After successfully completing this week's Learning Module, you should:

• Review your own thesis that makes a prescriptive claim about a debatable issue in higher education and includes reasons that match body paragraph topic sentences

• Map your thesis onto a sample outline to help understand your specific evidence needs and ensure all essential parts of the essay are present

• Have a clearer sense of the role audiences play in shaping your writing decisions

• Further your understanding of source types for less-formal audiences, how to find credible website sources, and how to integrate sources into your essay using signal phrases while avoiding plagiarism

• Develop a plan for writing the last two sections of the essay: the potential objection and conclusion paragraphs

• Spend time reviewing the Essay #2 checklist as we prepare for peer review next week

This week you'll continue the second essay assignment. That essay focuses on taking a position regarding a debatable issue for a specific community where you're a member (higher education) using less formal evidence as support. That's right, you will not be using MLA in-text or Works Cited citations for this essay since we're shifting to a less formal public audience. The challenge, as you've probably seen with other assignments, is to choose a topic and make a plan that won't cause trouble later when you start writing a first draft and searching for evidence to support your position.

With that in mind, we'll work to review the thesis we introduced in last week's Learning Module, map that thesis onto an outline, and review some basic information about finding/integrating credible websites in this kind of writing while still avoiding plagiarism. Next week you'll need a complete rough draft in order to do peer review, so it's important to keep up and stay motivated. 

If you're feeling stuck or behind, start by reviewing last week's module and email or text if your professor can help clarify anything. 

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You can see a video walkthrough of this week's assignments and where to submit them here.

Review: Forming Your Own Thesis

While there is obviously more than one way to start working on an essay, I'm pretty convinced that having a flexible or tentative thesis can help give you focus and make things easier as you work. The first step is generally to read as much online as you can about the community and issue you're going to write about to make sure you're familiar with the details and up-to-date regarding any recent changes. This process is sometimes called "discovery research" or "informal research" and really it just means looking wherever you can and listening to what others are saying before you jump in with your own position. This is different than the research you do to find and incorporate sources in the essay later in the process.

Once you've done some discovery research for the topic and issue you're interested in, you're ready to start forming a thesis statement. 

Basic Thesis Structure

For this essay I'm recommending that you follow a claim and reasons thesis structure. That looks something like this, with the claim being your statement/position/opinion on a debatable issue and the reasons being why readers should agree:

Claim + because + Reasons

Here's an example: 

Community college should be free because it would help employers find skilled workers and ensure that more people from lower-income backgrounds have a chance to find stable careers. 

The benefits of a formula like this are that it ensures we have a narrow and debatable position, that the thesis provides a map for readers of where the argument will go, that it helps to order and organize the body, and that it gives you specific things to research/prove. Those things are the criteria your professors and outside audiences use to evaluate the strength of your thesis. 

For an essay this short you'll probably need two or three reasons. That's even if you plan to have more than one paragraph of evidence per reason (again, something I'll strongly encourage for this assignment) and at least one naysayer/potential objection/counterargument (definitely a requirement). Don't forget, too, that these reasons need to match up clearly with the body paragraph topic sentences. 

Kinds of Claims

Another thing that might help as you develop your thesis is that there are several kinds of claims you can make, and these play a big role in how the essay takes shape. 

Claim of definition: arguing that something is/isn't a member of a category or class

        Ex. Colleges, specifically groups of students on campus, can be seen as a kind of community. 

Claim of causation: arguing about the cause or the effect of something (almost never both)

        Ex. Lower graduation rates can be caused when this sense of community isn't valued. 

              The effect of online (and remote) classes can be losing some sense of community. 

Claim of evaluation: arguing that something is good/bad (or variations like beneficial/harmful)

        Ex. While online and remote classes are important for maintaining educational goals during the Covid-19 

pandemic, they are harmful since graduation rates typically drop. 

Claim of policy: arguing what should be done about a specific problem you've identified. 

        Ex. Professors teaching online and remote classes during the Covid-19 pandemic should do more to build 

and maintain community in their classes. 

For this essay where you're writing about an issue in a specific community, one important consideration is that we generally should stay away from causal claims. That's because they're especially hard to prove, even more so when we have limited evidence and a less formal audience. However, if you do go that direction make sure you take some time to review qualifiers and the difference between causation and correlation.

If you get stuck at this stage you can always text or email your professor to see if you're on the right track.

What Is a Prescriptive Claim?

Before we move on to talk about reasons, I want to clarify one important thing about claims. Claims can come in two orientations: descriptive and prescriptive. 

Descriptive claims focus on telling us how things are. The best analogy is how a doctor might give a patient the diagnosis that he or she has strep throat based on observed symptoms. 

