Order 1332400: Aphantasia

Assignment 4: Adding Your Voice to the Conversation Overview: Now that you have thoroughly researched an issue looking at multiple perspectives and stakeholders, you are ready to write an academic argument for one of the specific stakeholders. The argument you write for this assignment will be academic in that it is a research-based, source-based argument. You may use the sources you already found, but you should continue to find new sources to support your argument and represent the conversation on the issue. Furthermore, your argument should add something unique or new to the conversation and not just repeat someone else's argument. Purpose: The purpose for this assignment will depend on your intended audience. It will most likely fall into one of the following general categories (remember—how far do you expect them to cross the street for you?): To convince undecided readers to accept your thesis To make opposing readers less resistant to your thesis To convince readers who agree with you to take action To promote awareness of an issue within an audience you believe needs to consider it more Audience: You’ll need to consider these readers' expectations as you write your argument—from tone and language, to reasoning and supporting evidence, to the format/genre and execution of your writing. The audience for this argument has two levels to it. First, your stakeholder, which will vary from writer to writer. Second, your academic audience. This second especially will expect a clear, logical argument that remains focused on proving a thesis. These readers, being in some way connected to the academic community, expect that an argument is well-researched and that the argument is supported with reasons and evidence. They want to see that you are familiar with the conversation on the issue and how your argument contributes to that conversation. In addition, such readers require full citations for all sources you use. Your audience also expects your writing to be free from errors. Issue & Sources: Write your argument about the issue you just investigated. You may use the sources from your annotated bibliography, but you should continue to find sources to fit the rhetorical situation (which will change as you make rhetorical choices about purpose and audience specific to this assignment). You should include a minimum of five relevant/reliable/recent sources, and you might consider making at least one of these an instance of field research: an interview that you conduct with a relevant and authoritative expert here on campus, in Fort Collins, or in a surrounding community. Author: Present yourself as a knowledgeable, fair-minded, credible and, as appropriate, empathetic person. You do not need to be an expert on your issue to write an argument, but you do need to have confidence in what you do know and believe about it. Show that you approach the issue with enthusiasm, intellectual curiosity, and an open mind. Details: Format: This class is meant to help prepare you for college writing, but also writing you might do outside of and beyond college. So even though you may be writing in a genre that does not use MLA conventions, your paper should be formatted according to MLA conventions. This includes MLA-style heading and page numbers, parenthetical citations within your paper for all sources used (quotes, paraphrases, facts, ideas, etc.) and a Works Cited page at the end of your paper (see Pocket Keys for Writers). Length: minimum 5 full pages text, double spaced, standard margins & font (not including Works Cited or significant header), maximum 7 pages. I care about quality, not quantity for this assignment, and shorting the paper is not a good idea. Worth: 25% of your course grade A4 Rubric – Ideal goals LOGOS The argument is clear The thesis is specific and debatable; it can be argued in the scope of 5-7 pages The reasoning behind the argument is thoughtful and logical, and avoids hasty generalizations, false dichotomies, or other common “logical fallacies” The writer provides significant evidence from research to introduce, illustrate, and/or support the argument and reasoning The evidence is relevant and the interpretation of the evidence logically supports the case being made ETHOS The writer/arguer comes across as knowledgeable, reasoned, and reliable, and generally uses correct grammar, spelling, and MLA conventions The writer has used reliable sources The writer has successfully conveyed credibility of their sources to the reader The writer has thoughtfully addressed/refuted a credible opposing argument, which is also represented by a credible source AUDIENCE The argument and paper are geared toward a target audience, probably a major or minor stakeholder in the issue The writer, whether or not they explicitly state the values, has clearly taken audience values, needs, experiences and concerns into consideration The writing attempts to address these values, etc., in language/vocabulary, reasoning, and evidence The piece generally conforms to necessary genre conventions (of its chosen genre: open letter, magazine article for Time or other publication, etc.)