Ungraded first draft for peer review due: (Submit on BB as a PDF or Word doc only.)
Length: 1,250-1,500 words for the letter; minimum 250 words for the reflection.
OVERVIEW
In this assignment, you will present a stance on an issue where there is a difference of opinion. Your
task is to try to persuade a local audience—one specific person with influence over the issue and
who is resistant to your stance—to validate your position and consider action on the issue.
You will have one major assignment to complete before submitting your letter: an Annotated
Bibliography; this will require you to explore a current, unresolved issue in your field, establish your
stance on it, and identify and research an audience. The Annotated Bibliography and the homework
assignments you complete for the remainder of the course will help you plan for the final letter.
Armed with the facts and informed opinions you compile, you will write a persuasive, researched
argument about that issue, tailor it to your audience’s expectations, and present your argument in a
specific genre appropriate for appealing to a resistant audience.
ASSIGNMENT
Write an evidence-based argument to a local audience defending your stance and proposing a plan of
action the audience should take. Your argument should be presented in the advocacy letter genre.
Issue: You must present a stance on an issue that is arguable, current (i.e. up for debate at this
moment in time), and related to your major in some way. The Annotated Bibliography and other class
assignments will help you discover background information on the topic and prepare a solid argument
on this issue. (Note: There are only two issues you cannot write about—legalizing marijuana and
lowering the alcoholic drinking age. If you write about artificial intelligence, I will ask you to narrow
your topic down to a specific function or implementation of AI.)
Audience: You must write with an awareness of the audience you choose. The audience must be a
single localized person, have a vested interest in the issue, have decision-making authority over the
issue, and be opposed to your position (in part or in total). You will research and analyze that
audience before tailoring your word choice, evidence, and tone to their expectations. You MUST pick a
local audience no higher than state level who could conceivably read and respond to your letter. (For
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example, you cannot write to the U.S. President, U.S. Vice President, U.S. Presidential Cabinet
members, Supreme Court justices, CEOs of major corporations, primary leaders of other countries, or
people at national/international organizations. If you do so, I will ask you to change your audience,
since these audiences are too high-powered for a letter of this scope.)
Evidence: This is a researched academic argument, so you must use evidence from at least five
sources, two of which must be scholarly articles. The Annotated Bibliography assignment will help
you gather and begin to synthesize these resources. Your other references should come from the most
reputable sources you can find (such as news articles, government-published statistics, or interviews
with the intended audience). You will be writing to a sophisticated audience who will be persuaded
only if you use highly credible evidence. Introduce and synthesize the evidence you provide.
Genre: You will be writing to persuade your audience to accept your proposed response or solution.
One of the ways writers present such arguments is through the genre of the advocacy letter. The final
version of your letter should comply with the structure, language, and reference conventions of this
genre. Note how advocacy letters position the writer’s ethos. You will need to do this, too. When they
are available, please see the sample advocacy letters on Blackboard for examples of the genre.
Structure: Advocacy letters have a specific structure, but that structure still requires an introduction and
thesis, body (background information, argument, and counterargument), and conclusion. Use effective
paragraphing techniques to help your audience move easily through your argument.
• Thesis & Argument: Since you are writing an argument, you will need an argumentative thesis
that contains a claim and a reason. Your thesis must take a stand on the issue, provide reasons
for your stance, and propose a solution your audience should take. This solution must state a
call to action on a local level only.
• Counterargument: In the body of your letter, you must also address the counterarguments to
your position in order to persuade your audience. The counterargument should address the
audience’s resistance, concerns, or opposition to your position and/or your suggested plan of
action. Concede where necessary; refute where you can.
Documentation Style: Use the style appropriate for your academic discipline (MLA, APA, or other) and
include a Works Cited or References page. Note that some advocacy letters use bibliographic footnotes,
which are also permissible.
By the time you finish this assignment, you should have a piece of writing that is timely enough to
send to your audience. (Note: You are highly encouraged to send your final letter to your audience,
though it is not required for this assignment.)
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REFLECTION
Following your letter, please answer the following questions on a separate page in at least 250 words:
1. Describe three specific decisions you made to shape the writing of this letter to your audience
and in the advocacy letter genre. For each, identify at least one place in your final letter
where a reader could see evidence of your decision.
2. Explain how your letter contributes to a scholarly or professional conversation about the issue
you chose. Does your argument address a gap in that conversation, bring a new solution to it,
raise new questions about it, or add something else that enabled you to “join” this
conversation?
You only need to include the reflection with your final draft.
DRAFTS
The first draft of this assignment is due by 11:59PM on Sunday, November 14th for peer review.
This draft is ungraded, and I will not provide feedback on it; the reason for this is the English
Department does not allow submitted revisions for the final major assignment of English 302. You can
and definitely should, however, consider my feedback on the Annotated Bibliography and the
homework assignments throughout the semester to help you compile the best final letter possible.
The final draft is due Sunday, April 28th by 11:59PM. This is a hard deadline; I will not accept any
submissions beyond this date. Don’t forget to submit your reflection with your final draft.
GRADING RUBRIC
Please see Blackboard for the final grading rubric.
Deductions:
• 10 points deducted for a letter under 1,250 words. (Note: The letter word count does not include
the bibliography or reflection.)
• 10 points deducted for a missing, irrelevant, or incomplete reflection.
