Proposal Essays

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Proposal Essays
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Proposal Essays Requirements

• A Proposal
• Outside Evidence/Sources
• Significance
• 5-7 pages

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Proposal Essays Requirements

• Proposal
• Must be clear, decisive in paper
• May address a variety of issues
• Must be directed at an audience

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Proposal Essays Requirements

• Outside Evidence
• Looking for at least 4 sources
• Looking for direct quotes from sources
• Any other authors words must be in quote marks
• Successful essays will probably use varied
  evidence
• Successful essays will use authoritative evidence

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Proposal Essays Requirements

• Significance
• Must convince your audience your proposal is
  worth caring about
• Must convince your audience that you care
• Must be interesting for 5-7 pages
• Should be worth college credit

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Other Grading Considerations

• Effectiveness of Argument
• Organization
• Audience Awareness
• Evidence
• Critical Thinking
• Voice
• Mechanics

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Other Grading Considerations

• Effectiveness of Argument
• Is it convincing? Is it likely to achieve its
  purpose
• Does it account for potential problems and flaws
  in the argument?
• Does your argument consider its audience?
• Does the argument consider kairos? (Right time,
  right action, right measure)

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Other Grading Considerations

• Organization
• Is the paper well structured?
• Do paragraphs work together to contribute to the
  overall argument?
• Are there unnecessary sections or paragraphs?
• Does the paper have an effective introduction and
  conclusion?
• Are there fluid transitions?

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Other Grading Considerations

• Audience Awareness
• Is the paper written to an audience with
  investment and agency?
• Is the paper written in a style which will
  identify with the audience?
• Does it build ethos for its intended audience?
• Does the paper effectively rally its audience to
  action?

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Other Grading Considerations

• Evidence
• Does the paper use a variety of evidence types?
• Does the evidence support and develop all the
  claims of the argument?
• Does it use evidence which is credible for the
  intended audience?
• Does the paper demonstrate comprehensive
  research?

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Other Grading Considerations

• Critical Thinking
• Does the paper consider multiple
  viewpoints/solutions?
• Does the paper consider opposing viewpoints?
• Does it use qualifiers effectively?
• Is the argument problematized?
• Are unique solutions/viewpoints considered?

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Other Grading Considerations

• Voice
• Does the paper sound like you?
• Is the paper interesting to read?
• Is the voice appropriate to the audience?
• Is the voice rhetorically effective?

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Other Grading Considerations

• Mechanics
• Spelling
• Formatting (font, pages in order)
• Grammar
• Style
• Citations

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Qualities of Good Proposals

• Specificity
• The proposal offers a very specific solution to
  the problem presented.
• OK We should fight terrorism.
• BETTER The most effective way to fight
  terrorism is to locate missing nuclear weapon
  from the former Soviet Union.
• OK Purdue should fix its parking problem.
• BETTER Purdue should fix its parking problem by
  employing robot valets.

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Qualities of Good Proposals

• Specificity will often help you increase the
  length of your paper and delve deeper into your
  subject.
• Specificity will probably make your paper more
  interesting.
• Specificity will probably result in more
  effective persuasion.
• It will demonstrate thoughtfulness.
• A specific problem demands a specific solution
  that will be easier to implement.

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Qualities of Good Proposals

• Uniqueness
• Like specificity, uniqueness can allow for a
  longer, more interesting paper.
• Unique topics and proposals will capture an
  audiences attention.
• Unique topics/proposals will capture more of your
  personality than generic topics that have been
  covered thousands of times.

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Qualities of Good Proposals

• For example
• LAME The US should sanction North Korea.
• LAME The US should not sanction North Korea.
• TOTALLY FREAKING AWESOME! The US should
  resolve its disputes with North Korea through one
  hand of Texas hold-em.

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Qualities of Good Proposals

• Unique arguments can also play against type
• EX A conservative who supports abortion rights
  based on individual freedoms.
• EX A liberal who supports Bushs war efforts
  because of its spread of human rights.

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Qualities of Good Proposals

• Audience Consideration
• A good proposal considers the members of its
  audience who dont agree.
• A good proposal will think about why people
  wouldnt agree and work to change their minds
• You dont always have to convince people who
  agree with you (though you may have to move them
  to action.)