Purpose
When you write to present an argument, you must be prepared to gain the reader’s interest, present your claims logically, support those claims with evidence, and show your readers that you are a credible and worthy person to listen to. This means considering both what you are arguing and how to demonstrate that your argument is sound and free from bias or undue emotion. For this to occur, you will need to call upon the knowledge of experts in your topic’s field, sharing their words and concepts honestly as supports for yours.
For this discussion, you’ll post and get feedback on your own first draft. Then, you’ll help two of your peers improve their writing, argumentation, and source integration in order to turn in effective researched essays.
Task
Part 1: Follow the instructions in our Unit 4 Researched Argumentative Essay First Draft Instructions to write and save your draft in Word or Google Docs. Then, copy and paste it into your post for this discussion.
Development and Evidence
Your thesis should be an arguable claim, meaning it is something that two rational, well-informed adults could debate. It could begin as a statement that answers a question or questions about your topic. For example, “Why should your county commission approve a motion to build a new pickleball court in XYZ Park?” Your response might be a thesis that answers that question with, “The county commission should approve the motion to build a new pickleball court in XYZ Park because it is a cost-efficient, low-maintenance facility that would meet community demand from local pickleball leagues and provide recreational opportunities for the adjacent county-run day camp.”
Once you choose a side and have a working thesis–one that might change as you read through a variety of sources–choose rhetorically effective reasons and evidence to support your argument. Evidence may include personal experience, newspaper and magazine articles, statistics and facts, authoritative websites, scholarly articles, community brochures or information, and interviews with experts. If your thesis is about social media, you may need to include posts from social media to make a point, but these would not be considered credible sources for other topics.
You will also need to include appeals to the major stakeholders in the problem, which might include graphic elements like charts, illustrations, etc. You’ll need at least four (4) sources, at least three (3) of which should be from a database in GALILEO. Prepare to write 3-5 pages to fully develop your argument.
Organization
Present an effective, consistent argument. Be sure to provide enough background on the topic so readers understand the issue and why it is important. Be sure to develop your own authority and credibility.
Your essay should include the following sections:
- An introduction to the problem and its context or background;
- The reason you feel the issue must be addressed;
- Your argument regarding how the problem should be addressed;
- The limits to or potential barriers to your proposed argument being enacted;
- The benefits that will result from addressing this issue, and;
- A summary of the issue, your position, and a call to action.
Clarity, Readability, and Format
Write with your audience (well-disposed, intelligent adults) in mind, in academic English, and with effective style. This includes varied sentence structure and precise word choice. Please do not use the first or second person in this essay. Prepare your essay following the MLA 9th edition format, and include a Works Cited page including all cited material.
My professor has asked me to answer this question within my essay – How can we effectively mitigate the dangers of social media while
harnessing its benefits for personal, social, and professional development?