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6.1 Discussion

• Develop a formal argument plan/position paper for your research topic

Instructions:

After you have identified your issue, written your linked questions, and spent some time researching and thinking about your topic during the Exploratory Essay stage, you need to start planning your Researched Argument paper. Your argument plan will include:

• A position statement
• Rhetorical context analysis
• Audience analysis
• A claim
• A formal outline of your paper. You can build upon the informal outline you submitted last week.

Tips:

Here is some information to help you construct your plan:

Position Statement: This is your answer to your issue question. Ideally, your new issue question emerges from the  previous exploration of the topic. If you want to revise/change the issue question, you should discuss it with your professor, You should identify the issue question in the argumentative context, and then you should write your answer to the question. The statement should reflect your thoughts about the answer to your issue question. Your post should be based on the thinking you have done about this topic, and where you expect to be going with your position paper.  

Rhetorical Context: (Explain the issue and the context of the issue. You may want to identify for whom this issue is important and what the various sides of the issue are.

Audience Analysis: Determine who the target audience for your argument is. Your target audience is your choice, so you should spend some time thinking about who they are and how you can reach them. You should think about the unstated assumptions, beliefs, attitudes and values of this audience.

Claim: Similar to a thesis statement, this is the claim you will make with this paper. Once you have determined your audience, you need to develop a claim based on your position which is targeted toward your chosen audience.

Reasons: These are the points you will make to support your claim and convince your audience. State the specific reasons why your claim is true.
 

* Be sure to include any other elements which might be important to your argument, such as:

Qualifiers and Exceptions: You may want to consider qualifiers and exceptions for your argument. These should be designed to make your argument stronger and may help you appeal to your audience. Note: Qualifiers are limits to your claim. They frame the claim so it is not absolute. Exceptions are situations or examples when your claim is not true.  

Objection/Rebuttal: an argument against your claim, and the rebuttal (or reason why that objection is wrong) against that objection.

Common Ground: If you are developing a Rogerian style argument (see the PowerPoint on Argument Types in Unit 1), you will need to identify at least two sides of the issue and the common ground between these two sides.

Solution: if there is a solution you want to recommend either based on your position or on the common ground you have identified, you should identify it in your plan.
 

The following resource can be extremely helpful in organizing your argument plan. Please go to the Purdue Online Writing Lab and read the following sections: Strong Thesis Statements, Research and Evidence, Organizing Your Argument, and Rhetorical Strategies.

See page 415 in the textbook for different types of argument and further independent reading suggestions.

Reach out to your professor and ask for a conference or visit the Writing Center on any of three campuses to talk about your argument.

Due: Wednesday, Week 6