This essay will build upon your previous writing assignment, the proposal letter. You wrote a letter to a decision-maker identifying a problem in your day-to-day life and proposing a solution. Now, for this assignment, you will revise and expand your letter to create an essay for a community newsletter.
Your essay will argue why the community should implement your solution to the problem Prompt The key question you’ll answer is “Why should the community implement my solution to the problem?”AudienceYou’re answering the key question for a semi-formal community newsletter.
Keep in mind the kinds of things your audience will understand already and what you’ll need to explain and/or describe in greater detail Goals.
Your goals as a writer include;
:● A strong thesis statement that appears early.
● Precise description of the problem.
● Address why the topic matters to your audience
● Offer accurate and fair analysis of your chosen problem. Show that you understand the complexity of your topic. Include what other people have to say about the topic (and cite those sources).
● Include media (pictures, video, drawings, graphics, audio files) as appropriate for your rhetorical situation.
● A clear and compelling solution to the problem. Include clear, thoughtful reasoning; avoid fallacies.
● Include evidence that your solution will address the problem. Consider using anecdotal evidence to strengthen your claims. Include what other people say who have tried your solution if available (and cite those sources)
● Acknowledgement of other possible solutions. Locate your argument in the context of relevant arguments and counterarguments. Address what other people are saying about your topic (and cite those sources).
1 Remixed from Matthew Schmeer’s “Arguing a Position” and Amy Ratto-Parks and Sarah Dozor’s “Putting in Your Oar: Writing the Op-Ed” in A Guide to Teaching Everyone’s an Author, 2nd ed.; WAC Clearinghouse, wac.colostate.edu/resources/teaching/guides/composition-intro/#assignments.
Proposal-Letter Essay AssignmentENGL 1301, Prof. Gonzalez, Summer II 2020Page 2 of 4
● Be sure to summarize, quote, or paraphrase any sources and give credit to the material correctly using signal phrases and MLA-style in-text citations.
● End with a statement of what your proposed solution will accomplish. (Think big: direct and indirect results.)
● Outside sources are required, and you must give them credit. Include MLA-style in-text citations and a work-cited list. .
● Length: more than 4 pages (not including works-cited list). Your essay should be of sufficient length to meet your rhetorical situation.
● You do not have to submit your essay to a community publication for consideration, but you can if you want! StrategiesStrategies for completing the essay include these:1. Refer to course resources before you begin and while you work on this assignment.a.
► “Arguing a Position” (EA ch. 11)b.
► “Arguing a Position: A Roadmap” (EA pp. 138-45)c.
► “On Buying Local” by Katherine Spriggs, student example argument (EA pp. 150-58)d.
► “Arguments” (LS W-7) 2. Use some of the PREWRITING STRATEGIES we’ve discussed in class.
► Refer to “Generating Ideas” (LS W-3a) and “Tips for Writing an Argument” (LS pp. 45-48).
a. Reevaluate your proposal letter. Think of how you can revise and use parts of it in your argument essay to answer the key question: “Why should the community implement my solution to the problem?”
3. Select the prewriting that’s most interesting to you to FOCUS on in your essay. ► Refer to “Developing a Tentative Thesis” (LS W-3b).
4. Continue to PREWRITE to develop as many notes about the topic as you can.
5. When you’ve generated enough notes, SELECT the writing that best answers the key question for this essay: “Why should the community implement my solution to the problem?”
6. Meet with a writing tutor and/or someone from your community (classmates, friends, family, etc.) to discuss your assignment at all stages. Be sure to show them this assignment sheet.
7. Consider the RHETORICAL SITUATION of this essay. ► Refer to “Writing Contexts” (LS W-1, pp. 2-5).
Proposal-Letter Essay Assignment
ENGL 1301, Prof. Gonzalez, Summer II 2020Page 3 of 4 a. What is the CONTEXT of your writing? What is the immediate occasion or the timing (kairos) of your writing? Why are you writing this essay right now, and how will that influence the way that you write?b. Who is your AUDIENCE? What and how do you need to communicate your ideas in order for your audience to understand you?c. What is your PURPOSE? Your purpose here goes beyond simply describing the problem. Your essay should persuade the community to implement your solution to the problem.
d. What is your TOPIC, and what is your STANCE? What do you think and why? Your own notes, the class discussion, and outside sources are your evidence.e. What are your GENRE, your MEDIUM, and your DESIGN? You are asked to write an essay, so what are the conventions of essay writing that will impact your work? How will you organize your work? Your essay will be a written text with media, so how will this impact your rhetorical choices? Your essay should follow MLA guidelines for format. Refer to:
i. ► “Ways of organizing an argument” (LS pp. 47-48)
ii. ► “Designing What You Write” (LS W-5) and “Designing What You Write” (EA ch. 33)
iii. ► “Illustrated Essays” (EA pp. 765-66)
iv. ► How to cite images (MLA citation for tables and illustrations).
f. What’s your STYLE? What is appropriate and correct for your rhetorical situation? How formal is Katherine Spriggs in the example essay, and how formal should you be? Consider matching your style with your purpose, topic, and audience.
► Refer to “What’s Your Style?” (EA pp. 641-51).8.
Write a ROUGH DRAFT in which you concentrate on getting out your ideas and explaining them, without worrying too much about smaller issues like grammar and punctuation
. ► Refer to “Organizing and Drafting” (LS W-3c) and “Developing Paragraphs” (LS W-4).9. REVISE and edit to create your final version using ideas from your reading, class discussions, and draft feedback.
► Refer to “Revising” (LS W-3e), “Editing and Proofreading” (LS W-3f), “Editing the Errors that Matter” (LS pp. 26
