Ba330

Persuasive Argument – Final Report • Done with a team of up to four colleagues – each member must be identified on the

report

• Due: December 7, 2020.

• Double-spaced

• Eight to 10 pages

Scenario

The Board of Directors of your Fortune 500 company has been advised by two influential board members requesting funding changes through our foundation for higher education scholarships. One member is for giving more money, and the other is against giving any money for scholarships in higher education. One member believes that the more money spent on education, the more productivity will ultimately benefit the company through better thinking. That there is a return on investment. The other board member says education is too progressive and will not promote better critical thinking, therefore little or no return on our investment. Spending any, or yet along with more money, is a waste of resources. It is up to the Chairwoman now! Your Chairwoman is dismayed because she does not have enough information to make an informed recommendation to the Board. Your job is to provide the Chairwoman with arguments for or against funding higher education with the company foundation money for scholarships. This assignment filtered down to you because your boss is a lecturer and faculty member at the University of Michigan. He got the mandate to investigate and respond to the Board within 30 days. He has given the assignment of producing persuasive arguments for or against funding to you and your colleagues. It is down to you to make the argument. There is one question but subsets of the fundamental question:

1. Should the company, through the charitable foundation, give money to higher education scholarships? Or should the company cut off all higher education funding?

a. Will productivity and better thinking lead to better outcomes for the company? Hint: What makes you think or believe the way you do?

b. Should we give our money to more progressive or conservative forms of education? Which is best, and why? Hint: What makes you think or believe the way you do?

c. What is your specific recommendations and conclusion?

Sources the board members who suggest changes have read the following articles informing them about the question.

• Our Educational System Makes US Land of Useful Idiots https://www.theepochtimes.com/our-educational-system-makes-us-land-of-useful-

idiots_3423402.html

• God, Parents and the '1619 Project' Religious Americans should reject the idea that slavery is what defines the nation. https://www.wsj.com/articles/god-parents-and-the-1619-project-

11599759170?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=11

• Rising Education Levels Provide Diminishing Economic Boost Share of workers with college degrees has kept growing, but productivity gains have been tepid https://www.wsj.com/articles/rising-education-levels-provide-diminishing-economic- boost-11599400800?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=10

• Bad Teaching Is Tearing America Apart Education's dumbing down frays the bonds of citizenship and is hardest on the poor, says E.D. Hirsch, the man who wrote the book on cultural literacy. https://www.wsj.com/articles/bad-teaching-is-tearing-america-apart- 11599857351?mod=searchresults&page=2&pos=20

• Illiberal Education: The Politics of Race and Sex on Campus https://www.theatlantic.com/ideastour/education/dsouza-excerpt.html

• Closing of the American Mind https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/allan-blooms-guide-to-college

• The Coddling of the American Mind https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/the-coddling-of-the-american- mind/399356/

NOTE: If the links require a subscription or sign on, GO TO THE LIBRARY AND LOOK UP THE SOURCES

W R I T I N G P E R S U A S I V E E S S A Y S A N D R E P O R T S Structure and organization are integral components of an effective persuasive essay. No matter how intelligent the ideas, a paper lacking a strong introduction, well-organized body paragraphs, and an insightful conclusion is not a persuasive paper. THE INTRODUCTION Simply enough, the introductory paragraph introduces the argument of your paper. A well- constructed introductory paragraph immediately captures a reader's interest and gives appropriate background information about the paper's topic. Such a paragraph might include a summary of the ideas discussed in the document's body and other information relevant to your paper's argument. However, the introductory paragraph's most essential function is to present a clear statement of the paper's argument. This sentence is your paper's thesis. Without a thesis, you cannot deliver a compelling argument. The thesis sentence should reflect both the position you will argue and the organizational pattern you will present and support your argument. A useful way to think about the construction of a thesis sentence is to view it in terms of stating both the "what" and the "how" of the paper's argument. The "what" is simply the primary argument in your paper: what exactly are you arguing? The "how" is the strategy you will use to present this argument. The following are helpful questions for you to consider when formulating a thesis sentence:

• What is the argument that I am trying to convince the reader to accept? • How exactly do I expect to convince the reader that this argument is sound?

