Developing an Argument for Change

Part I: Thesis Review the Unit 3 reading on thesis statements and identifying the underlying assumption and common ground. You may also want to review the Writing Center’s Writing a Thesis Statement.

What is your thesis statement (claim + reason)?

What is the underlying assumption (major premise) for your thesis?

What common ground do you anticipate that you will share with your audience?

Part II: Rhetorical Situation

Review the Unit 1 reading on the rhetorical situation.

What is your purpose? How would you describe the problem and what are examples that illustrate the problem?

Describe your audience. How does the issue affect different community stakeholders? Who would be underrepresented stakeholders? Who can implement your proposed solution?

How would you describe your setting? What are key elements of the setting that affect the problem?

Part III: The Appeals

Review the “Three Appeals of Argument” podcast in the Unit 4 reading. Respond in full paragraphs for each of the appeals and include specific examples to illustrate how you will use those appeals. Reference at least one source that you can use to support your claims, and also be sure to identify a particular logical fallacy and how you will avoid it in the logos section. For more on fallacies, review How to Support an Argument and Avoid Logical Fallacies.

How will you use the ethos appeal? How will you ensure your audience trusts you? Who might be stakeholders that may have reservations or negative results from the proposed solution?

What is at least one rival hypothesis you will need to address and how can you overcome that challenge to your argument?

How will you use the pathos appeal? What are ways you can connect with your audience? What might be specific examples that you could use to illustrate the problem?

How will you use the logos appeal?  What evidence supports that this is the best solution? What research will you need to conduct? What is one source you have found that will help you support your claims?

What is a specific logical fallacy (like a hasty generalization) that you will need to avoid and how do you plan to avoid that fallacy?