Think about your audience and how you are going to approach that audience:
Goal: to connect with your reader and get your point across.
Defining the following are ways to reach your goal.
Define audience (me, class, someone who will receive this essay once it is complete)
Define purpose (what do you hope to accomplish with your paper? How will the sources you choose aid you in this purpose?)
Define method (how will you address your audience to achieve your purpose? Think about rhetoric: logos, pathos, ethos; what kind of combination would best suit your purpose? What kind of research will support your method? Will you use data tables, anecdotes--personal stories, news reports, events--where your opinion has occurred been observed and recorded, expert opinion, studies, the constitution or laws, etc.)
Last: How will you find sources that will work together in order to reach your goal?
My essay is going to target the No Child Left Behind Act and my target audience encompasses Parents, Teachers, Schools, Congress, and The House of Representatives in hopes of revising and updating the current act. My goal is to use statistics, my own children's experiences, and an interview with a teacher. This topic is important in order to advance our children to be successful and accomplished adults that are productive in society. I will find my sources by researching proven studies on the internet, reflecting with my own children on their recollection along with my own, and a personal interview with my Aunt who is a retired teacher. My Aunt is a Congresswoman who I would also love to use as a source, but getting a hold of her is not very consistent, so that may not happen.
ReplyDeleteThat's two different Aunt's in case anyone is confused.
DeleteNickie,
DeleteThis is a very interesting topic. I think the act was established in a good faith attempt to better education, but so far it appears to be counterproductive. It looks like you have a strong collection of sources for information and will be able to build a very compelling case.
Jared,
DeleteI agree, I believe it was established in good faith with good intentions, but somewhere along the way lost focus. I hope the paper comes out as well as I what I have dreamed up in my head.
good thing you clarified, i thought you were talking about the same person. anyways, that is a really interesting topic. probably kids already know about this law, because as a parent, i gave up in trying for my kids to do better in school. i can only hope they good in life, but as for the school, it seems like it really doesn't matter if they pass or fail, everybody passes and nobody is a looser. anyways i think you are heading in the right direction.
DeleteNickie,
DeleteI believe this is a very important topic, seeing as it has to do with our childrens future education needs. I hope you get that interview with your aunt that is in congress, it will be a great source to use for your essay.
Within my paper, I plan to show that the problem of LGBT bullying needs to be treated at the bully level, not the victim level. While any trauma, physical or mental, needs to be addressed in the victims, I would also seek to show that simply treating the victims does not resolve the problem of where this trauma came from. The intended audience would be those in the psychology field, though I do not intend on showing it to them, it would mainly be to better focus my efforts and avoid excessive explanation.
ReplyDeleteI plan to primarily use logic and data to prove that bullies must be treated as well, as while emotion is nice, it will not necessarily prove anything, though it could be used for emphasis. This will come from studies and charts, though the information, not the charts, will be what I include in the paper. With a good choice in sources, credibility should come on its own. These sources will come from EBSCO, possibly an internet source as well, especially peer reviewed journals, as these have been looked at by those who are already shown themselves to be credible within the psychological community.
Robert,
DeleteI am really looking forward to reading your essay. This topic can go in so many directions because it can become so broad.
I think this is a very important topic that will only get more important as time goes on. I don't know if this will help you with your paper or not but I got curious and looked up LGBT bullying statistics. Kind of crazy that nearly one forth of all students report being bullied for different reasons at one point during their schooling. This was the site
Deletehttp://youroutsource.org/outstats/bullying.html
The audience that this paper will be geared towards is anyone who believes that there should be no welfare,medicaid or any other programs related to those at all. The purpose of the paper will be to show some methods that can be taken to possibly better the welfare system and other programs to the point that it isn't always taken advantage of without having to completly shut it down. I believe that the best method to use in this paper is a little bit of all three: logos, pathos, and ethos. I will look for research on this topic on government pages such as human resources, along with news articles and possibly some personal stories.
