Why are you constructing and presenting an argument? We are surrounded by arguments. This is why much of the work you do as a college student requires you to read and construct arguments. Think about it: even a toilet paper ad argues that “you deserve a little luxury in your life, and so does your bottom.” Since you are pursuing your undergraduate studies at BMCC, you probably believe that college education is valuable. As a mechanical engineer, you may have to convince a sponsor that the machine you designed is safe and efficient. In your social life, you may disagree with a friend who thinks that “Game of Thrones” is the best TV show ever made. All of those positions are arguable—we can agree or disagree with them and present reasons and evidence to support our position.
For this assignment, you are asked to research, summarize, evaluate, and synthesize three sources in order to present your own compelling argument. Those are skills that you will likely use in any profession you might eventually pursue, as well as in your personal life. And since in real life you present arguments to real people, I ask that for this assignment you direct your argument to a specific individual/ audience. This can be a politician, an author, a celebrity, a Facebook group, anyone you’d like to convince to think or to do something.
The 3 sources are:
- “We should all be feminists” by Chimamanda Adichie
- “Stop Fem-Splaining: What ‘Women Against Feminism’ Gets Right” by Cathy Young
- + Your source on this topic accessed via BMCC database
Final Product: present your argument to your audience in writing, in a format that you think is best. Here are some examples:
- A newspaper article
- a letter
- a speech
The final draft should be 5 pages long + a works cited page.
The usual MLA guidelines apply: the draft should be submitted on Blackboard, as a Microsoft Word attachment, typed in font 12 Times New Roman, and double-spaced.
Suggested structure:
Intro: hook, background info on topic, your thesis/ argument + address your audience
Body par 1: topic sentence about thesis of source 1 + introduce source 1 + brief summary of source 1 + your analysis including at least 1 quote
Body par 2: topic sentence about thesis of source 2 + introduce source 2 + brief summary of source 2 + your analysis including at least 1 quote
Body par 3: topic sentence about thesis of source 3 + introduce source 3 + brief summary of source 3 + your analysis including at least 1 quote
Body paragraph 4: opposing viewpoint + your refutation and analysis (if not previously included)
Conclusion: restate thesis, sum up essay, add so what?
OR
break each body paragraph into two (summary and analysis separate)
OR
Body par 1: summary 1
Body par 2: summary 2
Body par 3: summary 3
Body par 4: synthesis of sources + analysis
Body par 5: synthesis of sources + analysis
Body par 6: opposing viewpoint + your refutation
Conclusion
Due date: Tuesday, April 25