Prescriptive claims, on the other hand, focus on telling us how things should be. To use our analogy above, this is where the doctor might tell the patient with strep throat to take an oral antibiotic and take over-the-counter medicines to help reduce fever and pain. 

These both do important things, but I want to push you toward prescriptive claims since those are the ones readers are most interested in and the ones that we can cover completely in our writing. For example, if you wrote a descriptive claim that said Roxbury Community College lost nursing program accreditation in 2019 but received approval for a new nursing program starting in the fall of 2021, readers would see this as a diagnosis without treatment--like if the doctor said you have a broken arm and then just left the room without coming back. On the other hand, if I write that the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing should not have ended RCC's nursing program accreditation in the first place, then I've got the right kind of prescriptive claim to satisfy readers. 

The bottom line here: prescriptive claims are a safer bet for this kind of writing.  

Finding and Testing Reasons

Once you've got a claim, the next step is to find reasons. Those, you recall, are reasons why readers should agree with your claim. For example, check out the claim and reasons combined in a thesis here:

The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing did the right thing when it reinstated RCC's nursing program accreditation because the college had already taken action to have stable leadership in place and scores on the NCLEX-RN exam are competitive with other colleges,

This is just a first draft, something off the top of the head. After you have a claim and begin thinking about reasons--something that you can also isolate by doing some freewriting, talking with people you know, or asking questions of a Generative AI bot like ChatGPT (as long as you don't copy/paste the reply into your essay)--the next move is to go online and test if informal sources see the same reasons. An alternate approach, of course, is to do informal research first to see what reasons people give in their arguments and then adapt them for your own thesis. For this assignment you can borrow claims other people make and you can borrow reasons; that's because how you put the essay together, how you prove your point with evidence, and the tone/style you use, will be your own.

Note, this is also a great time to get feedback from someone else. This person wouldn't have to be in our class; you can have an informal conversation with friends, family, coworkers, and just about anyone to get a sense why people might argue for/against your claim. It's good to do this even if you have three reasons you feel good about because you should be looking for one or two backups. This is just in case a reason ends up having less evidence than you originally thought or if you end up short on total length for the full draft. 

What Do Reasons Do?

Just a quick reminder that the reasons from your thesis are what you'll work to prove, what you'll try to find evidence for, and what will organize the body of your essay. For example, imagine that this was my thesis--a slightly more refined version of the one we started with earlier on this page: 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts should expand free tuition to public four-year colleges and universities because it would help more people move into higher paying jobs and reduce the number of students who don't attend due to the cost. 

When I get ready to start finding my sources, I won't focus on the claim; I'd start looking for research that proves attending community college can help people get good paying jobs. Having the reason, then, can focus the research by establishing exactly what you're trying to prove; this can help save you time as you search for sources to support your ideas. 

Mapping Your Thesis onto an Outline

I also want to suggest that you use an outline to break the essay into several smaller parts that you can work on independently and in any order you choose. You will be required to submit this outline as an assignment for points later this week, but that's mostly so that your professor can offer some feedback. As you prepare for that work, here's the model I'd suggest following, one based on an approach called classical argument: 

Remember, you'll need to cover all of these parts in your essay (if you want it to be effective persuading readers) even if you don't use the outline as you work. Here's some additional clarification as you begin planning your essay: 

• You'll likely need two (but potentially three) reasons depending on how long each paragraph turns out

• You must have at least one naysayer paragraph (sometimes called a counter-argument or potential objection)

• You should consider using more than one body paragraph to prove one of your reasons. That means taking the time to prove a reason in more depth, provide additional examples, or focus on a different approach to present your proof. 

• You should NOT have a Works Cited page or in-text citations; you'll use only signal phrases to give clear attribution when you quote or borrow ideas from a source

Just keep these things in mind as you plan, and know that doing everything here should get you to the length you need without a lot of stress. 

What Role Do Audiences Play in Shaping Writing?

By now you've probably seen me mention the audience for your writing a few times. But one of the big things Essay #2 requires is that you adjust your approach and make different decisions than you did for the previous essay we wrote for the college application essay based on your own personal story. To help break that down a bit further, consider how Indiana University explains determining an audience:

As a writer, your audience is not whoever reads the essay (this is far too broad) or even simply your instructor (of course he/she will read the essay). Instead,  audience is the group of people you want to educate or persuade.   

Why Audience Matters

Knowing the audience for a particular essay is important because it determines the content that will appear in the writing. The content of an essay that has a specific topic will vary depending on the intended audience. In other words, having a focused topic is important, but having a specific audience in mind is equally important.

