Inventing Arguments Essay
Description:
A slightly longer paper (approximately 5 – 6 pages) where students will choose a specific product, program, practice, policy, or service currently being debated (such as energy drinks, universal healthcare, the use of Wikipedia as an academic source, employers checking the Facebook profiles of employees, etc.), interrogate the common perceptions surrounding their topic, and argue for a particular position in order to persuade others. Students will be required to address the possible counterarguments of their chosen issue and must utilize outside research. Students also have the option to compose a video essay for this assignment. Final Draft: 10% of Final Grade (100 pts).
The Written/Essay Option (approximately 5 – 6 pages):
We have examined how advertisers, poets, speech writers, movie directors, political cartoonists, etc. have utilized certain aspects of the rhetorical triangle (ethos, logos, and pathos), the use of language/symbols, and larger cultural contexts to make arguments for various purposes (whether it be to sell a product, change public opinion on a certain social issue, or simply to entertain an audience). Now, it’s your turn. For this assignment, you will select a topic of your choice and present an argument or series of arguments that will attempt to persuade a reader to change their attitudes, opinions, and (perhaps) beliefs about said topic (or, at the very least, get the reader to consider your side of the argument). You can set-up this assignment in any one of the following ways:
· As a traditional, thesis-driven essay.
· As a traditional argumentative piece, in which you state a problem, bring up what your opponents think should be done, take apart those plans, and state your own solution.
· As a letter to the editor – take a look at some of the better letters to the editors in our school newspaper, The Star Press, The Indianapolis Star, and The New York Times.
· As a dialogue between you and someone who does not agree with you.
Although you have some freedom with the format this assignment will take, the assignment needs to be grounded in research. You will need to use a minimum of 3 outside sources for this assignment (only 1 source can be online). This means you should consider scholarly, peer-reviewed journals, books, magazines, documentaries, etc. as possible sources. We will have one library day on November 10th to help with some aspects of your research, but I strongly encourage you to begin looking before then. Some other things to consider when working on this assignment:
· Who is your intended audience? (You need to specific about this point – are you trying to persuade non-smoking college students to reconsider BSU’s smoking ban, persuade federal politicians who approve of universal healthcare to change their position, persuade adolescence who have experimented with drugs or alcohol to refrain from such behaviors, etc?)
· What is the primary way you will appeal to your audience? Will you use draw upon the testimony of experts (ethos)? Will you try to get an audience to “feel” a certain way (pathos)? Will you utilize various types of evidence from very different sources to present your argument(s) (logos)?
· What are the counterarguments (i.e. viewpoints other than your own) regarding your chosen topic? How will you address those counterarguments and refute/disprove them?
The Video Option with Written Component (minimum 2 ½ to 3 minute video and a 2 – 3 page paper):
Similar to the visual component for you Visual Narrative Essay, the video option for this assignment should be comprised of both visuals and words and it can take one of the following forms:
· A film or animated short
· A series of television commercials for a made-up product
· A series of political/social issue advertisements
· A segment from a news broadcast
· A scene from a make-believe reality show
· Another other creative way that appeals to you (with my approval)
As with the “Written/Essay Option,” the video should center on a specific topic of your choice and present an argument to persuade the viewer to change their attitudes, opinions, beliefs, perceptions etc. in some way. You still must utilize 3 outside sources somewhere in the video and consider questions pertaining to audience, the use of the rhetorical appeals, counterarguments, etc (see above).
The written component is essentially an analysis (similar to the assignment you just completed), but of your own work. Why did you choose the format (i.e. commercial, news broadcast, etc.) that you did? Who was your intended audience (why this audience and not another)? What emotional response were you trying to get out of the viewer (fear, humor, guilt, etc.) and why do you feel that particular response is the most effective in persuading people? How did you utilize camera angles, lighting, music, the balance of text and moving images, etc. to help contribute to the emotional response of the audience? How did you arrange the piece and why did you arrange it that way? How did you address the larger cultural contexts surrounding your topic? Why do you feel this topic is even important in the first place?
MLA Formatting:
The “Written/Essay Option” and the “Written Component” for the video option should be in MLA Format:
· Typed, double-spaced, legible 11 or 12 point font (such as Arial, Garamond, Times New Roman, etc), and have 1” margins all the way around the page.
· There needs to be a proper heading in the top-left hand corner of the first page (Student’s Name, Instructor’s Name, Class and Section Number, and Date).
· Last name and page number should be in the top right-hand corner of every page.
· You should have a creative title for the essay, not just “Rhetorical Analysis Essay” or “Paper 2.”
· Proper in-text citation (Author’s Name pg. #) or (“Website Title” par. #) and a properly formatted works cited page.
