A2:RhetoricalArgument

Writ340
Dr.
Fall2016
Purpose:Thisassignmentrequiresthecompositionofanethicalargumentrelevanttoyour
chosenprofession,major,orsocietyatlarge.A2givesyoutheopportunitytoimplementskills
centraltoeffectivewriting,includingselectinganappropriatetopic,makingapparentits
significance,providingclearpoints,offeringcompellingevidence,andanticipatingobjectionsto
yourargument.Youshouldaimtocommunicatewithconcision,makingthetoneofthepiece
appropriatetotheaudienceinthiscasereasonablyeducatedlaypersonswithaninterestinthe
subjectwhoseekargumentstohelpthemmakeuptheirminds.(Oriftheylackaninterestinthe
subject,interestthem,andthenhelpthemmakeuptheirminds.)Butneverforget,theirattention
isbeingwooedbymanyothersourcesthanyou.Keepit.
Methodology:Besuretobaseyourargumentuponanethicalprinciple.Useoneeitherfromthe
MediaEthicsarticle,TheFeministEthicofRisk,TheTroublewithNormal,oroneofyourown
choosing.Asthisisnotaresearchpaper,noothersourcesarerequired;however,inestablishing
thetopic,youmayfinditusefultoperusenationalnewspapers,professionaltradejournals,or
popularpressandInternetsources.Becauseyouseektopersuadeaparticularaudience,youwill
wanttoconsidercarefullywhattypesofevidencewillbemostusefulforyou,includinganecdote
andanalogy.Besuretodocumentanyoutsideideasusedinthefinaldraft.
Thisargumentmustalsousetheclassicalrhetoricalappealsoflogos,pathos,andethos;their
presenceshouldbeapparentinthetext.Andbesuretoanticipateobjectionstoyourargument,
dismantlingthemwithcounterpoints.Finally,makesuretheeditorialreadsmuchmore
compellinglythanthisboringessaytopicdoes.Usefigurativelanguage,analogy,vividdiction,
variedsentencelengths,rhetoricalquestions,directaddress,repetition,etc.
Task:Visualizeyourselfasamemberofoneparticularcommunity,perhapsfellowprofessionals
inafield,studentsofauniversity,membersofasocialorganization,inhabitantsofacertain
region,consumersofparticularproducts,playersonateam,orcitizensofanation.After
selectinganissueyoubelieveneedsaddressingforthehealthyfunctioningofthatcommunity,
Makeusawareoftheproblemandconvinceusthatyourviewsareright.
Tip:Whileyoumustclearlyuseaspecificethicalprinciple,donotexplicitlyrefertoitinthe
essay.Dosoonlyifmentioningitstrengthensyourargumentforsomereason.Dontevenuse
thewordethicalunlesstheresalogicalandtopicalneedforit.Youneedtokeeptheaudiences
attention,writingineffectalivelypieceofpropaganda. Sodeviseapunchyandcompelling
argumentandtheninvoketheprincipleunderlyingitlaterinthepaperifithelpsyouanddoesnt
boreoralienateyouraudience.Alsodontusethetypicalexpositoryessayformatwithathesis
andtopicsentences.Insteadpullthereaderinandkeepattentionbyunfoldingtheargumentin
aninterestingway.

Format:EssayTwoshouldbeanexerciseinconcision.Letthelengthbedeterminedbywhat
needstobesaidtoproveyourcase,butdonotexceed6pages.Fourpageswillbetheacceptable
minimum.BecertaintofolloweitherMLAorAPAguidelines.
Timeline:Dueupto7daysafteryouroralpresentation