For example, let’s say you are writing an expository (informative) essay on the most important practice techniques for becoming a better soccer player. If your audience is beginning soccer players, or players who know little about the game, the techniques needed to get better are different than if you are writing to intermediate players who want to become good enough to enter and/or win tournaments. In the first example, the steps would be more basic, while in the second example they would obviously be more advanced. Either way, the topic of the essay, becoming a better soccer player, is the same, but because the audiences are different, the information in each essay will be different as well. 

The same is true of an argument or persuasive essay. If you are arguing for a change to occur, identifying the level at which you want this change to occur and/or the people you want to persuade to help create this change (audience) is important.  For example, an essay about the need to change a college's grading system can have different audiences. One potential audience may be the students who attend the college, in which case explaining how this change would benefit students with more accurate grading becomes important. Another audience could be the college's administration, in which case the benefits for enrollment and student retention become important points to address.

More on Audience

Knowing the intended audience for an essay can also answer other questions that frequently arise when we write. For instance, writers often wonder if the use of jargon (words or language related to a specific field, like nursing terms) or acronyms (abbreviations of longer names/terms) is appropriate or must be explained. This question can be answered by knowing the audience. If the audience for an essay should understand these terms, then they don’t necessarily need to be explained and can be used. Put another way, if you are writing an essay on a medical topic and the audience is medical professionals, complex medical terms can and probably even should be used. If, on the other hand, your audience is a group of non-medical experts (ex: a person diagnosed with cancer), such terms would need to be explained or not used at all.

Tip: One way to develop and sustain a specific audience is to incorporate who you're writing to (i.e. naming the person/entity who can take action) into the thesis statement. 

Source Types for Less Formal Audiences

As you might recall from the assignment sheet and the previous module, Essay #2 does use sources, but they'll be less formal than some you might have focused on in past writing assignments. On top of using less formal sources to match our less formal audience, we're also not going to use MLA in-text citations or a Works Cited page; instead, we're going to depend entirely on signal phrases (such as: According to the Purdue OWL, "...") to show ownership of material we use as evidence. 

Let's start by talking about what effective less formal sources look like. 

How to Find Credible Websites

When we write for an average non-expert audience we have to make sure the sources we use are at the same level as our readers. That means we don't want to use overly scientific or technical evidence that most average readers wouldn't be willing or maybe even able to understand. Instead, we're going to use something typically referred to as a credible website. 

In this particular case, I'm going to suggest evaluating websites by something called "perceived credibility" which refers to how likely your audience is to know and trust the source. Google News provides a pretty interesting case study. 

If I search for news stories about abuse in online gaming communities (randomly chosen) I get these results:

That means my choices for which source to use, assuming each one was talking about the same thing, would be The New York Times, CNET, Boing Boing, The Mercury News, and a website called Unicorn Booty. When I'm evaluating websites for perceived credibility, I ask myself:

Which of these sources is likely to be something readers recognize and trust?

Obviously, I think, the highest perceived credibility in this case is The New York Times followed by CNET since most readers will have heard of them before. If I wasn't sure, I'd spend some time doing a quick search to learn a bit about these organizations. That's extra work, but if you want a convincing argument it's worth the time. 

What I want to suggest here is that you should use sources you find through Google, especially if you narrow those searches by using terms that emerge from specific keywords in a thesis reason. Then, as you're looking through the results, choose first based on which result is the best fit for what you're trying to prove; if there is more than one source that could work, decide based on this idea of perceived credibility and pick something readers will most likely recognize and trust. 

Integrating Sources into an Essay Using Signal Phrases

One thing you notice pretty quickly by looking at a published editorial--which is the best sample for this assignment--is that there aren't formal citations or reference lists at the end. Instead, authors give credit for borrowed material by using signal phrases. Here's an example from a Boston Herald editorial about how employees shouldn't be penalized for Boston's traffic causing delays:

"The number of rides in Massachusetts through ride-hail companies such as Uber and Lyft jumped about 25% in 2018, to 81.3 million, compared with 2017, according to a recent report from the state Department of Public Utilities."

Notice how the source is credited here? 

After the quotation the writer has added "according to a recent report from the state Department of Public Utilities" in order to show where the specific numbers are being borrowed from. This move not only helps to avoid plagiarism (something professional writers and college students have to take seriously), it also helps to communicate credibility when we pick good sources. 

Just like we just mentioned, the source example above is giving credit using the "according to" structure of a signal phrase; moreover, it actually works to give the source's full name and establish their credibility by giving credentials, saying "state Department of Public Utilities." 

