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Definition, Evaluation, and Proposal Arguments:
Changing the World with Rhetoric
Agenda:
- Project One revisited.
- Project Two housekeeping.
- SHIFTING GEARS: APPLYING RHETORICAL TECHNIQUES
PROJECT TWO HOUSEKEEPING:
- Some comments have been posted to your roster pages (the rest will be posted this afternoon).
- Common problems:
- Thesis - without a thesis, papers were not successful.
- Paragraph organization:
- topic sentences and single ideas
- AUDIENCE:
- Audience is an IMPORTANT PART of Project Two (see the Project Two Rubric), almost EVERY PAPER should EXPAND the analysis of AUDIENCE.
- This can be done in a variety of ways, but one effective strategy would be to introduce audience when you give the CONTEXT of the speech/essay/text. Then elaborate on that with ALL your points (perhaps audience gets a sentence in every paragraph).
- Rhetorical Analysis:
- FOCUSING on the way RHETORICAL STRATEGIES WORK in the text
- SUPPORT:
- Citing support (referencing paraphrased sources)
- Choosing good evidence
- ANALYZING evidence (analyzing RHETORIC and significance illustrated by evidence)
PROJECT TWO:
Project Two Rubric
- Notice the DRAMATIC CHANGE in point values (same criteria, DIFFERENT IMPORTANCE).
- AUDIENCE, RHETORICAL ANALYSIS and SUPPORT are MOST IMPORTANT in this project.
If you are having trouble GO TO THE WRITING CENTER and talk to a tutor about your paper.
Assignment Description
Many of the issues we face within and between communities is based on three basic types of arguments - definition, evaluation, and proposal:
- A definition argument makes a claim about the fundamental nature of something, defining a word, term, issue, or idea based on specific criteria.
- An evaluation argument makes a claim about the quality of something - whether it is good, bad, effective or ineffective, etc.
- A proposal argument forwards a specific course of action or set of actions that will benefit the community as a whole or work to resolve an important social issue.
For these assignments you will select one artifact, idea, problem, or issue that has arisen from your community research and analyses and write an evaluation, definition, and proposal argument that deals substantively with this specific issue.
Project Three: Definition Argument
This paper allows you to focus on an argument type which commonly arises before we can argue about what should be done to address an issue: “What is the nature or definition of something?” In other words, many of the hot-button issues we argue about in today's culture arise from disagreements about fundamental definitions of concepts like "marriage," "living wage," or "socialism." Thus, people often argue about these definitions as a way of talking about bigger, policy issues. These differences in definition are especially prevalent both within community groups and between competing community groups. For example, the current controversy about the Muslim community center in New York is, in reality, a disagreement over the definition of religious freedom. In this assignment you will identify one of these definitional issues and work towards a clear definition argument.
Invention
The need for definition arises when people have diverging ideas about what a term means or an audience has difficulty understanding a concept. The purpose of this assignment is to define something—a condition or a concept you know well or have researched—either to change an audience’s thinking about its meaning or to help them understand it better. You will need to have some purpose for arguing this definition, and you will need to direct your writing to some audience whose thinking you want to influence. In other words, though our first project focused on the default audience of your classmates, this project demands that you formulate what "real" audience you will be writing for and where you might "send" or submit this piece when it is completed.
Some questions to answer while composing this argument are:
Why is this term or idea contested?
What are the different, competing defnitions?
Who holds these positions and why?
What is at stake in these arguments over definition?
What is the context of these arguments?
Who is the audience for the argument?
What types of evidence do both sides use argue for their definition?
What is your position on the issue?
Which definition do you find the most convincing and credible and why?
Composition
Remember your credibility is important here, as it is in all arguments. Take care to present yourself as someone who is reasonably well-informed about the issue you’ll discuss. If you have any established ethos with the audience, be sure to draw on that. This also means that you will have to engage in some background research on the topic you are defining. In order to find out who the players are and how the arguments about the definition are made, you will need to read arguments on both sides of the issue and decide for yourself what you find the most convincing. This research will then become useful as you try to back up your argument about a definition. As such, for this project you will be expected to reference a minimum of 2 sources in MLA style, one of which can be an internet source (that is not Wikipedia). Effective papers will both introduce the context of the controversy and then convincingly and credibly work to define a term or idea from your perspective.
Student Examples
Project Four: Evaluation & Proposal Argument
In this final essay you will 1) identify a problem, 2) evaluate the possible responses to this problem, and 3) advocate (propose) a specific response to this problem.
Invention
This section of the paper should focus on developing the first, evaluative part of your thesis statement (whether the policy is good, bad, etc). In essence, your evaluation will make a claim about either the nature or the quality of something. The bulk of this short paper should then be made up of an evaluation based on specific criteria that determine why the policy/issue is good or bad. As such, exploring what others have said or are saying about the topic—testimony and authority—will improve your credibility and the effectiveness of your evaluation.
Then you need to propose a solution to the issue you have evaluated (A SOLUTION THAT IS BASED ON YOUR EVALUATION). This proposal should be directed at a VERY SPECIFIC audience. Your rhetorical strategies, style, tone, and media should all be made in consideration of that audience.
Composition
As always, this essay is thesis driven, work to develop a clear, concise thesis that lets the audience know whether the policy in question is good, bad, effective, ineffective, etc and articulates clear criteria for that evaluation. You should then focus on providing evidence for why the policy or idea under evaluation does (or does not) meet these specific criteria. Because you will need to understand what others have already written about this topic and use outside information to back up your own evaluation and proposal, 4 sources are required for this paper.
Student Examples
Due Dates:
- Project Three: In this short essay you will compose an engaging introduction paragraph that leads your reader into a clearly articulated thesis that gives a definition based on specific criteria. You will then give your audience some background information on the context of the term or idea you are defining - why is this term contested or interesting? Why does it need clear definition?
- This essay should be 4-6 pages long.
- Rough Draft 1 (due 3/7)
- Rough Draft 2 (due 3/12)
- FINAL PAPER (due 3/30)
- Project Four: In this short essay you will make an evaluation argument based on match criteria AND propose a solution/action in response to the evaluation.
- This short essay should be 6-8 pages long.
- Rough Draft (due 4/9)
- Rough Draft 2 (due 4/16)
- FINAL PAPER (due 4/23)
Assignments:
(Read)
Mandatory
- Read articles on the mosque in Hamtramck (2004):
Recommended
- Chapter 5 in They Say/I Say (64-73)
Due:
- FINAL DRAFT OF Project Two DUE TO ROSTER PAGE and SAFEASSIGN BY 3/5
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