In this module you are continuing to practice reporting, but focusing more specifically on arguing: the skill of using evidence effectively to persuade an audience. For this Writing Task, you will respond to a piece of writing from Module Two, assessing the community's use of language, and then calling that community to action.

In order to argue persuasively, you must appeal to your audience. Traditionally, writers use three types of appeal - ethos, pathos, and logos - to build a persuasive argument. Click here to watch a short video about these appeals. And check out our course library for even more information. It is important to note that your use of appeals will vary based on the purpose of your message and the audience you’re trying to persuade.

Here's the details for your final writing task!

What should I do?

To get started on this task, reread the material from Module Two that you focused on for your fourth Create Ideas activity. Do some research to begin answering the questions you mapped out and identify a language-related issue that you believe the community (the community you explored in the Create Ideas activity) should be aware of and act on. Take notes about that issue - either from the material you've read or through additional research - and decide which rhetorical appeals you might utilize to persuade that community.

Then, write a persuasive essay to convince a specific community to take action in regard to the language-related issue you’ve identified. Your specific perspective - the one you've generated during your brainstorming thus far - should become the major claim of your essay. In order to make an argument, you need to include the evidence that led you to come up with your claim. Evidence in this case might be examples or stories or quotations. That evidence might already be in your Create Ideas work because you incorporated evidence into the questions you developed. Or it might exist in new insights or ideas (your analysis) you've developed since then. You might need to go back to the material you initially read for Create Ideas Activity #4 to help you develop additional evidence. That's fine! Include your best evidence in your argument to help persuade your audience.

Your purpose in this task is to persuade your audience to accept and/or act on your claim (persuade them to think differently, to act in a certain way, to use communication to generate new behaviors, to make policy changes, etc.).

What are the requirements for this essay?

The length and format of this essay are up to you, but you'll want to keep a few things in mind as you write. First, your essay should focus around your argument, and what you're trying to persuade your audience to do should be very clear. Second, your audience for this essay is the community you focused on in your Create Ideas Activity for Module #4. Keep them in mind as you organize your work and make your appeals.

Sticky Note reminding writer to create ideas, write a plan, and then begin writing the first draft.

Writing Tip: After you've read through the Writing Task, but before you write your formal essay, complete a Writing Plan for this assignment (the button below will take you there). The questions in the Writing Plan are intended to help you think about and make decisions for writing your rough draft. Completion of these will allow you to create a more focused, well-organized piece of writing that meets the goals of the assignment and responds to the needs of your audience.

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or to email your instructors!