18 Oct Drop the Microphone”: Examine Examples toward More Compelling Argument Essay Drafts

“Drop the Microphone”: Examine Examples toward More Compelling Argument Essay Drafts, and Putting the Spotlight on You – The Person and the Passion Behind the Stance and Topic

 

Required Resources

 

Read/review the following resources for this activity:

 

Textbook: pp. 402-422.

 

Lesson

 

Minimum of 1 source from the textbook

 

Apply the following writing resources to your posts:

 

Link (website): APA Citation and Writing  (Links to an external site.)

 

Main Post: Share “Good to Great” Techniques You Picked up in Your Textbook Readings

 

To begin, look over the readings (sample essays/articles) of the text. Read as many as you’d like; you do not need to choose just one. You are not evaluating one essay in this discussion (although you may work with just one if you would like). Rather, you are evaluating argument techniques, effective word choice and transitions, the author’s voice, and the development of points with evidence. Not everything in these readings will be relevant for you; it is your job to find those powerful gems of wisdom that make you think, “Yes! I can apply this same technique!”

 

So, as you look through the readings and choose single items and sections to focus on, take your own notes and jot down your own thoughts before writing and posting your formal response to the following:

 

Quote one exact passage from a reading explaining the technique that appealed to you. This may be a particular use of logic, the way an author puts flair on a synthesis of support and opposition, a transition technique you had not considered, the way an author discusses (concedes and refutes) an opposing viewpoint, how an author drives the writing with voice, or any argument technique that “spoke to you.” Next, explain in as much detail as possible how you will use this technique in your own argument research essay. Which portion of your essay and/or with which source? How will you apply it to strengthen your essay?

 

Example structure:

 

Quotation: (quote, cite in-text, and include at the end of your post a full reference)

 

Technique that appealed to you in this quotation and why (being as detailed as possible).

 

How you will use the technique: Be very specific and detailed, explaining exactly where in your essay you would like to use it, in which section, with sources, for voice, for anything that contributes to the effectiveness of your essay.

 

Example:

 

Quotation 1: McCloskey (2016) asserts: “In any case, the problem is poverty, not inequality as such—not how many yachts the L’Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt has, but whether the average Frenchwoman has enough to eat” (p. 499).

 

Technique that appeals to me: The technique that appeals to me in this passage is the stark contrast between rich and poor and the very specific example, not just of rich people, but of a specifically named rich person. This appealed to me because seeing an author paint a picture in my own mind helped me to understand that I can easily improve my essay with this simple technique. I also love the transition here and the clarification of the problem. It’s a good transition to show a shift to what really matters, and I hadn’t thought about defining what the problem “is” and “is not.”

 

How I will use the technique in my draft: I will use this technique in a few places in my essay where I give general examples but could be much more powerful for my reader by offering something precise. One particular point in my essay addresses the problems some people have with no transportation to local clinics. In my essay, I wrote, “Consider, for example, those single mothers who cannot afford a vehicle and whose hands are tied when their children suddenly become very ill.” To apply McCloskey’s technique, I might instead say, “Consider, for example, the single mother who lives five miles from the nearest local clinic. Her three-month-old baby suddenly spikes a fever of 101 degrees, she has no car, all of her relatives live in other states, and it is below freezing outside.” In addition, I looked for places in my essay in which I could use this stronger transition and definition of problem technique. I found in my third paragraph, this: “If a clinic is more than a mile away, walking there with a child is an unreasonable expectation but necessary.” I realized that while this is a good argument, I could make it clear that distance is not the central issue, like McCloskey did with inequality. My idea for adding clarity is: “However, precise distance is not the key concern; the real concern is the peace of mind that local access brings to families.” I’m still working on the wording of this, but I will definitely apply this technique.

 

Reference for source used in this example:

 

McCloskey, D. N. (2016). The formula for a richer world? Equality, liberty, justice and wealth. In S.U. Seyler, & A. Brizzee (Eds.), Read, reason, write: An argument text and reader. (pp. 497-502). McGraw-Hill.

 

Follow-Up Post Instructions

 

Respond to at least one peer. Here, in reading others’ posts and replying to them, you will learn a great deal more about approaches to composing good argumentative points and about the passion and the person behind your classmates’ stances. In your follow-up posts, please share your thoughts on your classmates’ analysis of the textbook reading and respond to their personal reflections with substance.

 

Approaches to the Poverty/Health Care Connection

 

 *Your sources must be published between 2018 and 2021 and must be scholarly in nature. You will perform your research in our library, narrowing your search to these years and to “scholarly sources only.”

 

For your major argument research essay, please identify a very specific connection between poverty and healthcare. Consider multiple reasonable approaches, choosing the approach you believe is best. Your thesis will be similar to the ones below; you will choose the very specific topic that most appeals to you and will argue for your approach as more viable than other reasonable approaches.

 

A possible thesis pattern (fill in the brackets and the blank with your specific choices):

 

While there are multiple viable solutions to lowering the impact of poverty on [choose a health impact like: mental health/one specific age group like prenatal/neonatal/preschool, elementary, ‘tween, teen, young adult, geriatric], the best approach is _________________________.

 

 Another possible thesis pattern (fill in the brackets and the blank with your specific choices):

 

Many approaches to addressing [choose an issue like the lack of mental health care/higher rates of a specific condition like heart disease or diabetes/physical access to health care/negative attitudes toward health care/less action regarding preventative care and minor illnesses/a specific health care issue of your choice] for people living in poverty exist; however, the most effective course of action would be to   _______________________.

 

This theme is broad and offers many possibilities for specific argumentative research topics. So, please keep in mind that you must find a narrowed focus related to this theme that is arguable and that is not based in personal belief. 

 

If we plan to persuade our readers about a controversial issue, we need to know what the experts have said about our topic.

 

You will use the Chamberlain library to find articles where experts discuss the pros of your chosen topic.