General
In this 4-6 page persuasive essay, you will situate yourself within the “map” of positions on your controversy that you constructed in Unit I and produce an argument that advocates a particular position using the persuasive strategies analyzed and studied throughout the semester.

Specifics
The purpose of this paper is for you to put all of the information you have gathered and all of the knowledge of rhetorical strategies that you have gained to work. Hopefully, after doing so much research on your controversy, you have decided which position you agree with. In this essay you will argue your position using the arguments from your sources and your own ideas on the topic. You will also decide what the purpose of your essay is, what sort of situation you are arguing in, and what sort of audience you are addressing. You can choose your own audience and argumentative situation, but the essay must be formal (you can’t choose your roommate as your audience). The paper should fulfill the following requirements:

• Argue for a specific position on the controversy you have been using all semester
• Argue with a very specific audience in mind (liberal, conservative, businesspeople, academics, teachers, Texas high school students, Austinites, illegal immigrants, etc.) You may not use a general audience, or the uneducated public. Be as specific and as creative as possible
• Argue with a particular argumentative situation in mind (you could be giving a speech at a city council meeting, writing an editorial, giving a sermon or a eulogy
• Argue with a specific purpose in mind (do you want the audience to do something, open their minds to something, change their minds about something?)
• Include relevant arguments from the sources you have gathered throughout the semester (cited properly of course)
• Include your own addition to those arguments. This is how you will make the argument your own. You could add in a completely new argument of your own, you could fuse two or more arguments from the sources you already have, you could include a particular story or example from your own experience, you could add in information you have because of your major or other courses you’ve taken
• Use the rhetorical tools that we have learned about in class to appeal to the specific audience and to fulfill purpose that you have chosen (ethos, pathos, logos, definition arguments, causal arguments, narrative arguments, proposals, rebuttal arguments, tone, style, etc)

This is your chance to finally say something about the controversy you have been studying, as well as to employ the rhetorical strategies that we have been discussing. The objective is for you to consciously use those tools to create the best argument possible for your purpose, situation, and audience.

Minimum Requirements

For a C or above, each essay will:

• Be 4-6 pages long, typed, double-spaced; have 1-inch margins and name, class, date at the top left corner of the first page with title centered two lines below the date. Indicate the publication, audience, and purpose just under the heading.
• Strategically and effectively incorporate at least 2 sources, at least one of which is a library source
• Document all sources accurately (in-text and on the Works Cited page) according to MLA or APA style guides
• Be written effectively and coherently, with very few punctuation or grammatical errors
• Have been peer reviewed at the in-class workshop
• Be turned in on time and be accompanied by a peer reviewed rough draft and peer review sheet (for 3.1 only)
• Use rhetorical strategies to appeal to the audience and fulfill the purpose of the argument
• Be geared towards a specific audience, situation and purpose
  Include your “new take” on the argument--show some of your own thought on the issue and rhetorical situation
• Be focused around a clear thesis whether it be implicit or explicit