persuasive essay

ENG 101

DiOrio

Aug 25, 2014

Persuasive Essay:

Due: Monday, October 20, 2014

Length: 4-5 pages

Details: Researched Position

When people with differing experiences, values, and beliefs consider complex issues,

their opinions on these issues may also differ. In such cases, it is often important for

people to be able to articulate their perspective on the issue at hand, and perhaps even to

persuade others to agree with their position.

Overview: For this paper, you will argue in support of a position in which you attempt to persuade your audience to agree with your position. To complete this assignment you will need to:

1. choose an issue about which people hold differing opinions;

2. research the topic;

3. develop an informed position on the issue; and

4. compose an essay that makes a scholarly argument for your position.

Goals: The main goals for this assignment are for you to learn more about:

• writing in academic situations where you are asked to understand (e.g., to

comprehend, connect, explain, or interpret), to synthesize (e.g., to construct or

formulate), and to evaluate (e.g., to assess, critique, or judge);

• shaping and supporting a scholarly argument; and

• developing an informed perspective on a charged subject and its implications for

daily life.

Audience: Choose a specific audience that would benefit from reading your position

on this issue. This could be an audience that hasn’t yet taken a position, and/or an

audience that disagrees with your position. In either case, your paper should clarify why

it is important that the audience agree with you, as well as making rhetorical appeals to

persuade the audience to agree with you.

Procedures and Requirements: Complete the following steps:

1. Choose an issue for which you would like to argue a researched position. You

should select an issue that you are knowledgeable about, that lends itself to a variety of

perspectives and opinions, and that is narrow enough for you to write it about in some

depth.

2. Review the research you have done on the topic, supplementing it with more research

as needed to develop an informed position on your issue. Since you will need to

emphasize appeals to logos in your paper, choose sources that emphasize appeals to

logos. You should integrate a minimum of three scholarly sources into your paper, and

these sources should present varied perspectives on the issue.

3. Compose a formal essay that argues for your researched position on the issue. Support

your claims with appeals to logos: demonstrate that you have “done your homework”

(that is, your scholarly research), that you understand the subject and have considered

it with some complexity, and that you are able to respond to arguments opposing your

position on the issue.

Use MLA-style documentation. The final draft should be 3-4 double-spaced pages and

should meet the standards listed in the grading section below.

A quality researched position paper for ENG 101 will:

• Argue thoughtfully and skillfully for your researched position on a relevant and

debatable issue related to language variation.

• Emphasize appeals to logos by integrating scholarly research to support your

claims and by showing that you understand the subject and have considered it with

some complexity.

• Emphasize appeals to pathos by creating a common sense of identity, self-interest, and

emotions with your audience.

• Emphasize appeals to ethos by establishing credibility and authority through research and

writing style.

• Structure the paper in clear, cohesive manner that supports the purposes of the

paper and facilitate communication with the intended audience.

• Employ appropriate conventions of format, style, grammar, and usage to support the

purposes of the paper and facilitate communication with the intended audience.

• Exhibit a developed and accurate understanding of the principles addressed in

class, in the assigned readings and activities, and in my responses to your work.