My writing assignment: For this assignment, you will build off the same topic used in the Writing Project 3. Your purpose is to take a position on the issue or problem you synthesized in Writing Project 3 and to make a case for a claim about the topic/problem that will influence a reasonably skeptical audience. Because you have worked towards developing a clear understanding of the scope of the problem or issue in Writing Project 3, you are now in a position to take an informed position on the issue and to argue, for example, for a specific definition of key terms, a specific evaluation of a proposal, a specific analysis of the causes of the problem, or a specific solution to the problem. Your claim must be supportable with observable, measurable, and replicable evidence. Avoid claims that are derived from moral or personal values, or which are simple claims of one person’s or group’s sense of right and wrong, or which are based solely or primarily on emotional appeals (review Chapter 10 for more on types of argumentative appeals).
Claims are established as one or more of the four types of claims discussed in Chapter 10.
An effective argument appeals to logic and reason (logos), appeals to how readers and the writer feel about an issue (pathos), and seeks to project that the writer’s argument is fair, just, and honest for all the stakeholders (ethos) (review the section on “Rhetorical Appeals to the Audience” in Chapter 4 for more on these types of appeals).
Your draft must also include a fair and balanced discussion of at least one major counter-argument to your claim—respectfully and accurately summarizing the opposing viewpoint. Be sure your paper includes a clear, fair, and respectful refutation for this counter-argument.
Your claim about a solution to a problem or a position on a topic is your argument. However, it does little good to propose a solution to or an analysis of a situation that your readers are not convinced has anything to do with them. So, do the audience analysis before undertaking your first draft. Your purpose is to influence your readers, not just tell them what you think is right. To do that you need to think about what those readers are like, what motivates and interests them, and why they should care about what you have to say on this topic. Your audience may not agree with you in the end, but they should accept that your position is valid, well-supported, and capable of being held by a rational and credible person.
Claims are established as one or more of the four types of claims discussed in Chapter 10.
An effective argument appeals to logic and reason (logos), appeals to how readers and the writer feel about an issue (pathos), and seeks to project that the writer’s argument is fair, just, and honest for all the stakeholders (ethos) (review the section on “Rhetorical Appeals to the Audience” in Chapter 4 for more on these types of appeals).
Your draft must also include a fair and balanced discussion of at least one major counter-argument to your claim—respectfully and accurately summarizing the opposing viewpoint. Be sure your paper includes a clear, fair, and respectful refutation for this counter-argument.
Your claim about a solution to a problem or a position on a topic is your argument. However, it does little good to propose a solution to or an analysis of a situation that your readers are not convinced has anything to do with them. So, do the audience analysis before undertaking your first draft. Your purpose is to influence your readers, not just tell them what you think is right. To do that you need to think about what those readers are like, what motivates and interests them, and why they should care about what you have to say on this topic. Your audience may not agree with you in the end, but they should accept that your position is valid, well-supported, and capable of being held by a rational and credible person.
Sorry for that long introduction. If I'm asking for help, it helps if you know what I will need. In my previous paper, I wrote about e-cigarettes and the debate that was going on behind them (different views, how people dislike them, why the dislike them, why you do like them, etc). It was a synthesis paper, so it showed both sides of the spectrum and also talked a little bit about regulation. Now it's my turn to present my case with evidence and solutions to problems surrounding e-cigarettes. It's the last paper of the semester and worth a decent amount of points. I'm not by any means asking you to write my paper - I have a pretty good start with a massive amount of research papers and information surrounding my writing area- but I was just curious what approach would you take if you were writing an argument paper about e-cigarettes? What would you be thinking about if you were a skeptic and what would you want the writer to address? Moreover though, what do you think that an argument paper on e-cigarettes needs to be compelling?
I thank you for taking time to read this and give some input. I think addressing issues such as this is excellent to do while in college - what a great way to get the word out!
Edit:I've found some good information on our school's EBSCOhost database and that alone is a great amount of information. I am just looking for different opinions and views and even maybe solutions to add for a scholarly paper.
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