What is it?
You MUST select one of the three articles given to you in the survival guide. You will respond to one of these articles making sure you use several quoted passages for support.
In this type of assignment, you take a stand on a particular topic that is debatable. You present a clear and strong thesis statement in your first paragraph to assert your position on the topic. Remember, you must state a position. You then provide strong, logical evidence that supports the validity of your argument throughout your paper. However, you will not research this topic. Consider your audience! Who is the intended audience of your paper? Knowing your audience is essential to making a strong argument. Ask yourself the following: What does your audience value and believe? For the purposes of this assignment, you are going to assume that the audience disagrees with your stand. Keep this in mind when writing the paper. Your argument is going to be more convincing if you show that you have taken the situation of your audience into account. How will their interests be affected by the issue? In other words, why should your audience care about this issue? This question can also be broader—why should anyone care about this issue? What kind of evidence will be most effective with them? Your evidence will be based on your personal experience and that of one of the articles included in the module. DO NOT RESEARCH or PLAGIARIZE! If you have questions about this, ask! Even short passages taken from an outside source will constitute plagiarism.
For this essay, you may write in either first or third person point of view. However, you will avoid “I feel” or “I believe” or “I think” statements. Do not write in second (you, your, you’re).
What are the requirements?
Your argumentative essay will include the following:
1. You will select one of the articles in the survival guide to respond to in your essay.
2. You will include at least three directly quoted passages from the article you select in your essay as evidence. When using passages from the article, quote them and introduce them fully using the author’s name and the title of the article as shown in the example in the module.
3. You will have a clear thesis with a topic, how you feel about it, and why (see the examples in the module).
4. Include all of the important details—who, what, where, when, and why.
5.. Include evidence from your own experience as well as evidence from the article in the module.
6. Include refutation—what is the opposition likely to say? This is where you will note what those against your argument are likely to counter-argue. You will then refute this argument and state why it is not as strong as your own stand. Remember to make it clear this is refutation and not your stand.
7. Conclude with a summation of the essay and perhaps a question or idea that leaves the reader with something to consider.
The article is
Tyler’s Footprints
I was twenty-seven years old, and death was the last thing on my mind. I was happily married, and not only did I have an active three-year-old, but my second child was due any time. I was completely satisfied with the direction my life had taken. I did not know, however, that tragedy was waiting for me around the corner, nor could I have known that when all was said and done, I would be the richer for it.
It was a hot and muggy summer day that Friday. I was forty-one weeks pregnant, and was at what I hoped would be my last prenatal visit. My obstetrician was checking me over, and everything seemed fine, until she listened for the baby’s heartbeat and couldn’t find it.
I could sense the concern in her voice when she asked, “Has the baby been active lately?” “No, not really,” I replied, beginning to feel a little uneasy; “I just figured it was settling down for birth.” She handed me a lab slip and said, “I’m sending you down to radiology for an ultrasound; I’d like to get a better look.”
I was overcome with fear as I laid in the darkness of the exam room. I told myself not to worry, that this test would prove everything was fine, but as the radiologist scanned my round belly, the screen sat motionless. My obstetrician, who had been watching the monitor, soon turned to me and said, “I’m so sorry Donna, but your baby has died. Would you like to call your husband?”
Suddenly I felt as if I were out of my body, and that I was floating above the room. My dazed mind tried to comprehend what I had just been told. I quickly asked her how soon until she performed the c-section. “In a case like this we don’t routinely perform a c-section,” she quietly said. “We’ll give you medication to induce labor, and if all goes well you’ll deliver normally tomorrow.” I was speechless. I had experienced labor once before, but the outcome was well worth the pain. How in the world would I get through it this time?
But get through it I would, and in the end I had a son whom I named Tyler. The nurse brought him to me wrapped in a pale blue receiving blanket; she placed him in my arms, then quietly left the room. As I held him I was amazed at how perfect he was. He looked like a normal baby, not hideous or disfigured, as I had imagined. I counted his fingers, and marveled at his billowy brown hair. How could someone so close to life suddenly die? I wondered. What was the point of these past nine months if only to end like this? It made no sense to me.
My husband was sitting in the chair beside my bed. As he looked upon his son I saw a few tears fall from his eyes. “I’m sorry, but I can’t help you right now,” I said to him. I felt dead inside, and I didn’t know how I was going to help myself. How could I go on without this child that I had so patiently waited for?
A short while later the nurse reappeared, and I knew the time had come to say goodbye. As I kissed his forehead, I could feel his silky hair beneath my lips. “Goodbye Tyler; Mommy loves you,” I whispered to him. Then I handed him to the nurse. As I watched her carry him away, I felt as if someone had torn my heart from my chest.
Doe 2
Later the autopsy would reveal that he had died of asphyxiation. Apparently the umbilical cord had become wrapped around his neck so tightly that it had cut off his oxygen supply. I found it ironic that the cord which was to sustain his life would in the end claim it.
The weeks that followed were horrible. I could never have guessed that the death of an unborn baby would have such a profound effect on me. I found myself drowning in a sea of anguish and despair, all the while wondering why this happened to me. I was convinced that I would never be happy again, that my life would be devoid of joy and laughter forever.
But I was wrong, for little by little the days became easier to get through, and the once bitter pain gave way to a dull ache. I began to read thought-provoking books, as I searched for the answers that had thus far eluded me. Slowly I began to gain a clearer understanding of the essence of life. I was maturing, becoming wise. I could better empathize with others who were in pain. But perhaps most surprisingly, I began to feel at peace with myself.
It’s now nearly a decade later, and the pain that I once knew has been replaced with bitter-sweet memories. I marvel at the fact that, though Tyler’s stay was brief, he managed to teach me so much. He sent me on a journey of self-growth, and I’m happy where I ended up. There’s a saying that goes: “Some people come into our lives and quickly go, some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same.” I fancy that if I could peer into my heart, I would surely see a couple of footprints that Tyler left along the way.
