Persuasive Research Paper Assignment Descriptionwhy
Are We Practicing
Persuasive research paper assignment description: Why are we practicing these skills? Convincing people that your stance is valid is a transferable skill in academics and in all professions. It is important that you become comfortable and confident developing opinions and supporting them with different kinds of (fresh!) evidence. Persuasive essays attempt to convince the reader that your view of the subject is valid. Note that you are not trying to convince the reader that your view or position is the ONLY way to see the subject.
The key is to think defensively: you are trying to explain why YOU see the subject this way. More importantly, you want to base your argument on solid evidence. This is NOT a personal experience essay, even though your personal experiences will probably influence your viewpoint. EVERY point that you make needs to be supported with evidence. Your entire argument should be based on evidence from reliable sources.
In general, evidence that proves your views are shared with a wide variety of other people will help validate your claims; that's one of the primary reasons for using sources—to provide that outside validation that you aren't the only one who feels this way. However, remember that your position should be the focus of the paper. You should not just be blindly repeating your sources' arguments; we want to know YOUR unique set of evidence and how it adds up to support your claims. To produce a credible persuasive essay, the writer should: use grammatically appropriate sentence structures; use appropriate paragraph breaks to control the flow of information; develop and explain the essay content completely; incorporate information from outside sources ethically, effectively, and appropriately using the MLA citation style.
The subject should either be controversial or at least a subject where there are multiple sides or viewpoints being presented. Make sure that you do proper research for this paper. Obtain a variety of sources in terms of time frame and perspectives. If all sources are from the same week, there probably won't be much variety. Many students worry that their opinions don’t matter, but they do!
Please have an opinion! Please state it often. The writer of a persuasive essay should keep the following elements in mind: Purpose—explain YOUR viewpoint on the issue, not just repeat sources' views. You can't just state a fact like "Smoking is unhealthy" without explaining why it is unhealthy. You need sources that back that up. You must explain WHY it's unhealthy. Remember that you are DEFENDING your view, not just telling the audience what to believe.

Audience: Remember that your audience does not know as much as you do. Even if they know facts about the subject, they don't understand your interpretation. Your job is to explain how YOU interpret the information and see things fitting together. Also, do not tell the audience that their views are wrong—Inevitably, your goal is to defend/explain your views, not attack theirs.
Organization: The organization of your argument is flexible. You may incorporate parts of personal narrative, compare/contrast, or classification to develop various parts. Each part of the argument must connect to the main thesis so the overall argument builds toward your conclusion.
Consciously employ critical thinking, paraphrasing, summarizing, and quoting. Use sources from CQ Researcher, Academic Search Premier, ProQuest, Opposing Viewpoints, Seattle Public Library, and King County Libraries. Use an outline to plan your paper. Weave your argument throughout. Maintain a consistent writing voice. Your paper should include at least 8 sources, but more are allowed. You may also include interviews and documentaries. Write yourself into the text with semi-intimate phrasing, like speaking to a respected family member.
Use MLA citation style for citations and EasyBib or NoodleTools for your Works Cited. You must include in-text citations and a final Works Cited page (about 7 pages of main content plus the last page for Works Cited). The paper should have a clear, concise title reflecting your stance. Write in clear, straightforward sentences. Assume the role of a developmental psychologist advising a pregnant woman and a postpartum woman with a 350- to 700-word memo. The memo should include a daily activity list for each woman (3–5 activities with suggested time frames) that positively influences their infant’s development, explained based on developmental theory. Provide detailed reasoning for each activity’s importance in prenatal, postpartum, and future development.