ASSIGNMENT 4
Making a Persuasive Argument
Letter to a Representative
Assignment 4 due dates:
Proposal: Due Monday, February 12th
Audience Identification: Due Monday, February 12th
Draft Letter: Due Wednesday, February 21st
Final Letter: Due Friday, March 2nd
Assignment 4 will result in your writing a letter to a local representative or other member of an
organization. Your letter should be 4-5 pages (1250-1500 words) long. This assignment is
meant to help you discover what counts as a persuasive argument for you audience and what the
terms of discussion are for the topic you choose. You are in a position to persuade others
because you have been researching an environmental change issue and you can now use your
researched information to persuade readers to seriously consider adopting you perspective or
position on a debatable aspect of your issue. Your argument will make use of the research
presented in your report, but it may also incorporate material from your own experience. There
are two smaller assignments that must be completed as well. They will prepare you to write your
essay by helping you identify the focused and debatable question you will be addressing in the
paper and your audience. This is also an exercise in writing for a real audience. After I have a
look at your final drafts we will mail the letters to the real representative, and will hopefully
receive response later in the quarter.
What am I looking for?
I’m looking for a persuasive argument that is supported by evidence and structured
logically that also shows students gained an improved understanding of how we perceive
environmental problems.
Due Monday, February 12th: What is your question? Your Positon?
The first step towards writing a successful argument paper/letter is identifying the
question you are going to address and deciding on your position. The controlling question of
your argument need not be the same question that you responded to in your research paper. You
can use the same research topic and research material that you used I your research report white
paper. Feel free to change topics if you choose, you’ll just have to do new research. You may
want to ask a more focused question or a more general question, or a question that focuses on
only on aspect of the issue you considered in your report.
Make sure that the question raises a debatable issue—that is something about which there
is disagreement among reasonable people. Do not ask a question about which there isn’t any
debate or that can be answered by simply giving facts. Your argument will draw upon facts or
evidence to persuade your readers, but it also will depend upon how plausible your
interpretations of those facts are and how logical your reasoning is. For example topics see the
list included at the end of this assignment.
For this short assignment I would like you to write a 1 page proposal describing the topic
and the specific question you will address. Define your topic narrowly and choose an issue for
which you can readily gather data. If you have any questions or concerns you would like me to
address about your proposed question make a note or pose questions at the bottom of your
proposal and I will respond to you. This assignment is intended to help you focus your argument
on a specific question. If the question you are addressing is too broad you may not be able to
provide adequate evidence to persuade your audience.
Part 1: Argument Question Proposal
Due: Monday, February 12th
Description: Short summary and description
Length: 1 page
Format Details: Double-spaced, 12 pt font, Time New Roman, 1 ¼” margins all around
Citation Format: MLA (if necessary)
Due Monday, February 12th: Who is your audience?
The second step in writing this assignment will be for you to identify the representative
of the organization, state or federal government, or community group you will be addressing. I
have provided a general list of California senators and representatives there are also more local
politicians that you may want to contact. You can search online for your senators, congressmen
and local representative and find out information on their backgrounds, political focus, etc. You
can choose another type of audience such as representatives of environmental groups like the
Sierra Club or the Surfrider Foundation.
For this short assignment I want you to hand in a 1 page write up identifying your
audience, what political arena they work (i.e. local or federal) and any biographical information
you deem appropriate including their political positions related to your issue. You can search
for this information by using the government website for your chosen representative or the
website for the foundation or environmental group. Does your audience already have a stated
position on your issue? If so, what is it? Haw your audience supported or proposed nay laws,
policies or plans related to your issue? If not, it’s alright you can still argue your position.
Include a short reference section where you can include any cited sources in your summary as
well as all web page sources. This short assignment is meant to help you focus your writing and
give you a clear idea who your audience is. This also helps me identify who I’m supposed to be
when I read your final argument letters.
Part 2: Argument Audience Identification
Due: Monday, February 12th
Description: Description and summary information
Length: 1 page
Format Details: Double-spaced, 12 pt font, Time New Roman, 1 ¼” margins all around
Citation Format: MLA (if necessary)
Some questions and considerations to help you focus your argument:
As you are formulating your argument, you may decide that you need to do more
research to make a persuasive argument. In fact, I suspect you will need to do more research as
you may find that some of the sources you relied upon for your report were unreliable. In other
words, as you compose your argument, you will have to evaluate your sources: Are the facts and
opinions you now have adequate to support you claim? And where they are not, you will either
have to find new, more reliable sources or you will have to modify your claim.
Questions to consider as you write:
About your evidence:
Is the evidence up to date?
Is the evidence sufficient?
Is the evidence relevant?
Are examples representative?
Are the examples consistent with the experience of the audience?
If you are going to use statistics, you will want to ask:
Do the statistics come from trustworthy sources?
Are the terms clearly defined?
Are the comparisons between comparable things?
Has any significant information been omitted?
If you are going to rely on others opinions, you will want to ask:
Is the source of the opinion qualified to give an opinion on the subject?
Is the source biased for or against his or her interpretation?
Has the source bolstered the claim with sufficient and appropriate evidence?
If you will be making an appeal to needs and values, you will want to ask:
Have the values been clearly defined?
Are the needs and values to which your resource appeals relevant to your readers?
Is the appeal clearly related to the argument?
ASSIGNMENT 4: Argument Letter Details
Your Role: Advocate in a controversy
Letter Focus: Voice your concern over an environmental issues (related to GEC) and
build an argument, using evidence and logic to reach a conclusion in
support of/or against current policy.
Topic Due: Monday, February 12th
Audience ID Due: Monday, February 12th
Draft Due: Wednesday, February 21th
Final Draft Due: Friday, March 2nd
Form: Persuasive Letter
Audience: Representative, e.g. local congressman or senator
Length: 4-5 pages (1250-1500 words)
Format Details: Double-spaced, 12 pt font, Times New Roman, 1 ¼” margins all around
Letter Format: Traditional business letter format – address, date upper left, RE: your
paper “title”, body, salutation w/ signature and printed name (see in class
example for clarification).
Citation Format: MLA
Example Questions you can take a position on…
CO2 and Emission Reduction
Will giving tax breaks to Hybrid car owners help reduce CA emissions of global warming
emissions? Yes or no?
Will changing the EPA fuel economy requirements help to lower GHG emissions? Yes or no?
Pollution and Clean Air
Will proposed changes to the clear air act improve the health of US citizens? Yes or no?
Will local emission policies help to clean the air in Los Angeles? Yes or no?
Weather related disasters in CA and the US
Does Sacramento need to develop new disaster plans in the face of similar flooding dangers as
New Orleans? Yes or no?
Will changing zoning laws prevent monetary losses as a result of natural disasters (e.g. due to
coastal erosion, hurricanes, or floods)? Yes or no?
Will decreasing/increasing snowpack in the Sierras, believed to be related to changes in climate,
adversely/positively affect water usage and availability in CA? Yes or no?