Introduction to Chapter 7

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Instructor's Notes

The following resources are available for this chapter through the “Resources” panel or by clicking on the “Browse Resources for this Unit” button:

  • The Instructor's Resource Manual, which includes tips and special challenges for teaching this chapter
  • Lecture slides
  • Additional student essays proposing solutions (from Sticks & Stones and Other Student Essays)

7

Proposing a Solution

C an a student convince his professor that giving infrequent, high-stakes exams is a bad idea? Will a marine biologist’s proposal to save orcas by moving them from theme parks to wildlife sanctuaries float? Should we try out a law professor’s idea to solve the shortage of kidneys for transplantation? These are some of the problems and solutions addressed by the proposals in this chapter. Proposals like these need, first, to convince their audience that the problem actually exists and is serious and, second, that the proposed solution will not only solve the problem but is the best available option.

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People make proposals for various purposes and audiences and publish them in a variety of media. For example, students in a health sciences course collaborated on a project to build a Web page that informs the community about a water quality problem, evaluates the feasibility of alternative solutions, and argues for their preferred solution, and a blogger posted a proposal to solve the problem of the rising college loan default rate, arguing that truth in advertising laws should be used to crack down on for-profit colleges that use aggressive recruiting tactics to target low-income students.

In this chapter, we ask you to identify a problem you care about and write a proposal to solve it. By analyzing the selections in the Guide to Reading that follows, you will learn how to make a convincing case for the solution you propose. The Guide to Writing later in the chapter will show you ways to use the basic features of the genre to make your proposal inventive as well as practical.

PRACTICING THE GENRE

Arguing That a Solution Is Feasible

Proposals often succeed or fail on the strength of the argument that the proposed solution is feasible. To practice making a feasibility argument, get together with two or three other students and follow these guidelines:

Part 1. Begin by identifying a problem you face as a student in one of your college courses (this course or a different one). Next, discuss the problem in your group, and choose one of the following solutions (or think of another solution): The instructor should drop one of the assigned books, offer special study sessions, or post study sheets on the readings.

Then discuss the following questions to determine how you could demonstrate to the instructor that your solution is feasible:

  • Is it doable? List specific steps that the instructor would need to take.

  • Is it worth doing? Identify what implementing the solution would cost the instructor (in terms of time, for example) compared to how much it would benefit the students (in terms of learning, for example).

  • Would it work? To prove it would actually help to solve the problem, you could show that it eliminates a cause of the problem or that it has worked elsewhere, for example.

Part 2. As a group, discuss what you learned.

  • What did you learn about demonstrating that your proposed solution is feasible? Typically, a proposal tries to convince the audience that the solution is doable, worth the time and money, and would actually help solve the problem. Are all three elements of feasibility necessary? If not, which is most important? Why?

  • Think about how the rhetorical situation of your proposal—the purpose, audience, and medium—affects how you need to argue for your solution’s feasibility. For example, how would you change your argument about negative effects of relying on high-stakes exams if you were trying to convince a group of professors at a conference about undergraduate teaching versus an administrator who controls the budget or schedule? Would feasibility be equally important to both groups?