The following suggestions provide means of focusing your work on an argumentative essay or another type of argumentative document.
Suggestions for Essays
1. ARGUE ABOUT A SOCIAL TREND
Identify and discuss the relevance of a social trend, such as text-messaging, joining social-networking Web sites, or dressing in a particular manner. Then make an argument about (a) the advisability of following the trend, (b) the likely effects — short- or long-term — of the trend on society, or (c) the likelihood that the trend will have a lasting impact on society. Use evidence from online conversations and your personal observations to support your argument.
2. ARGUE AGAINST A COMMONLY HELD BELIEF
Urge your readers to reject a commonly held belief. For example, you might argue that the widespread belief that writing ability is a gift rather than an acquired skill causes students to give up too easily on efforts to improve their writing. Or you might argue that a particular belief about the innate character of men or women is inaccurate and condescending. In your essay, define the belief and make an overall claim about the effects of accepting it. Offer reasons and evidence to support your claim. Base your appeals on logic and on principles, values, and beliefs.
3. URGE READERS TO PATRONIZE THE ARTS
Make an argument about the value of attending a play or concert, viewing a movie or watching a television show, attending a poetry reading or an art exhibition, or purchasing a new music album or video game. Your argument should be based on the benefits of patronizing the arts for personal or professional growth. To support your argument, draw on your observations and interpretations of the artistic event or object. You might also use evidence from interviews or surveys.
4. ARGUE ABOUT A DEFINITION
Make an argument about a definition, such as how a problem or an issue has been defined or how a particular standard has been developed and applied. For example, you might argue that characterizations of state support for public education as a financial issue are inappropriate, and that it would be better to understand the issue as one of ensuring that citizens are well prepared to participate in a democracy. Or you might argue that your state’s definition of intoxication (for example, .08 percent blood alcohol content) is inappropriate, and that it ought to be higher or lower. Use evidence from published sources to support your argument.
5. ARGUE ABOUT AN ISSUE IN YOUR AREA OF STUDY
Write an argumentative essay about an issue in a discipline or profession in which you have an interest. For example, if you are interested in human resources, you might argue about the implications of allowing employers to access employees’ genetic profiles. The issue you choose should be under debate in the discipline or profession, so be sure to search professional or academic journals and online conversations among members of the discipline or profession for prevailing arguments.
Suggestions for Other Genres
6. WRITE AN OPINION COLUMN ABOUT A NEW LAW OR REGULATION
In an opinion column, identify a recently passed law or a new regulation (federal, state, or local), and discuss its potential impact. Offer a brief summary evaluation of its appropriateness or likely effects, and make recommendations to your readers about how to respond to the law. For example, you might argue that a new law is so flawed that it should be repealed. Or you might argue that only by providing adequate funding to a local or state agency can a regulation be enforced effectively. Use evidence from government documents to support your argument.
7. WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR ABOUT SUPPORTING A LOCAL INITIATIVE
In a brief letter to the editor (no longer than 300 words), argue that readers should support a local initiative, such as a food drive or a get-out-the-vote effort. Your letter should clearly state your overall claim and offer reasons to accept it. Because of the brevity of the letter, you should limit your use of evidence and rely primarily on reasoning.
8. WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR ABOUT A PUBLISHED ARTICLE, EDITORIAL, OR OPINION COLUMN
Write a letter to the editor that responds to an article, editorial, or opinion column. In your letter, briefly summarize the argument made in the published piece, and then offer a counterargument that is well supported by reasoning and evidence. Use evidence from the published piece as well as from other published sources and your personal experience.
9. WRITE A BLOG ENTRY ABOUT AN ISSUE RAISED IN ANOTHER BLOG
In a blog, argue about an issue addressed by the author of another blog. For example, you might take issue with an argument about the economic and political trade-offs of government rescues of failed financial institutions. Or you might argue about the advisability of joining social-networking Web sites such as Facebook or LinkedIn. Your blog entry should link to the blog entry that raised the issue, as well as to other relevant blogs. Use evidence from blogs and other published sources to support your argument. You should refer to your sources by using phrases such as “in an article published in Time on July 23, 2013, Ann Smith argues” or by linking directly to the source.
10. CREATE A PUBLIC SERVICE ADVERTISEMENT
Create a full-page ad suitable for a magazine or Web site that urges readers to take action on a social issue, such as adoption or hunger. Your ad should use visual images and only enough text to clearly identify the issue and convey your argument to your readers. For inspiration, examine the “Where Do You Stand?” ads by Men Can Stop Rape.