This unit has been designed to cover the required elements in an interesting way. There is a good chance that you will end up running your own small business or be asked to give clients advice in running theirs. Use these templates and guides to get a fee

Project 4 Researched Argument English 110

8-10 pages. MLA documentation format

The right to be heard does not include the right to be taken seriously.

- Hubert Humphrey

To make an argument is fundamental to modern Americans: we argue about everything. We argue with our friends and families; we argue with our neighbors and those in the media. The arguments are sometimes friendly (the Chicago Cubs should never win the World Series) and sometimes heated (the Chicago Cubs should never win the World Series). We argue for fun and we argue with purpose.

In the professional and academic worlds, the ability to make good arguments is of paramount importance. We advance our jobs and we advance knowledge through our arguments. An accountant in a multi-billion dollar corporation will have to make an argument for the millions of dollars out of balance on annual fiscal reports. The small business person will have to make an argument to a loan officer about the financing of the business’ expansion. The teacher will have to make an argument for the beneficial effects of a new pedagogy. In academia the sociologist will have to make an argument for a new concept based on empirical data or the literature scholar an argument for a new interpretation of a John Donne poem.

Disciplines and professions all have their own ways of arguing: they inhabit different ethos positions, establish credibility in different ways, favor certain lines of argument, and provide different kinds of evidence. However, there are some things that are relatively common: credibility, appeal, and evidence. They are also bound by the rhetorical situation: a speaker/writer saying/writing a message to an audience in a given situation/context. Where in our personal lives we can make arguments based on little more than our own opinions with little to no evidence and in some cases little to no logic, in academia and the professions rhetors, to be taken seriously, must adhere to the aforementioned critical factors. Imagine the small business person approaching a loan officer for money to expand her business. When the loan officer asks why she should get the loan, the businesswoman replies with the fact that she has a gut feeling that the expansion will be good for her business. Or imagine the teacher who replies about the benefits of a new pedagogy with the fact that it seems exciting. These are arguments that don’t typically wash. Instead, imagine the businesswoman with market analysis and demographic information and the teacher with research studies. Claims and evidence.

The Researched Argument has you writing about a topic using ethical citizenship as the angle in an informed way. Here are some things you should consider as you begin this project:

Topic Selection: This is perhaps the most important aspect of writing well: finding something good to write about! You should think about choosing a timely issue that provides for interest in your readers (if you don’t have a specific audience in mind, think of your audience as other students who read Logos). While you can write about almost anything (witness the variety of topics in The Ethical Citizen), you should consider the ethical implications of the argument you’re making.

Scope: You want to be careful after choosing a general idea not to leave it too big. Think about your topic: does it seem like one could write a book or number of books on the topic. You’ll want to narrow down your topic to a workable, not overly general, size. The effects of social networking is too big; the networking and political revolution is too big; social networks for local political action is a little better, but not much. An argument that Twitter is dumb is not an academic, well-put claim; an argument that Twitter makes for superficial knowledge is better, but that’s a big topic that will need a lot of evidence, perhaps more than you have space for; that Twitter is superficial because it more or less only links to the popular press and niche blogs and therefore creates a space that only leads to confirmation biases is better. The order of the day is narrow, narrow, narrow.

Credibility: How do you establish your credibility? In this context you establish it by showing that you have command (good knowledge) of the issue. Using good sources is only one part of this. You must also be able to make logical claims and anticipate other, opposing positions; in effect, show that you know the conversation surrounding the issue. Credibility also has to do with how you express your ideas. You should present your argument using more or less correct grammar/mechanics and good organization of your ideas.

Academic Form: Academic arguments have in common that they include assertions, context, and evidence.

Remember! You are a writer making an argument to an audience in a given context.