English B1A/Spring 2015 (MILHOLM)Research Essay Assignment

Identifying a Problem and Arguing for a Solution (Proposal Essay)

Writing Project: Write an essay (7-10 pages) in which you call your audience’s attention to a problem, propose a solution to that problem, and present a justification for your solution. Your proposal essay must establish from the outset that there is a problem, and that it is serious enough to require a solution. Once you have defined the problem in your essay, describe your solution and explain it in enough detail for readers to understand what you are proposing. Since a proposal is essentially an argument, your essay should employ effective and logical argument strategies. Your research will provide support that helps to define the problem and to persuade readers of your solution. You must also convince readers that your solution is feasible and that it is the best way to solve the problem. You should consider any questions readers may have about your proposal as well as any objections, and address these in your essay. This essay should not contain first person (I, me, mine, my) or second person (you, your, yours) references. This essay is worth 20 percent of your overall grade and the annotated bibliography that accompanies the essay is worth 10 percent of your overall grade (total 30 percent).

Research: For this essay, you must incorporate at least SEVEN academic or reputable sources documented in proper MLA format, with in-text references (ICEd and possibly parenthetical) and a list of Works Cited. (See the handbook section of our textbook for more information on MLA format.) (Please note: encyclopedias—including on-line encyclopedias like Wikipedia—do not count as academic sources for this assignment.) As part of the research component of this assignment, you will also submit an annotated bibliography of sources (see below for details).

Supporting Assignments and Due DatesResearch Plan Schedule Due: Wednesday, April 15Prospectus for Final Paper (Selection of Topic) Due: Monday, April 20Notecards (instead of outline; this will be explained)Due: Wednesday, April 29Rough Draft Due: At Individual Conference Date May 4-7Annotated Bibliography of at least seven sources Due: Wednesday, May 13 (final time – noon)Final Draft of Proposal Argument Essay Due: Wednesday, May 13 (final time – noon)

Understanding Proposal WritingProposal arguments call an audience to action. They make a claim that some action should or ought to be taken. Proposals are among the most common kinds of arguments that you will write or read. Practical proposals focus on local, practical problems and generally target a specific audience (usually the person with the power to act on the proposal). For example, a college student may advocate banning laptops and cell phones in classrooms. In the work world, many individuals and businesses generate new revenues by writing competitive proposals to solve a prospective client’s practical problem. Another kind of proposal, a policy proposal, addresses public policy issues with the aim of swaying public support toward the writer’s proposed solution.

All proposals have one feature in common—they offer a solution to a problem. For every proposed solution, there are always alternative solutions, including doing nothing. Your task, therefore, is to convince readers that the problem is worth solving, that your proposed solution will actually work, and that the benefits outweigh the costs. Accordingly, a proposal argument typically has three main parts:

1. Description of the problem: You must first demonstrate that a significant problem exists. Your goal is to make the problem vivid and real for your readers. Who is affected by the problem? What are its

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causes? Why hasn’t it been solved before? What are the negative consequences of not solving the problem?

2. Proposal for a solution: This section describes your solution with enough detail to show how it would work and what it would cost. If you don’t have a solution, you may choose to generate a planning proposal calling for a committee to propose solutions at a later date.

3. Justification: Here you persuade your audience that your proposal should be enacted. Typically you show that the benefits of your proposal outweigh the costs. You also need to show why your proposed solution is better than alternative solutions. Point out why other possible approaches would not solve the problem, would provide fewer benefits, or would cost significantly more than your proposed solution.

Special Challenges of Proposal ArgumentsTo get your readers to take action—the ultimate purpose of a proposal—you must overcome some difficult challenges. In the following chart, we examine the special difficulties people encounter when writing proposal arguments and offer strategies for overcoming them.

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Challenge Explanation What to Do

Developing an Effective Justification SectionThe distinctions between proposals and other kinds of arguments invite particular kinds of support for proposals. Writers often develop support for their proposals by using the three-strategy approach, which focuses sequentially on principles, consequences, and precedents or analogies, as explained here.

Chart continued on next page…

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Strategies for Developing a Justification Section (cont.) Strategies What to Do Comments Examples

Examples of StrategiesEach of these argumentation strategies was clearly evident in a public debate in Seattle, Washington, over a proposal to raise county sales taxes to build a new baseball stadium.

