Writing is a process.  When you write, you set forth a vision of your opinion on a subject.  The process itself can also be used to discover your opinion on a subject.  People write within a social context in their everyday lives.  Since most people write for a variety of purposes, most people have a method that they think works for them for composing.  Students, too, have ways that they approach their writing assignment to help them accomplish the task.  Expert writers have methods for writing that are useful for students to know.  Pay careful attention to the tips from experts listed in the text to help you in your writing process.

One process for writing breaks down the task into stages:

1)  Starting Point:  here you assess the issue about which people are disagreeing.

2)  Exploration and Research:  in this stage you weigh evidence, explore reasons for disagreement, and assess readers and your values, beliefs, and assumptions about the issue.

3)  First Draft:  this is the stage of getting the idea down on paper.  The purpose at this time is generally to help the writer get clear on the idea.  There is little attention to organization or purpose for the reader.

4)  Revision or Re-seeing: writers get additional information at this stage; they visualize ideas for the reader; and, they may compose more than one draft during this stage.

5)  Editing:  in this stage, the writer clarifies the grammar, punctuation, and spelling, ensuring a mechanically clear presentation of the idea to the reader.

Ways to improve your process include many collaborative methods.  Writers rarely work by themselves and have had several people read their work before they are finished.  The best collaborative methods  for improving your process include small group discussion, talking with others, research alternative views, and exchanging papers with others.  In an online environment, it is difficult to work collaboratively, but we will attempt to have conversations about our topics in our online discussion groups.

Essay #1 Topic:

Read the controversial claims on p. 58.  Pick one that you feel strongly about and begin an exploration of position.  First, assess your feelings by practicing the Believer/Doubter exercise on p. 59.  Also use the Pro/Con exercise on p. 61.  Follow the tasks on p. 67--70 to discover your position on the issue and to give your paper direction.  You should always explore and deeply investigate reading to discover responses to questions you have.  State your claim and support with reasons and evidence.  Remember, your support will not necessarily "prove" your point, but rather will make a "reasonable case" for your claim.  See p. 14 again.  This paper should follow the Classical Argument organizational pattern (described below and on pp. 63-66) and should be 7-9 pages long.  Use MLA to document outside sources.  This paper is due, Thursday, May 29, midnight.  See a sample at this link. 

The Classical Argument structure described on pp. 63-66 is a format most useful for students learning to write arguments.  You begin with a introduction in which you set forth your claim.  Then you support your claim with reasons and evidence in several other paragraphs.  Remember that your reasons should be based on some shared value between you and the audience.  Opposing viewpoints should also be considered.  When summarizing the opposing viewpoints (those that are the opposite of your position) be sure to show evidence of the legitimacy of the viewpoint.  Give evidence to support.  Refute or accommodate the opposing viewpoint to give your argument more impact.  Conclude by stating a case for your position again and leaving the audience with a lasting impression.  Be sure to look at the student sample on pp. 66-67.

Chapter 4 -- A Claim with Reasons

The Rhetorical Triangle is an important relationship to consider for your argument.  Logos is your message; Ethos is the speaker/writer; and, Pathos is the audience. 

 Logos also refers to the logical appeal of your argument:  the logic of your claim, the effectiveness of the support, and the clarity of the claim

Ethos refers to the ethical appeal of your argument:  credibility of message, presenter tone and style of message, and the formality of the presentation.

Pathos refers to the emotional appeal of your argument:  values, beliefs, and understandings of the audience create sympathy for the writer and the claim.  Stories usually work well to create pathos.

Knowing the difference between an Issue question and an Information question is essential to determining your argument.  An issue question can generally be turned into an argument essay, and an information question can be turned into an informative essay

Finally, your argument must be grounded in a shared assumption that can serve as a starting place or foundation for the argument. See the example on p. 79 regarding genuine and pseudo-arguments.  You must make assumptions about your audience when your write.  For this week's assignment, pay careful attention to p. 84, "Application of This Chapter's Principles to your Own Writing."  This section will help you apply the concepts learned in the chapter in your essay for this week.

Schedule of Assignments

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