Length: 4-5 pages, double-spaced (1,000 – 1,250 words)
Sources: At least 4-5 sources cited; additional sources may be cited and/or consulted
Overview
A fully developed argument in academic writing includes many voices and ideas: those of the author, of the researchers consulted, and of those who disagree with the author. In writing such an argument, it is an intelligent rhetorical decision to fully understand the ideas even of those with whom you disagree. There is a tactical reason: understanding the arguments and evidence of the opposition allows you to refute them with assurance or find a compromise. But there is also a different kind of ethical reason: giving consideration to your opponent enriches your own ideas, helps you to fully understand an issue, and shows you to be a thoughtful rhetor. In fact, Rogerian argumentation does exactly this: You fully appreciate and even integrate another point of view. In this paper, you will take up the ideas and arguments of a different view in order to develop facility in argument for both of these reasons.
How to proceed
At this point in your research process, you have researched a topic and narrowed down your focus to a single academic issue within the larger topic. In your final paper, you will articulate an argument about that specific issue. This paper is a step toward that final paper. You will take up the argument, evidence, and support of a position that you do not necessarily support; it may be the opposite of what you argue, or it may be an argument you think has less value than the one you wish to make. (Consider other stases.)
Once you select your argument and then the oppositional argument you will pursue, your research should investigate the ideas of the opposition. You need to fully understand the ideas of this opposition, to “walk a mile in the shoes” of their ideas, as it were. Understand the values that underlie the argument as well as the research and evidence.
Writing the paper
Not only will you consider the other side in this paper, but you will inhabit it and write it. You might consider this a kind of ventriloquism or just another kind of persona. You may choose to create an actual person to be the “ author” of the paper, or you may just write it “as yourself.” In either case, it will be a fully developed argument. That means you will create exigence, have strong support from credible sources, use an organization that has rhetorical effect, and come to a strong conclusion as your thesis statement. You may choose to refute here, and in that case you would be refuting the ideas you actually agree with. But be sure that you have a great deal of positive support for this position — that is the way to fully engage and understand this perspective.
Audience analysis
Your audience for this paper is the academic community of other inquirers; to be more specific, it should be academics in a particular field or other academic situation, others who are also trying to determine what an engaging argument might be. As you write, you should think about this audience, how to engage them, how to create exigence for your ideas. You should also remember to write with readers in mind rather than just writing for yourself; this is an idea we will explore with the draft workshop for this paper.
Your audience analysis of a hypothetical readership will include three components: 1.) the demographics (who will want to read this argument), 2.) the stance and background (what do they know and believe), and 3.) publication (where would this be found).
Other components to include
In addition to your 4-5 page argument and audience analysis, I would like for you to include the following:
- Works Cited: include the sources cited in-text as full MLA citations
- Research Proposal: include your original research proposal
- Annotated Bibliography: include your first three annotations of sources