PURPOSE:  This research guide is to help you complete Essay #4 “Argumentative Research Paper: Thinking Locally”

Context: As residents of San Diego, California, we are frequently faced with decisions that affect our livelihoods. Often, we go about our business—working, going to school, hangin’ with friends and family, oblivious to events occurring outside of our comfy bubbles. So, for this project, you will have the opportunity to become an active participant in your community.

 Writing Task: You will choose one controversial local issue to write about in a 6-8 page, research-based, argumentative essay. Your goal is to argue one side of an issue along with convincing your readers (including myself) to take some type of action. It is vital to choose a subject that you find interesting, but keep an open mind while you’re doing your research. To build an effective argument, you need to present the best positions, which support your ideas as well as demonstrate why the best positions against your ideas (the counter argument) are insufficient.

--One of the most important keys to an effective argument is the use of the three rhetorical appeals:

Logos is the heart of the mode. You must marshal evidence, using statistics, factual examples, anecdotes, and authorities.

Pathos refers to the affective content of your writing, its emotional potential. Appeal to your readers’ needs, values,

and attitudes, encouraging them to commit themselves to your position and to a course of action.

For your argument to be truly persuasive, you must establish your credibility— your ethos. You must convince your readers that you are worth listening to. Ethos is achieved in three ways: (1) You become knowledgeable of your subject. (2) You are fair (or at least you appear to be), showing that while you reject your opponent’s position, you have considered it carefully. And (3) you carefully balance logical argument with emotional appeals, avoiding excesses in either direction.  

Where to Start? Here are some potential local issues to write about:

• Cougar abatement in local mountains
• Which highways should or shouldn’t be built throughout the country? What about tollroads?
• Where should the airport be relocated?
• Providing birth control or abortion advice to local high-school students

• Bilingual education reform—necessary, but which reform is best in our local districts?
• Pollution in San Diego Bay or other environmental issues
• Seals in La Jolla Cove
• Drinking alcohol on the beaches in San Diego
• Animal research at UCSD—human health v. animal rights

• Operation Gatekeeper: immigration control, homeland security, vigilante patrols
• How can San Diego reform to restore its reputation as “America’s finest city”?
• A new stadium for the Chargers?
• Light pollution affecting the Mt. Palomar Observatory
• Overdevelopment of the county, especially considering water resources
• Control of Tijuana sewage in the Otay estuary
• Same-sex marriage
• Economic problems

These are by no means the only options, but merely a list of possibilities.

I recommend that you begin by reading the San Diego Union Tribune for a week or so, paying special attention to the Opinion/Editorial pages, the last inside spread of the “B” section. This should give you a good idea what issues are the hottest at the moment. It will also give you a head start on your research, introducing you to the key names involved in your issue. You should also check out The Reader, signonsandiego.com, City Beat and any other local rags.

Placing Your Argument into a Larger Context

Most local issues are subdivisions of broader national and international issues. For example, the issues involved in Operation Gate Keeper are the same as those in the larger national immigration-control debate. The question of local cougar-abatement is part of the larger national and international debate over the propriety of predatory abatement. Therefore, when you do your research, you will be able to take advantage of national publications as well as local ones. Striking a balance here will be your goal. We will spend time in the library learning how to use the major publications, but our librarians will also help you with strategies for locating local sources of information.

Topic Proposal: After you have had a little time to do some research and prewriting, you must submit a topic proposal, explaining in some detail, the topic you would like to write about and why you are interested in learning more about it (this will be in the same format as a RJ). You don’t need to have a definitive thesis, but you should have a tentative one.  Also, you should include your research plan—What kind of research do you plan to pursue for your essay? What specific sources do you intend to use and why? We will also go over these in class that day. Due Date:_______________

Requirements for Sources:

·   Your essay must have at least five credible/reliable sources

·   You must include at least one journal article (specialized or academic)

·   You are limited to two sources from general interest magazines (e.g. Time, Rolling Stone, GQ) and newspapers (e.g. San Diego Union Tribune, New York Times)

·   Use no more than two Internet sources.

·   Do not cite general encyclopedic works (eg., the dictionary, the Encyclopedia Britannica, Wikipedia) in your essay

·   You should also consider contacting people by telephone or email. For example, if you are writing about the cougar abatement, you could contact the Fish and Game Department. If you need help formulating questions or with anything else, please let me know.

·   Start as soon as possible

**Remember that a well-researched paper will include a variety of sources. Also, for academic papers, books and scholarly journals tend to provide the most credible information.

Note on Plagiarism: Like all essays written for this class, your research essay must constitute original work. Research essays written for other/previous classes will not be accepted. If your essay is not original for this class, it will constitute cheating, and disciplinary action will ensue. Furthermore, since this is a research essay, all sources must be cited accurately.

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Additional Information on Research Writing 

Guidelines for Choosing a Subject

• Some of the best research subjects stem from the writer’s lived experience. Select a subject that matters to you; one that you desire to explore in depth and detail.
• Choose a subject you can explore fairly and thoughtfully. Do not research a subject you are not open-minded about. If your mind is already made up, why do the research?
• Choose a subject you can explore in depth in the time we have for this project. If, after doing preliminary research, you discover that your subject is too difficult, or you cannot find credible source materials, choose another subject (All subjects, however, must be cleared with me before you can write on them.)

Researching Your Topic—

To Establish Logos and Ethos

As in any effective essay, the evidence you use must: work together to support your thesis—it must be unified “cover all the bases”—it must be adequate be to the point—it must be specific not contain false or misleading information—it must be accurate grip your readers, providing especially moving or surprising proof that your position is supportable—it must be dramatic

Why Research?

When you do research, you become an expert on your subject—and thus you will be able to use the best facts available as evidence. You can enlist the support of heavies in the field— top brains whose authority your readers will recognize and appreciate. These heavies (occasionally) state your case in (quotable) words that cannot help but impress your readers. Remember, though, that nine times out of ten it is best to use your own words (summarize or paraphrase) rather than those of the experts.

Considering Your Readers (This is important in establishing a connection with your readers, especially in the introduction and for maintaining a reasonable tone) Here are some questions to think about:

How do my readers feel about this issue?

What values and attitudes do they hold that might apply?

How can I appeal to the interests, concerns, and needs that

motivate my readers?

What assumptions might my readers share about the issue?

How can I present myself to my readers so they will regard me

reasonable, fair, and authoritative?