Global Warming
Write a four to six (4–6) page (1000–1200 word) paper that
presents a reasoned, convincing argument for a position on a selected topic.
Topic: “Global
Climate changes are manmade, so people should change their lifestyle to protect
the environment.”
Your paper should
cover the following:
1. Follow the five steps of persuasion: establishing
credibility, acknowledging the audience’s position, constructing a rationale,
transplanting root elements, and asking for a response.
2. Clearly define your position and supporting evidence, and
describe the results of your survey.
3. Include all the necessary “evidence” for the reader to
reach the expected conclusion in each argument in the paper (whether the
over-riding argument or one contained in an individual paragraph)
4. Ensure that each argument in the paper (whether the
overriding argument or one contained in an individual paragraph) is valid and
free from both formal and informal fallacies.
5. Include at least four (4) references (sources). At least
one (1) of your sources must be obtained from the collection of databases
accessible from the Learning Resources Center Web page.
Self-evaluation:
After you have written the draft of your position paper,
review it to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your argument. Respond to
the following questions, as specifically as you can:
1. What is your topic?
2. What are the possibly different main claims/positions
related to this topic? (There will be at least two (2) possibly different claims/positions,
but there could be more; however, one of them will be YOUR claim/position.)
3. What is your position regarding the topic? (Any position
is fine with me as I really don’t have a preference).
4. What “evidence” have you offered to support your
claim/position? Have you included your survey results? (This is a survey of ten
questions and ten people are asked these questions. Here you can pick and choose any question you
like in order to prove or provide support for your claim whatever it may be. Then just enter the results which can be any
way you want IE; percentages, pie chart, bar graph from the questions that are
to be asked. Here you don’t have to go
anywhere for this, you can make your own numbers, its only ten people).
5. Put your claim/position and “evidence” through the
“Scientific Method” and “Proving a theory” steps. Are there any steps on which
your claim/position and evidence do not measure up to the examination? If so,
what can you do to make them more acceptable?
6. Who is your intended audience? (This does not have to be
specifically your instructor.)
7. What is your purpose? What do you want the audience to
do, to feel, or to think? Remember that a persuasive paper is always asking for
some sort of response from the audience.
8. What words or phrases have you included to cause your
audience to do, feel, or think the way that you want them to do, feel, or
think? Include all of your motivational or empathetic “cues” for your audience.
9. How can your position actually better meet the needs of
your audience than other possible positions?
10. What more might your audience need to know before they
believe that they need to do, to feel, or to think that what you are suggesting
should in fact cause them to be doing, feeling, or thinking something?
11. What position that is different from yours might cause
your audience not to accept your position? (Note: There may be more than one.)
Now that you have identified it, what do you need to add to your own argument
to convince your audience that this alternate position should be rejected in
favor of your own position?
12. Can you think of anything else that your audience might
need in order to be persuaded by your argument?
Once you have completed these 12 tasks, start editing and revising
your paper.
Here are some argument words to help you with the paper;
Argument Vocabularies
Bolstering Your Argument Vocabulary
Transitions:
Furthermore,
Moreover,
Additionally,
Ultimately,
Ideally,
While it is certainly true that…
Evidence proves that/suggests that…
Nevertheless,
Phrases:
Fails to address…
In order to comply,
Such that…
Another primary motivation for…
As evidenced by (as proven by)…
Good Vocabulary Words:
Crux—the most important/key part of something
Dearth—a lack of something
Rhetoric—a way of speaking, or a body of general thought
Comply—to go along with
Furtive—secretive
Concedes—admits
Unprecedented—never happened before
Implications—consequences or possible results/outcomes
Class mobility—the ability for lower class to move to upper
Causation versus correlation—idea that just because two
things are linked doesn’t mean one caused the other
Manifestation—a real-life result
Superficial—seemingly true but actually false
Liberate—to free
Indictment—a condemnation or criticism
Litigation—legal action
Doctrine—a set of beliefs
Litmus Test—a make-or-break test that determines a larger
outcome
Vague vs. ambiguous—vague=unclear, ambiguous=2 possible
meanings
Provocative—interesting, intriguing
Fetters—literally, chains around your feet.Often used
to say that something is holding people back, like “the fetters of racism.”
Emulate—imitate or aspire to be like
Monolithic—one huge structure or part
Foment—to stir up or excite
Deterrent—something that stops people from doing something
Commensurate—something that goes along with something else,
such as: “This law’s effect is not commensurate with its purpose.”
Power Words you may already know:Claims,
Asserts,States,National Interest, Essential, Crucial,Consumerism,Vulnerability,Conformity,
Primary Consequence, Emergence, Naïve, Relevant, Justify, Systematic, and
Consensus