Traditional Argumentative Research Essay Ingram Sig How will you answer your inquiry question? What do you want to say? Who do you want to say it to? What are the best ways to convey your message? Audience & Purpose: Your audience and purpose go hand in hand. ‘We've been writing for ourselves and for our classroom community all semester, but now it’s time to define your own audience. This is your time to join the academic conversation you've been eavesdropping on, so how will you do it? What do you want to say — and to whom? You'll want to be specific here. Your audience shouldn't be “anyone interested in my topic.” Rather, ifyou are, say, writing about the dangers of processed foods, your audience might be skeptical consumers who rely on MeDonald’s “Value Meals” and Totino’s frozen pizzas and are resistant to change. Or, say you are writing about health care reform. Your audience shouldn't be “Americans”; your audience should be the group of people (Republicans? Democrats? Another group?) that you want to convince to think differently, to adopt your views. Your purpose is to persuade your audience: if your audience is skeptical of your main claim then your job is to change their minds, and if your audience is more sympathetic to your cause then you are working to further educate them and reaffirm their beliefs. ‘The Details: As explained above, you are constructing an argument, not just reporting the facts. So your voice will drive this essay — but, of course, you will support your ideas with research (from your Visual Bib/3 Column Notes). You will parenthetically cite or footnote your sources and include a Works Cited or Reference page in the format of your choice. Next Page>There is no “right way” or one specific formula for writing a successful argument, and since we're all working with different variables, we are going to approach our arguments in different ways. However, most academic arguments have similar qualities: The author situates his/her argument. + The author demonstrates the timeliness of the argument. © The author establishes a personal investment in the issue. © The author writes for a specific audience. © The author's purpose is clear. © The author has a solid understanding of the academic conversation he/she is writing into. © The author's claims are logical, clear, and supported with good research and good reasons, and his/her main claim is expressed in a thorough thesis statement. © The author anticipates counterarguments from his/her audience and offers concessions when necessary. Length = 6-8 pages. ‘As you can see—not only from the above list but also from the preparation we've done all semester—constructing a careful academic argument is complicated. Your textbook is a helpful resource, and drafting and workshopping will be important to your writing process. It will also be helpful to pay attention to the writers you've been reading in your research — what do they do well that you can also do in your argument?