Remember: In your Essay #2 you must use signal phrases when you bring in an outside source--something you'll also have to do in order to make a convincing argument. In fact, if you don't use a signal phrase it creates plagiarism which the course syllabus explains has severe consequences; for our final essay, it could mean receiving a 0 which would make it mathematically impossible to pass the course. So be careful, especially when you copy/paste from a website, to put what you borrow in "quotation marks" right away and to add a signal phrase that shows where it came from. 

Signal Phrases

Signal phrases introduce anything you borrow from outside and give attribution to the source. They're not hard to do, and remembering to do them is the best way to protect yourself from plagiarism. They also help you avoid a writing error called a dropped quotation. 

The basic formula to use as a starting point is: 

According to [SOURCE], "[QUOTATION]." 

or

[SOURCE] states "[QUOTATION]."

Again, I also want you to think of signal phrases as how we communicate credibility in our writing. And since credibility is necessary for persuasion, it's worth remembering. To gain credibility from the sources we use it's important that instead of giving a title in your signal phrase, something that only communicates credibility if the reader has heard of your source before, that you tell readers the author's credentials. Credentials can be a simple statement of where the person works and what they do:

According to Christopher Ferguson, Kimberlee Salmond, and Kamla Modi, university researchers who study child psychology, "the influence of reality television on adolescent behavior is complex." 

Even though this is a bit vague in terms of their credentials, it's still better than giving a title of the website or article since it helps readers see these people as experts in this field. Note, too, that you only need to use the full name(s) and credentials the first time you use the source; after that, you would refer to them by last names only. 

Quotation

Remember, quotation is when you borrow someone's exact words. Those words go inside quotation marks and cannot be changed without indication in[side] of square brackets. To see more rules for quotation marks, including where to put punctuation, review this handout from the Purdue OWL. 

Paraphrase

Paraphrase is treated the same as quotation, but instead of using the exact words you'd reword the source's ideas into your own structure and language. This is hard and it increases the risk of unintentional plagiarism, but it's a mark of more advanced writing. 

You can find some review of the specific techniques, expectations, and examples from the Purdue OWL here. 

How to Develop a Potential Objection Paragraph

This is a part of the essay where we introduce a potential objection (sometimes called a counterargument or naysayer) and reply to it as a way to defend our position and show fairness. It also helps us develop credibility by showing that we're aware of how people might object. It also adds length to an essay in a productive way.

Common Objections

When writing an editorial there are a few common objections that readers might have with our argument. They might object that your solution to a problem won't work. They could argue that what you're proposing is too expensive. The could also say that what you say will take too long to work. And this objection could focus on your thesis, one of your reasons, or something else in your essay that feels like it could be challenged. 

For higher education, especially for a solution to a problem like the cost of providing free tuition, it might look like this:

Critics often argue that providing tuition free community college places a significant burden on taxpayers--many who will not use the program--and could require substantial increases in government spending over time.

Again, even if these might not be views you personally hold, the potential objection section is a chance to bring them into the essay and then defend your own position. Or if a counterargument seems close to what you believe, you can acknowledge it while still supporting your thesis by using concession in your reply. 

Developing a Reply

After we've brought in an objection we have to develop our reply. There are two options that allow us to defend our original claim in the thesis: refute the objection by saying it's incorrect or concede to some part of the objection while still holding on to what we believe. Using the objection above, here's what a reply for each option might look like:

1) Refute

Critics often argue that providing tuition free community college places a significant burden on taxpayers--many who will not use the program--and could require substantial increases in government spending over time. But this isn't true. It's essential to consider the various funding options available. In many cases, additional sources of revenue outside of increased taxes can be identified, such as reallocating existing budgets, expanding corporate tax bases, or implementing targeted fees on specific industries that benefit from a skilled workforce. Furthermore, if new taxes are necessary, they can be designed to minimize the burden on low-income individuals and families. For example, Massachusetts recently implemented a 4% additional tax on income over $1 million, which has been successfully used to fund community college tuition. This approach ensures that the cost of providing free community college is borne primarily by those who are best able to afford it.

2) Concede

Critics often argue that providing tuition free community college places a significant burden on taxpayers--many who will not use the program--and could require substantial increases in government spending over time. This might be true. However, it's important to consider the long-term benefits. Studies have shown that graduates of community college programs are more likely to find employment, earn higher wages, and contribute more to the tax base. Additionally, a well-educated workforce can attract businesses and industries to the area, leading to increased economic growth and job opportunities. By investing in tuition-free community college, we are not only improving the lives of individuals but also strengthening our local economy and society as a whole.

