NOTE: Your Final Draft should be a minimum of 1,700 words (not including the Works Cited page).
For the Researched Argument Essay, you are going to construct an audience-based argument that presents a specific claim about your topic and integrates the research you have done this semester to support your claim. Your thesis statement should propose a solution or solutions to a particular problem. as well as tell the reader WHY this is the best/most feasible course of action and/or HOW this course of action could/should be implemented.
Think carefully about your readers. Consider these five questions:
What do you want readers to do or think?
Why should they do or think that?
How do they know that what you say is true?
What should readers know about counterarguments?
What larger principles or context grounds your argument?
Also, think about the stakeholders involved in your topic. Who is most impacted? Most invested? Who can be the agents of change? Who is in the most powerful position to effect change? Note: stakeholders and agents of change are not always the same group of people.
Writing an audience-based argument means thinking about your goals. What do you want the audience to do, think, or feel? What action do you think they need to take (if applicable)? In some cases, your audience may be large entities, such as corporations or governments, so you should set proportionate goals for your audience.
Whatever your goal for your audience, you must choose and evaluate evidence accordingly. What evidence does the audience need? To what would they respond best? What most aligns with their own goals and agendas? Here, a careful consideration of ethos, pathos, and logos is critical. How are you going to appeal to your reader in a way that persuades them to proceed according to your recommendations?
In other words, your thesis, evidence, purpose, and writing style should all correspond to your intended audience. You do not need to identify or address the audience explicitly, but you do need to write as if you were addressing that intended audience.
Remember that your thesis statement needs to propose a solution/change/course of action. It is not enough to merely identify the problem. For example, if your topic is traffic congestion in the downtown portion of your hometown, explaining that it is a problem (and why) is necessary, but this will not suffice for a strong/powerful thesis statement/claim. Instead, a successful argument will propose ways to address the problem, and appeal to an audience or audiences that may be persuaded to support and/or implement these solutions.
If you have questions/concerns, please reach out.
What should it include?
1) INTRODUCTION: Use an attention-grabbing introduction that gives an overview of the topic and speaks to the specific sentiments or concerns of the audience you have chosen whilst also indicating your position
2) THESIS: Develop a clearly formulated, arguable thesis, including reasoning to support your position. In other words, your thesis should concisely give readers the reasons why your claim should be believed or why they should think/feel/act differently. Remember that your thesis statement should propose your solution/solutions to the problem that you’ve identified. The thesis statement offers a preview of the argument that you will expand upon and explain in the body paragraphs to follow.
3) TOPIC SENTENCES: Each paragraph should begin with a clear and effective topic sentence that foregrounds for the reader what is discussed in the subsequent paragraph.
4) EFFECTIVE PARAGRAPHS: The paper must include ordered, developed, cohesive, and coherent paragraphs that develop the argument by offering evidence and explanation in support of your position. Every sentence should contribute to the argument of its paragraph and the paper as a whole. Make sure, too, that the logical relationship between sentences is always clear and that body paragraphs identify supporting reasons, ideas, or examples for the claim.
5) COUNTERARGUMENTS: The essay must present and then respond to one or more counterarguments to your claim.
6) CONCLUSION: End with a conclusion that emphasizes the importance of taking the action or making the change recommended by the claim.
7) ACADEMIC STYLE: The essay should follow coherent organization between and within paragraphs, maintain appropriate style and tone suited to the purpose and audience of the argument, adhere to proper, ethical, and correct documentation for ALL sources (sources that have been carefully evaluated, of course), and observe correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization throughout.
Requirements for the Final Draft
Minimum of 7 credible sources, including 4 academic/scholarly sources, and one visual source.
Minimum 1,700 words
Correct MLA formatting
Correct MLA in-text citations
Correct MLA Works Cited