Argument to Inquire

For this assignment, you are to write an essay in which you inquire into an issue of your choice.  Recall that in class we said that to inquire generally means exploring the complexities of an issue and the options available for resolving that issue.  It means asking questions about a situation and seeking answers to those questions.

It is more than an argument to assert:  you are doing more than simply letting others know how you feel about an issue.  It is not like an argument to prevail in that you are not trying to convince or persuade your audience that your particular point of view is right, and while you are interested in the options available for resolving the issue, you are not attempting to choose or build a particular resolution.  Instead, you are attempting to discover as much relevant information about the issue as you can so that you can clearly understand what the more prominent opposing sides of that issue are.

For the issue as a whole and for each major position, you should pose and respond to questions from the four general categories of stasis questions:  Conjecture, Definition, Quality, and Policy.  You also should respond to the questions offered under the What to Ask When Comparing Perspectives heading on page 177.  You wont use all of the information you generate from all of these questions, but asking them will help you determine how you define the issue, the context, and the competing claims, and they will help you examine the evidence both intrinsic and extrinsic that supports each position on the issue.  Remember that all extrinsic evidence must be documented.

Your audience is your classmates, so when you evaluate your information, you need to take into account what information they need in order to understand the scenario and what information they need in order to understand the opposing views sufficiently.

Arrangement:  Your essay will have three parts.

Part I:  introduces the issue, providing a carefully developed description of it, and briefly identifies the issue and the major positions.

Part II:  will have at least two parts.  One sub-part will summarize the sources you have found that support one major position on the issue and will show us how that point of view would define the issue and context, the claim that view would make, and the evidence to support it.  Summarize the sources you have found that support one major position on the issue and show us how that point of view would define the issue and context, the claim that view would make, and the evidence to support it.  You will have a sub-part for each major position.  Consult the Best Practices capsule on page 125 for Guidelines for Summarizing.  You need no less than six (6) credible sources, at least two (2) for each position.

Part III:  compares the perspectives and establishes your thinking on the issue now that you have examined it.  It defines the issue, the context, and major positions, and it closes by presenting a claim that could be the thesis to either an argument to convince, persuade, or mediate.

Works Cited: Your papers works cited page will follow MLA format.