Those favoring the stadium put forth arguments such as these:We should build the new stadium because preserving our national pastime for our children is important (argument from principle), because building the stadium will create new jobs and revitalize the adjacent Pioneer Square district (argument from consequence), and because building the stadium will have the same beneficial effects on the city that building Camden Yards had in Baltimore (argument from precedent).

Those opposing the stadium created arguments using the same strategies:We should not build the stadium because it is wrong to subsidize rich owners and players with tax dollars (argument from principle), because building a stadium diverts tax money from more important concerns such as low-income housing (argument from consequence), and because Toronto’s experience with Skydome shows that once the novelty of a new stadium wears off, attendance declines dramatically (argument from precedent).

Finding a Proposal Issue

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Your topic for this proposal essay must originate from this list. You must decide rather quickly. Don’t waste time being indecisive. Pick something that interests you and get researching. Or, better yet, start researching a topic, see if you can find adequate sources and information, and then find a specific problem and solution.

List of Acceptable Topics (Accompanied by a few possible guiding questions, but you could come up with other angles, questions, problems, and solutions.) • College Admissions Process

(How does race, religion, ethnicity, and other factors affect the admission process? Should Affirmative Action be used in the application process? What problems do prospective students encounter when applying for college? How should students pick which college to go to?)

• College Athletics (Should there be athletics in college? What role should athletics play on a college campus? Should the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association) be a non-profit company? Should schools offer scholarships to athletes? Should collegiate athletes be paid?)

• Cost of College (Does college cost too much? Should community college be free? How can colleges make more money and not increase tuition costs? Should the government play a role in solving this issue?)

• For-Profit Colleges (Are they providing students with useful degrees? How should theses companies be held accountable? Do these companies provide beneficial alternatives for students? Is the quality of education worth the cost?)

• Higher Education for Immigrants(Is the DREAM Act working and/or beneficial? What should be done in regards to residents who are not American citizens being able to attend colleges and universities? Should residents who are not American citizens be able to get in-state tuition or is that policy, which is in effect in some states, working well? What are the problems/solutions of President Obama’s Executive Order on immigration reform in 2014?)

• Online Education (Is getting a degree online of equal quality compared to being in the classroom? Is online education/distance learning a good option for working students and students with families? Are Massive Open Online Classes (MOOCs) effective learning environments?)

• Student Loans (Is getting college degree worth the debt? Should the student loan system be altered? Should student loan interest be fixed? How can the system be fixed so that more students do not default on their loans?)

• The Role of Fraternities and Sororities on College Campuses (Should campuses be affiliated with frat and sorority houses? Do frats and sororities provide valuable services to colleges and universities? Are problems like rape, racial discrimination, and binge drinking at epidemic levels in the frat/sorority culture? Should there be more regulation/monitoring of frats and sororities?)

• Time It Takes to Get a College Degree (Does it take too many years for students to get degrees? How can colleges and universities help students get degrees faster? Is it the college’s responsibility to get students through the system faster?)

• Veterans and Education (How should higher education access work for veterans after they serve in the military? Are there problems with the post-9/11 GI Bill? Should people in the military have to go to college before serving time? Should there be more programs to help veterans secure higher education?)

One approach you can use in selecting your topic is to freewrite your response to these trigger statements:

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I would really like to solve the problem of __________.I believe that X should _________. (Substitute for X words such as my instructor, the

president, the school administration, Congress, my boss, and so forth.)

Note that the problem you pose for this paper can be personal, but shouldn’t be private; that is, others should be able to benefit from a solution to your personal problem. For example, your worries about how you will pay off your student loan is a private problem. But if you focus your proposal on how a growing percentage of college students are unable to secure financial stability because of their massive student loan debt and propose a change in how much colleges charge for tuition, or how student loans have to be repaid—then your proposal will benefit others. HOWEVER, YOU MAY NOT USE FIRST PERSON (I, ME, MY, MINE) IN THIS ESSAY. It can start with you, but then remove yourself from the proposal.

Using Stock Issues to Explore Your ProblemOnce you have decided on a proposal issue, explore it by freewriting your responses to the following questions. These questions are often called stock issues, since they represent generic, or stock, questions that apply to almost any kind of proposal.

