Now that you have practiced analyzing experiences and texts in your previous two essays, you will use the analytical skills that you have gained to make an argument about a public issue in your third essay. I highly encourage you to engage with an issue that is related to the text that you analyzed for your previous essay. For example, if you analyzed a speech about immigration practices, you could now do additional research and make our own argument about immigration policies in the U.S. If it is easier to engage with an issue that you mentioned in your literacy narrative, you could instead use that essay as your foundation. The goal here is for you to not have to start from scratch with your analysis; draw on the analysis that you have done previously, and then use that analysis to make your own argument about an issue of public concern.

Requirements

*All submissions must be Word documents. All MSU Hawks are entitled to the Microsoft Office Suite and must make use of this access in order to obtain credit for this assignment.

• Explore multiple perspectives on an issue (there is always more than two sides to any issue), breaking down (analyzing) the issue for the reader
• Support all perspectives on the issue with credible sources
• Quote and paraphrase from credible sources
• Offer an argument for the best course of action, supported by evidence
• Draw on the rhetorical principles we have discussed in making your arguments
• Include a Works Cited page, in addition to in-text citations

Grading

Your submission will be read and will shape our classroom assessment, activities, and discussions. With that in mind, you will not receive a grade on this draft from me. Revisit the labor contract for further details.

For the purposes of this assignment, I’ll offer additional detail about these criteria below. We will spend time in class helping each other understand and perform well in these areas:

• Central Claim (15 points)–The central claim is the point you want your story to make. As opposed to “the moral of the story,” the central claim of a story should be complex, engaging, and open to multiple interpretations.
• Development (20 points)–In order for your story to make a point, the details in your story should support your central claim.
• Analysis (20 points)–Analysis explores and answers the questions “So what?” or “How?” or “Why?” The most successful analysis affirms and furthers the central claim by demonstrating its complexity and significance. In this particular case, you are analyzing how what you learned (or failed to learn) matters. The connections and relationships between the details in your story should connect to the significance of the story. This significance should become clear to the reader by connecting to their experience through a shared cultural insight.
• Organization (15 points)- By controlling how you tell your story, you will keep your reader interested and wanting to know more. By keeping the reader in the scene of your story, you help them understand more completely what you want them to consider. If the reader gets lost in your story because the ordering of events becomes confusing, the reader is likely to disconnect from the point you want your story to make. The very best stories will attempt to connect to reader experience well before the last paragraph.
• Clarity of Prose (20 points)- For this assignment, you will want to use active subjects and strong verbs in order to keep your readers engaged. Doing so will help you keep your details clear and your scenes well described.
• Mechanics (10 points)- You should make sure that any errors in spelling, punctuation, and sentence fluency do not detract from meaning.