Arguing About Things That Matter Here and Now

In Unit 1 we read, explored new ideas about literacy, language and power, synthesized texts with our own ideas and experiences, and composed for a public audience. In unit 2 we further developed our analysis skills, wrote with an awareness of audience, and made interpretive claims about places and communities based on experiences and readings. In unit 3 we will extend the practices and approaches of Units 1 and 2 by composing arguments in the form of editorials with appropriate and persuasive personas, drawing on sound rhetorical awarenesses.
Argument
Your central purpose in the argument you write for unit 3 will be to introduce to your select audience a topic that matters to them and to persuade them to think about the issue in a new way—that is, to complicate their thinking about the issue. This project will involve you in a range of invention activities: reading, researching, analyzing, brainstorming, talking, etc.
To prepare for this task, you will identify a specific political, social, or popular controversy that has currency in the here and how and is somehow connected to or invested with questions you actually have a stake in. You will then spend some time listening in on and analyzing the arguments that are embedded in the debate, particularly those of other stakeholders. Who is saying what? What positions are the various participants taking? What are the ethical and social consequences of those positions? What is the history of this issue? What kinds of arguments are being constructed for what kinds of audiences? What seems to influence who takes what position? Which positions seem to have the most credible arguments? Which positions seem to have the most power?
You are going to, more or less, map out the opinions and implications surrounding your issue as you prepare to develop your own claims and firm up your own position.
As in the previous units, there is no predetermined formula to follow or structure to imitate as you attempt to organize your argument, but your writing and critical thinking are bound to be more successful if you adhere to the following principles and practices:
 Make the purpose and objective of your argument explicit—what is it that you are attempting to persuade audience/s to think, believe or do?
 Contextualize the debate, analyze the various perspectives within that debate, and engage with the arguments of important stakeholders and participants.
 Demonstrate that you understand what your audience/s believe or assume about the issue you are focusing on and about the connected issues and debates. To this end, use rhetorical appeals and strategies appropriate for your rhetorical situation and anticipate counterarguments.