ENGL 101 -- Essay 4 --
Writing an Argument
Wednesday, November 30, at the beginning of class. Bring
hardcopy to submit at the beginning of class. Also, by 5:00 P.M. on the same
day, send an email to submit@mccordmail.com with the essay attached as a Microsoft
Word document file or, if you prefer to use a different word processor, as a
Rich Text File (.rtf).
Peer Review
Peer review will be on
Monday, November 28. While the syllabus asks you to bring two typed copies to
class, you need bring only one copy. If you do not participate in peer review
for this assignment, the top score the paper can receive is 60, instead of the
normal 80.
For this assignment, you will use argument to change
someone’s mind.
First, review the chapter in our Reinking
about argumentative writing (pgs. 200-237). Then, write an argument in which
you try to change someone’s mind about the value of X. The X you choose should
be controversial or significantly problematic. By controversial or problematic,
I mean that people are likely to disagree with your evaluation of X, that they
are surprised at your evaluation, or that you are opposing the common or
expected view of X. By choosing a controversial or problematic X, you will be
able to focus on a clear issue.
Note that this assignment asks you to do something
quite different from a typical movie review, restaurant review, or product
review that might appear in a consumer magazine, for example. Many reviews are
simply informational or analytical; the writer’s purpose is to describe an
object or event under review and explain its strengths and weaknesses. In
contrast, your purpose here is
persuasive. You must change someone’s mind about the evaluation of X.
Furthermore, I am asking you to construct your argument
using your own thoughtful analysis and logical presentation. Please do not use
any external sources in this essay. Consider the information that appears below
under “Parameters” and recognize that, while people frequently write essays
such as this for newspapers, virtually no one writes an article like this for a
newspaper and then includes a bibiliography.
Parameters
Audience: Imagine that, by special arrangement, MSUM’s student
newspaper, The Advocate, has agreed
to publish a special issue that contains your essay. Due to the importance of
your topic, the editors have agreed to allow you to write an article that is
longer than normally appears in the newspaper so they have asked you to keep
the article to at least three full pages, but no more than four pages. However,
you will still want to make sure your writing is clear, coherent, correct, and
succinct -- the editors cannot afford any wasted space. Because of printing
deadlines, the editors will not have time to proofread your article so you should
do that carefully. You are, of course, writing for the audience that typically
reads The Advocate, though, because
of the importance of this issue, you can expect an even wider readership than
normal, including people in the F/M community and perhaps even state
legislators.