College Writing

College Writing Study Guide What is your response to the controversial issue? Have you thought about it before? What arguments presented in the two texts are new, and which are familiar? Once you brie�ly answer these questions , you need to make a decision about your paper’s thesis. You have �ive possible options when you’re considering your response to the prompt: • You can agree with the �irst text. • You can agree with the second text. • You can offer a compromise that satis�ies b oth parties. • You can resolve the root cause of the controversy. • You can explain why the controversy will never be resolved. Each option has its strengths and weaknesses to be aware of before you proceed. If you choose one of the �irst two options, be sure to incorporate more than just the information included in the two texts. Choosing to agree with one of the authors runs the risk of including too much summary. Your goal is to add to the conversation, not repeat it. It will be imperative that your essay is composed of “Yes, and …” statements that substantially increase the audience’s awareness of the issue. The third option runs the risk of being too non-committal. If you select offering a compromise, spend extra time on forming a strong thesis, one that considers both parties’ points of view. The fourth option is the most ambitious of the lot. Not only do you have to understand the root cause of the controversy, you also have to solve it, and many of the controversies are the most intractable issues of our time. For example, the example prompt in the Achieve lectures relates to Colin Kaeper- nick’s protest during the playing of the National Anthem; the question clearly states that you should write about whether his is an acceptable means of protest, but the root cause – the underlying con- troversy – is racism in America. If you select the fourth option, your essay will have to propose a solution to America’s complicated relationship with race. This is no easy feat, so be prepared for a challenge if you select this option. The �ifth option is the least ambitious. By saying that a controversy can never be resolved, it is easy for your essay to fall into the trap of defeatism. If the problem can’t be �ixed, why try? That type of thinking is dif�icult to defend even if there is some evidence to recommend it. A successful essay will select one of these �ive options and argue an associated thesis. You will have to include quotations from both texts provided, using the proper MLA documentation described in Chapter 2. Of the organizational styles discussed in Chapter 3, the Rogerian structure will work if you select offering a compromise, but if you select any of the other options, you can choose between Aristotelian, Toulmin, Five-Paragraph, or Five-Part formats.

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