1. Is there a problem here that has to be solved?2. Will the proposed solution really solve this problem?3. Can the problem be solved in a simpler way without disturbing the status quo?4. Is the proposed solution practical enough that it really stands a chance of being implemented?5. What will be the positive and negative consequences of the proposal?

Avoiding Presupposing Your Solution in Your Problem StatementA common mistake of inexperienced proposal writers is to write problem statements that presuppose their solutions. As a restaurant server, suppose you notice that customers want coffee refills faster than servers can provide them. To solve this problem, you propose placing carafes of hot coffee at each table. When describing your problem, don’t presuppose your solution: “The problem is that we don’t have carafes of hot coffee at the tables.” Rather, describe the problematic situation itself: annoyed customers clamoring for coffee and harassed servers trying to bring around refills. Only by giving presence to the original problem can you interest readers in your proposed solution, which readers will compare to other possible approaches (including doing nothing).

Here is another example:Weak: The problem is that the Student Union doesn’t stay open late enough at night.Better: The problem is that students who study late at night don’t have an attractive, convenient place to socialize or study; off-campus coffee houses are too far to walk to at night; dorm lounges aren’t attractive or conducive to studying; late-nighters make noise in the dorms instead of going to a convenient place.

Freewrite about possible problems/solutions here:

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Shaping and DraftingThe chart below shows a typical organizational plan for a proposal argument that you might use if you get stuck while composing the first draft of your essay.

FRAMEWORK OF A PROPOSAL ARGUMENT

Essay StructureDepending on your topic, there may be several ways to organize your paper. In any case, you will need to begin your essay by establishing that there is a problem. You may then identify several possible solutions before recommending one of them or a combination of several. It is also possible that you might discuss only a single solution. See the organization templates below.

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How to Create an Annotated BibliographyAn annotated bibliography includes a summary and evaluation of each source. It is basically like a Works Cited Page with summaries for each entry. One of the best ways to create an annotated bibliography is to write a rheotical précis of each source, like we have been doing all semester. However, you do not have to follow the four-sentence précis model for this assignment, or you can alter it if you wish. While the requirements for annotations will change from class to class, your annotations for this course should contain at least one sentences of summary, one sentence of assessment, and one of reflection. This will make each annotation a small paragraph. You should be able to fit about two, but no more than three, annotations on a page. You can use quote from the source in your annotations, but keep them short and be sure to give credit to the author.

Summary: An annotation must summarize the source. What are the main arguments? What is the point of this book or article? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this article/book is about, what would you say? The length of your annotations will determine how detailed your summary is. Assessment (evaluation): After summarizing a source, it will be helpful to evaluate it. Is it a useful source? Is the information reliable and current? Where was it published and is that credible? What is the author’s background and is/are he, she, or they credible? Is it this source biased or attempt to be objective? What is the goal of this source? Reflection: Once you've summarized and assessed a source, you need to ask how it fits into your research. Was this source helpful to you? How does it help you shape your argument? How can you use this source in your research project? Has it changed how you think about your topic?

First, type out the MLA citation for the source. Then, drop to the next line and start your annotation. Remember that all three elements (summary, assessment, and reflection) must be present for each source. If you would like to see more examples, see our class website.

Example Annotation Holland, Suzanne. The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate : Science,

Ethics, and Public Policy. Boston: MIT Press, 2001.

This is the annotation of the above source. In this example, I am following MLA guidelines for

the bibliographic information listed above. If I was really writing an annotation for this source, I

would now be offering a brief summary of what this book says about stem cell research. After a

brief summary, it would be appropriate to assess this source and offer some criticisms of it. Does it

seem like a reliable and current source? Why? Is the research biased or objective? Are the facts

well documented? Who is the author? Is she qualified in this subject? Is this source scholarly,

popular, some of both? After summarizing and assessing, you can now reflect on this source.

How does it fit into your research? Is this a helpful resource? Too scholarly? Not scholarly

enough? Too general/specific? Since "stem cell research" is a very broad topic, has this source

helped you to narrow your topic?

All lines are double spaced.

Annotation paragraph starts here.

Citation ends.Indent after the first line.

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