I am canceling the final exam and giving everyone a pass on it, free points. Focus on finishing and correcting final drafts of your papers and turning group projects.
If you want to reduce the basic structure to creating an argument, you could reduce it to this structure:
Topic Sentence
Statement / Claim
Evidence / Example
(Citation of Evidence, whether summarized or quoted)
Explanation / Transition
From this basic structure you can set up, integrate research information, and explain it, connecting it back to your thesis statement.
I did an example here, color coded to match structure above:
This process allows you to BUILD around information you are using to support your thesis (argument) while making sure it is crystal clear to your audience and at the same time extending the length of your paper.
I have below here a grouping of beginning arguments done by former students. They are not perfect but they can allow you some window/insight into the process.
COMPOSITION 2 