Due Dates:
First Draft: November 3, 2009
Final Draft: November 17, 2009
Description:
A slightly longer paper (approximately 5 – 6 pages) where students will choose a specific product, program, practice, policy, or service currently being debated (such as energy drinks, universal healthcare, the use of Wikipedia as an academic source, employers checking the Facebook profiles of employees, etc.), interrogate the common perceptions surrounding their topic, and argue for a particular position in order to persuade others. Students will be required to address the possible counterarguments of their chosen issue and must utilize outside research. Students also have the option to compose a video essay for this assignment. Final Draft: 10% of Final Grade (100 pts).
The Written/Essay Option (approximately 5 – 6 pages):
We have examined how advertisers, poets, speech writers, movie directors, political cartoonists, etc. have utilized certain aspects of the rhetorical triangle (ethos, logos, and pathos), the use of language/symbols, and larger cultural contexts to make arguments for various purposes (whether it be to sell a product, change public opinion on a certain social issue, or simply to entertain an audience). Now, it’s your turn. For this assignment, you will select a topic of your choice and present an argument or series of arguments that will attempt to persuade a reader to change their attitudes, opinions, and (perhaps) beliefs about said topic (or, at the very least, get the reader to consider your side of the argument). You can set-up this assignment in any one of the following ways:
· As a traditional, thesis-driven essay.
· As a traditional argumentative piece, in which you state a problem, bring up what your opponents think should be done, take apart those plans, and state your own solution.
· As a letter to the editor – take a look at some of the better letters to the editors in our school newspaper, The Star Press, The Indianapolis Star, and The New York Times.
· As a dialogue between you and someone who does not agree with you.
Although you have some freedom with the format this assignment will take, the assignment needs to be grounded in research. You will need to use a minimum of 3 outside sources for this assignment (only 1 source can be online). This means you should consider scholarly, peer-reviewed journals, books, magazines, documentaries, etc. as possible sources. We will have one library day on November 10th to help with some aspects of your research, but I strongly encourage you to begin looking before then. Some other things to consider when working on this assignment:
· Who is your intended audience? (You need to specific about this point – are you trying to persuade non-smoking college students to reconsider BSU’s smoking ban, persuade federal politicians who approve of universal healthcare to change their position, persuade adolescence who have experimented with drugs or alcohol to refrain from such behaviors, etc?)
· What is the primary way you will appeal to your audience? Will you use draw upon the testimony of experts (ethos)? Will you try to get an audience to “feel” a certain way (pathos)? Will you utilize various types of evidence from very different sources to present your argument(s) (logos)?
· What are the counterarguments (i.e. viewpoints other than your own) regarding your chosen topic? How will you address those counterarguments and refute/disprove them?
The Video Option with Written Component (minimum 2 ½ to 3 minute video and a 2 – 3 page paper):
Similar to the visual component for you Visual Narrative Essay, the video option for this assignment should be comprised of both visuals and words and it can take one of the following forms:
· A film or animated short
· A series of television commercials for a made-up product
· A series of political/social issue advertisements
· A segment from a news broadcast
· A scene from a make-believe reality show
· Another other creative way that appeals to you (with my approval)
As with the “Written/Essay Option,” the video should center on a specific topic of your choice and present an argument to persuade the viewer to change their attitudes, opinions, beliefs, perceptions etc. in some way. You still must utilize 3 outside sources somewhere in the video and consider questions pertaining to audience, the use of the rhetorical appeals, counterarguments, etc (see above).
The written component is essentially an analysis (similar to the assignment you just completed), but of your own work. Why did you choose the format (i.e. commercial, news broadcast, etc.) that you did? Who was your intended audience (why this audience and not another)? What emotional response were you trying to get out of the viewer (fear, humor, guilt, etc.) and why do you feel that particular response is the most effective in persuading people? How did you utilize camera angles, lighting, music, the balance of text and moving images, etc. to help contribute to the emotional response of the audience? How did you arrange the piece and why did you arrange it that way? How did you address the larger cultural contexts surrounding your topic? Why do you feel this topic is even important in the first place?
MLA Formatting:
The “Written/Essay Option” and the “Written Component” for the video option should be in MLA Format:
· Typed, double-spaced, legible 11 or 12 point font (such as Arial, Garamond, Times New Roman, etc), and have 1” margins all the way around the page.
· There needs to be a proper heading in the top-left hand corner of the first page (Student’s Name, Instructor’s Name, Class and Section Number, and Date).
· Last name and page number should be in the top right-hand corner of every page.
· You should have a creative title for the essay, not just “Rhetorical Analysis Essay” or “Paper 2.”
· Proper in-text citation (Author’s Name pg. #) or (“Website Title” par. #) and a properly formatted works cited page.
Due Dates:
First Draft: November 3, 2009
Final Draft: November 17, 2009