Semester Topics: Perspective, Opportunity, Economic Disparity, Poverty, Education, Social
Access, Resilience, U.S. Immigrant Experience, Environmental Journalism, Industrial
Pollution, Climate Crisis
Assignment:
Choose one of this semester’s topics as a starting point and consider how the topic is
central to a current societal issue.
Write an argumentative research essay in which you take
a clear stance on the current societal issue, asserting your point of view in a compelling and
convincing argument. Your essay should reflect your personal viewpoint on the issue,
supported by credible sources.
Your essay must be 5 pages in length, double spaced, #12 font, with 1-inch margins. You
must include a title page, MLA in-text citations, and a Works Cited page.
Introduction
• Exordium – opening/hook (break the silence, gain the interest of your audience, present
the issue)
• Narratio – context/background of the topic (provide context, establish the issue and
urgency)
o Assume your audience is comprised of those who are not experts on
the issue
o Provide a summary/context of what has, is currently, and has yet to
occur regarding this issue
• Proposito – claim/assertion (state your thesis, lay out your plan to prove it)
o Articulate your stance/assertion regarding the issue in a thesis
statement which is situated at the end of your introduction
Body Paragraphs
• Confirmatio/Refutatio – positive and negative proofs of support (build a case through
positive support, acknowledge and refute opposing views)
o Incorporate facts, statistics, and expert quotes within body
paragraphs (see“Paraphrasing” document on Blackboard).
o Employ ethos, pathos, and logos appeals as well as other
argumentation techniques discussed in class/posted on Blackboard.
o Acknowledge those who may not agree with your assertion and
refute (discuss weakness of) the opposing view.
o Utilize a minimum of 4 credible sources (at least 2 of the 4 sources
must be scholarly/peer reviewed; at least 2 must be published no
more than one year ago)
Conclusion
• Peroratio – conclusion (reiterate your stance, leave an impression, establish a call to
action, note future implications, urge continued conversation on the topic)