While either reply is perfectly acceptable, it is worth pointing out that concession replies are always seen as more complex and likely more effective. That's because they work to build common ground with someone who disagrees rather than just dismissing them outright. The move also shows you in a more positive way that could potentially build goodwill which can cause readers to see your argument more favorably. 

Writing an Effective Conclusion

While we put a lot of pressure on our conclusions to end in a meaningful way (something we might have learned from television, to be honest), but readers have very simple rhetorical needs at this point in the argument. They need a quick reminder what you're asking them to believe, and they need a sense why this matters in their lives. 

Repeat the Thesis Claim

The best and perhaps clearest way to remind readers what you want them to agree with at the end of your argument is to repeat your claim from the thesis (i.e. just the claim, not the reasons). This plays an important role in reminding readers what you want them to agree with at the end of the argument. It also signals a conclusion by echoing the introduction in a recognizable way. 

Just a quick note if you're thinking about just copying/pasting the thesis from your introduction: repeating the same thing in the same way is less likely to convince readers than trying with different wording. That's the incentive to try saying the same thing in a different way. 

Another reminder is to not use the phrase "In conclusion" or any variation ("In summary," "To conclude," etc.) since we don't see it in published writing. Instead, published writers work to signal a conclusion by looping back to something from the introduction or echoing something from the introduction in order to give readers a feeling that we've made a full circle. This is why, at a bare minimum, you need to repeat the thesis since that echoes the introduction where you initially presented your position.

Outline Benefits for Stakeholders

This is something we do in the conclusion where we tell readers and other stakeholders the good things they'll get if they agree. It's a powerful move to help make an argument feel personal, like it has real significance for someone who has to decide if s/he agrees with you. 

To do this work, start with the stakeholders--those impacted by what you propose in the essay--and think about the good things they get if they agree. If you find yourself stuck, look online for benefits and think of those as directions you might consider starting your own explanation. 

Wait, Aren't We Supposed to Summarize?

One common misconception about conclusions is that they have to summarize the essay. While this is true for long essays (think ten or more pages) where readers may have forgotten some of the points you made, in an assignment like this where you're making a short argument it's not necessary to remind readers what you just said. In fact, there's a chance that repeating yourself in the conclusion could erode goodwill as readers prefer to end essays as quickly as possible (a concept that comes from business writing and public speaking). 

In addition to making sure everything is included in your draft, you'll also need to spend some time making sure you've done everything to earn as many points as possible. You can start by reviewing the scoring rubric and evaluating whether you've done everything listed. For this essay, make sure you pay particular attention to the exigence and background, use of signal phrases to introduce sources, paragraph transitions, naysayer paragraph, avoiding you/your, and benefits if we agree in the conclusion. 

Key Takeaways

• Thesis reasons help keep things organized and can help you avoid being overwhelmed by lots of research; if you're not sure what reasons to use, you can look at what other people have said and talk to people you know. These are what you'll focus on proving with sources in the essay.

• Credible websites can be effective sources for less formal audiences; when we are deciding which sources to use we should look first for the one that best fits what we're trying to prove and then at which has the strongest perceived credibility--sources that readers will have heard of and ideally trust. 

• Integrating research into an informal essay, whether by quotation or paraphrase, only happens by using a signal phrase; the first signal phrase for a source should give the full name(s) and brief credentials for the author(s), but every mention after can use just the last name. Audience plays an important role shaping your writing; knowing how to manage different audiences (formal/informal, expert/non-expert, etc.) will make you a more versatile and competent writer. 

• Since Essay #2 changes who we're writing for, there are five areas where you should pay extra attention: exigence, background, signal phrases, naysayer, and benefits in the conclusion.

• Checklists can help you make sure you haven't forgotten anything for the essay and the scoring rubric can help you make sure you're doing the best work you can in each section.

Reading Assignments

Essay #2 Assignment Sheet

Essay #2 Scoring Rubric

Student Samples:

"It’s Time to Remove Restrictions on Boston’s Tuition-Free Community College Plan" - Spring 2020

"Why Roxbury Community College Needs Competitive Sports" - Fall 2019

Process Portfolio Assignment Sheet

Alternative link to Activities chart: https://bit.ly/3lsTe6T 

Make sure you check back on Monday, October 21st to see the work required for Week 6 and plan accordingly. If you have any questions about this week's material or the course in general contact your professor by email (jbreitenfeldt@rcc.mass.edu) or by text (857) 997-0730. 

 "Op-ed Writing: Tips and Tricks" from The OpEd Project

Interested in getting your op-ed essay published? Start here to see publications and then review advice for pitching the writing here. Your professor can also help.