ReplyDeleteJessica,
DeleteThis is a great topic that has many issues within. I will anticipate reading this paper because I am one who feels anyone on welfare should be drug tested. Why should I have to be subject to drug testing to earn the taxes that partially go to support welfare programs, but the people receiving assistance do not have to live up to the same standards? This will be exciting to hear what you discover.
That’s a very interesting and controversial subject. Likewise, I feel about Medicaid and Welfare as well as other programs should not completely be eliminated but a modification to the system should definitely be made. I look forward to hear about your findings, a good place to search is http://www.medicaid.gov/Medicaid-CHIP-Program-Information/By-Topics/Eligibility/Eligibility.html
DeleteI looked into this page to actually see the qualifications to apply for Medicaid.
Nickie,
DeleteI agree with you on the drug testing, that is actually on of the points that I will be using in my essay.
Crystal,
Thank you for the link on Medicaid.
Jessica,
DeleteI really like this topic. More and more people are getting on some type of welfare these days so there definitly needs to be some reform of some type. I thought this site might help if you haven't been to it already...
http://www.welfareinfo.org/reform/
So for this paper I’m going to have my audience is going to be the general public. I plan on using a lot of scientific sources and websites to make my case against fracking and current fracking procedures. My paper aims to show that the process of fracking is polluting, among other things, or limited supply of fresh ground water. The paper will generally be about the fracking procedures that are in place in the United States today, as that’s where the fracking boom is taking place at this time. Scientific sources will aide in proving this pollution is going on by showing the effect fracking procedures are having on ground water sources. The fact that this will be mostly a science based type paper it will include a lot of logos and ethos, and not so much of pathos. I think this combination will best suit my paper and get my point across to my intended audience since it is mainly going to be to prove that ground water is being contaminated. I plan to use results and findings (i.e. data from ground water studies near fracking sites, ground water data before and after fracking taken place, etc.) from different websites that all coincide and support my thesis so it makes the information more creditable. I think finding these different resources and bringing them all together will help reach my goal and get the information across to my audience.
ReplyDeleteRobert,
DeleteThis will be an interesting paper. What little I know of fracking seems to be environmentally focused and how it harms the environment. Proof of this will be a fascinating read.
Have you considered looking into why fracking is still largely unregulated? What may be stopping it from being more regulated, what is coming down the pipe to help with regulation? Also, if you're going to touch on drinkable water, there is quite a bit of speculation on when our need for water will exceed the available resource. about 10-15 years is the few guesses I've heard.
DeleteYea I've heard kind of similar guesstimates on our fresh water supply. And yea I'll probably touch on why the fracking industry is so lightly regulated at this point. I think it's a combination of things, and doesn't seem like there is a lot coming down the pipe. They still need to figure out if they want to regulate it on a federal or state level. I always lean towards state regulation myself.
DeleteTo the Parents of young children. To teach them more about mental illness in America and people's attitude towards people with mental illness. The sources will appeal to the parents that understand more statistics and articles from people with mental illness and articles written by real doctors dealing with mental illness. By using different articles and researches, i will be able to appear to their emotional side and statistics to show how metal illness people are being looked at and treated. i will look for articles on the internet, look at studies that have been done in the past and public speeches mostly on personal stories. look on the internet, talk with some doctors that deal with mental illness, look on you tube for personal stories, and look up articles that talks about mental illness.
ReplyDeleteChei,
DeleteAre you going to focus on a specific mental illness or just mental illness in general? It seems that some mental illnesses are more accepted and understood and brought to the forefront more than others as. Maybe take a gander at that and see if you can narrow your topic. If you want, you don't have to.
In the line of Nickie's thought, a focus may help, however it may be difficult, especially in school age children, to find something more specific in regards to a certain mental illness. However, it would likely be easy if you pick a good target, such as a learning disability of some sort born of a mental problem or illness, or even a physical disability.
