Week 2 Milestone: Proposal for Argumentative EssayAssignment Weight: 5%
Learning Objectives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5Click to review an annotated example student submission.In week one, you selected a topic for the Final Persuasive Essay. Now, it is time to formalize your proposal and begin to explore and analyze your topic in order to build a foundation for the essay to come. A strong proposal promises success for the project, while an ill-conceived or incomplete proposal can bring poor results. This proposal is your opportunity to set your sight on success and begin to advance to a higher level of academic writing skills.Helpful Resources
- Norton Field Guide to Writing Chapter 36 Guiding your Reader (pp. 386-391)
- Little Seagull Handbook Section W-3, “Writing Processes”
The proposal should consider all aspects and criteria of the intended project and demonstrate understanding and competence in the ability to complete it. Generally, a research proposal should contain all the key elements involved in the research process and include sufficient information for the reader to evaluate the proposed study. Generally, the proposal will address the following three areas: What you plan to accomplish, why it is important and how you are going to persuade you audience.Remember, your topic must have
- two logical sides to the issue (your viewpoint and an opposing viewpoint),
- must be researched-based
- must be relevant to your career or degree.
Your proposal needs to include the following six paragraphs and a title:Working Title (Find help on title writing ) Paragraph One
- Introduction
- Describe the issue (2-3 sentences)
- Recommend a course of action (1-2 sentences)
- Argument for this course of action (1-3 sentences)
- Thesis statement (1 sentence)
Paragraph Two
- Counterargument
- Anticipated questions or resistance (2-3 sentences)
- Response to questions or resistance (2-3 sentences)
Paragraph Three
- Conclusion
- Review your key points (3 sentences)
- Restate thesis (1-2 sentences)
- Call to action (1-2 sentences)
Paragraph Four
- Audience (2-3 sentences) Consider demographics, background, relevance, knowledge of topicand beliefs.
- Goal for your audience (how should the audience think or act differently? 1-2 sentences)
Paragraph Five
- Strategy for convincing your audience inlcuding goal, purpose and challenges, Consider tactics (ethos, pathos, logos) (2-3 sentences)
Paragraph Six
- Research (preliminary) describe your approach (refer to your readings thus far)
- Keiser Database(s) most likely to use
- Potential articles cited in APA (at least 2, final paper will require 4)
- Be careful to avoid a faulty use of authority, or identifying a source written by author who claims to be an “expert” but is only moderately familiar with the topic.
- Potential key terms (Minimum of 5)
