essay, write an argumentative essay of your own that addresses the following questions:

Why does Mitford object to the tradition of viewing the body after death?
What do you make of Mitfords choice of words? How does her tone of voice and style of writing affect her argument against embalming?
Why does Mitford rely so heavily on quotations? Does the evidence she presents strengthen or weaken her argument?
Does Mitford acknowledge opinions that differ from her own? Is her treatment of these other opinions fair?
Remember that your job is to evaluate the effectiveness of Mitfords argument, not to discuss the ethics of embalming itself. For the purposes of this essay, your own personal beliefs about embalming are irrelevant. Also, do not simply answer the questions above in list format; use the questions, instead, to develop a coherent argument of your own.

While writing your essay, please keep in mind that this is not a research paper and that you should not use any secondary sources.

Your essay should

Make an argument and not just summarize;
Support its argument with effectively chosen textual evidence;
Identify and discuss the texts larger concerns;
Be organized logically;
Not include any stylistic or grammatical errors, and
Be formatted correctly in MLA style.