Once you have answered these questions, the next step is to synthesize these answers into a single thesis sentence, or, if necessary, two thesis sentences. For example, you want to convince your reader that the industry forces did not shape American business policy. You plan to do this by showing that other factors were much more influential in shaping American business policy. Both elements can be synthesized into a thesis sentence:

Fear of foreign influence in the Western hemisphere, national pride, and contemporary popular ideas concerning both expansion and foreign peoples had significantly more influence on American foreign policy than did the voices of industrialists.

This sentence shows the position you will argue and sets up your paper's body's organizational pattern. THE BODY The body of your paper contains the actual development of your paper's argument. Each body paragraph presents a single idea or set of related ideas supporting your paper's argument. Each body paragraph addresses one key aspect of your paper's thesis and brings the reader closer to accepting your paper's argument's validity. Because each body paragraph should be a step in your argument, you should be mindful of your body paragraphs' overall organization. The first step in writing a persuasive body paragraph is constructing the first sentence of this paragraph, the topic sentence. Just as the thesis sentence holds together your essay, the topic

sentence is the glue binding to each body paragraph. A body paragraph's topic sentence serves two primary purposes: introducing the paragraph's content and introducing your argument's next step. It is essential to keep in mind that the topic sentence aims to advance your paper's opinion, not just to describe the paragraph's content. The first part of your thesis on page two states that fear of foreign influence in the Western Hemisphere impacted American foreign policy more than did industry. Thus, you need to elaborate on this point in your body paragraphs. A significant topic sentence for one of these paragraphs could be:

American fear of foreign influence was a critical factor in the United States' actions in the Spanish-American War. Subsequent body paragraphs might offer further evidence for the idea presented in this body paragraph.

An excellent way to test your topic sentences' strength and your argument is to construct an outline of your paper using only your paper's thesis statement and topic sentences. This outline should be a logical overview of your paper's argument; all your paper's topic sentences should work together to support your thesis statement.

THE RECOMMENDATIONS & CONCLUSION Your paper's concluding paragraph's primary purpose is to restate the paper's argument and restate how you have supported this argument in the paper's body. However, your conclusion should not merely be a copy of your introduction. The conclusion draws together the paper's argument's threads and shows where your paper's argument has gone. An effective conclusion gives the reader reasons for bothering to read your report. One of the essential functions of this paragraph is to bring in fresh insight. Some possible questions to consider when writing your conclusion are:

• What are some real-world applications of this paper's argument?

• Why is what I am writing about important? • What are some of the questions that this paper's argument raises? • What are the implications of this paper's argument?

While the organization and structure described in this handout are necessary components of an effective persuasive essay, keep in mind that writing itself is a fluid process. There are no steadfast rules that you need to adhere to as you write. Simply because the introduction is the first paragraph in your essay does not mean that you must write this paragraph before any other. Think of the act of writing as an exploration of ideas and let this sense of exploration guide you as you write your essay. Organization Continued… Introduction • Hook – interesting first sentence • Background information – give context to your argument/subject; familiarize the reader with the content • Definitions – define any terms that the reader might find usual/unfamiliar • Thesis – a clear, concise statement of your main argument; the overall idea you'll be arguing. Your thesis will also serve as a roadmap for the rest of your essay, giving the reader a general idea of the path, your argument will follow. Each Body Paragraph • Only one point to support your thesis per paragraph • Topic sentence • reflects the main idea of the paragraph • links back to support the thesis • Evidence – information from a reliable outside source (not your own opinion) that supports the main idea of the paragraph • Analysis – show how your evidence supports your argument; build your argument

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Recommendations and Conclusions • Tie up the essay – briefly sum up the main point • Establish significance (see "So What?" handout) • Bonus: give the reader food for thought

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