Writing Homework Help

Write a 5-7 page (1,300-1,800 word) essay that states, evaluates, and critiques 3 arguments on a controversial topic. You must consider arguments on both sides of your topic. For example, if the morality of abortion were your topic, you should consider at least one article that supports the conclusions that abortion is morally wrong and at least article that argues abortion is morally permissible. Remember, you are not arguing for your position on the topic in this paper; instead, you are stating, evaluating, and critiquing the arguments of others. In Paper #2, you will be creating arguments of your own on your controversial topic.

In order to state an argument, I expect you to: i) state the argument in your own words (though, you can selectively use quotes to support your interpretation of the article), and ii) state the argument in standard form. [For example

           P1- It is always morally wrong to kill human persons

           P2- Abortion is the act of killing a human person

           C- Therefore, abortion is morally wrong.]

In order to evaluate an argument, I expect you to: i) state whether the argument is best interpreted as an inductive or a deductive argument, and give reasons for why you think this. [Remember, you should attempt to interpret the argument in the best light possible; in other words, don’t state the argument in an obviously illogical way when it can be formulated in a stronger way.] ii) state whether the argument is strong/weak or valid/invalid and give your reasons why you think this.

Also, I want you state whether the article  contains any rhetorical devices (aka persuaders) or fallacies. Make sure to give textual evidence to support your claims.

Lastly, I want you to critique each argument. What this means is that even if you think that the argument is good, I want you to think about what an opponent of the argument might say in response. In general, an opponent of an argument will try to show either that at least one of the argument’s premises is false or that the argument is invalid/weak.

Sources: I would prefer you to choose arguments from newspapers or magazines or the kind of articles your friends/family posts on  social media.  If you would like to use a book or an online source (not including online newspapers, magazines, etc.), please check with me. Predictably, Wikipedia and Reddit articles are not permitted for this assignment. Importantly, each article you analyze MUST contain an argument; if an article ONLY reports factual information on a topic, then it does not contain an argument.