DeleteChei,
DeleteThis topic seems appealing. Will you just be looking to raise the awareness on mental illness, or arguing for solutions to change the general attitude towards people with mental illness's? I think you're heading in the right direction.
Chei
DeleteMental illness in America is a topic that I found people make their own assumptions towards and it is usually negative. Was there one specific mental illness that you were going to focus on or in general all mental illnesses? If you focus on specific illness will probably help you narrow your research, but either way this is a good informative topic.
I am writing my essay on the religious impact on government policy and campaigns. My audience would be conservative evangelical politicians who still rely mainly on using religion to benefit themselves politically. My purpose is to to explain the controversy, effects and history of using religion to influence government policies,laws, and campaigns. The method's I intend to use would be a combination of logos and pathos. My resources would be previous examples of political campaigns and policies backed by religion,current constitutional laws that are based on religion that are controversial, and the overall effects of these controversial laws.
ReplyDeletethat is an interesting topic. not many people (like me) know about religious impact on government. i kinda assumed before from knowing the Vatican as having a country of its own. but besides all this, i think you are heading in the right direction. i think it's a good research to shed more light on this topic
DeleteJared,
DeleteInteresting topic that I am also "opinionated" about. Are you arguing against religion in government?
Nickie,
DeleteYes, I will be arguing against religious influence on government laws,campaigns etc. Any solid resources that you may have that are either in favor or oppose would be welcomed.
Jared,
DeleteThere are so many different religions. Is there a main one that dominates others or do they all have the same impact on government?
The purpose of my paper is to bring forth that typically campaigns towards bullying is aimed towards children and teens. In reality not only children and teens are being bullied, adults are victims of bullying as well. My method of research consists of online Adult Bullying, news reports and also several campaigns add. I plan to find real life cases and statistics on this topic because my audience will be the average adult.
ReplyDeleteCrystal,
DeleteThis is a wonderful topic. I am glad to see it being researched. I don't think many of us take the time to consider bulling beyond grade school unless we happen to be a victim of it ourselves. I look forward to seeing the research you find and reading your take on this subject.
Crystal,
Deletethis sounds like a really interesting topic, many people don't really think about adult bullying, but i guess it's there. i always thought as adults, we should be able to defend ourselves, and bullying can be stopped. anyways, looking forward to your research. i think your heading in the right direction.
Crystal,
DeleteI like the topic that you chose to go with, I completely agree that bullying goes beyond young children and teenagers. It is good that you are bringing this topic to the light as there are many people who probably don't ever think that it exists. I look forward to seeing what type of research you find.
Crystal,
DeleteI think this is going to be a very interesting topic, and something not talked about usually. As previously mentioned bullying for adults is always referred to as assault so it will be interested to see what you actually find out about adult bullying.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMy paper is about the internment camps in the US during WWII. My audience is general as I feel this is a topic that should be viewed by all. I believe that there is too much in our history that is covered up or just not discussed. Not teaching ourselves or our children about these things can only lead to the continuing of these acts in history. I plan to use logos, pathos, and ethos as each one is necessary to achieve the desired impact that this paper needs. I will be using the internet, documentaries, articles, and hopefully being able to visit one of the camps here in Colorado as my sources for research. Discrimination in this world in not a new issue nor will it disappear anytime soon, but through educating ourselves and future generations hopefully this something we can make a much bigger impact on.
ReplyDeleteOur history is very well covered. If you're wanting to show how we cover up history, you might want to look up Felix Longoria. Not only is his story also a civil rights story, it's also not in the history books.
DeleteHolly,
ReplyDeleteI like the topic you chose, people to forget and educators at times fail to bring forth the harsher history this country had because of cover ups like you mentioned. All three ethos, pathos and logos would be great for your paper, I hope I get to hear what you found with your research.
Holly,
DeleteThis is a very interesting topic that I believe you can write a great paper about. I also belive that there are many parts of history that have not been brought up that should, no matter of how harsh it maybe. I look forward to being able to hear the information you have found on this topic especially if you get to go visit the camp.