Tips for Shaping and Drafting Paper 2
Behind the scenes—
One of the most common questions I get in paper two—the
surprising reversal/informative research paper—is “if
this paper is all about facts, statistics, numbers
(i.e. logos), well do I get to put my opinion in it at
all?”
The answer is, of course, yes you include your opinion,
but not in ways you may think. What if we think of
ourselves for this paper as a certain kind of
architect—one who makes specific, strategic decisions
about design and structure of a product that isn’t a
building, a roadway, or a tunnel, but an essay. Your
opinion, then, will shine through in the final draft
not so much on the actual topic itself (I’m really more
concerned in content the paper with what experts,
numbers, or other data might say about your topic), but
in the rhetorical decisions you made in an effort to
successfully expand the common perspective.
That’s why it is so important to think strategy for
this paper. How will you word your thesis statement?
Where will you put it and why? What types or kinds of
evidence will you bring to our attention? Exactly how
does that evidence expand the common view? Where will
you put that evidence (in the beginning, middle or end)
and why? Those rhetorical decisions are what you will
be judged upon.
Some tips on what it could look like
First portion of paper:
1. Background information on your issue/problem/topic
Ask yourself, what can I do in this introduction to
best lead up to my surprising reversal thesis? How can
I keep my audience interested until they get to my
thesis? (Perhaps start with a question that is
problematic and significant? The thesis, then, is an
answer to that question.)
2. Thesis statement incorporating the surprising
reversal motif (probably near the end of the first
paragraph). "Although the common view (or "many
people") think X about my topic, my research, person
experience, or in depth exploration has shown that Y is
also true about my topic."
3. Forecast for your audience at this point where this
essay will take them.
Body of paper
Remember, that while the structure/order for paper 1
was chronological, the structure/order for paper two
will be thesis-driven—every point going back to help
support your thesis statement.
1. Ok, so in the introduction you tell us that X is the
common view, but how can we be sure that X is the
common view? Can you show us (either through research
or a very specific example) that X is the common view?
2. Now that you've told us the surprising reversal
about your issue, show us with specific examples and
logical arguments (primarily logos, but we’ve seen that
some types of evidence could be said to have an
emotional impact on your reader—think Ehrenreich and
Schlosser) the surprising good or bad news about your
topic.
How you order this is up to you, dependent upon what
that surprising news is and what you think will be most
effective with your specific audience:
If your surprising reversal entails a number of
points linked
together, what will work best, then, is a
description of those phenomena in a logical chain.
(For example, say you wanted to inform us that the
events of the Enron collapse did lead to a major
benefit, you could argue that it first caused the
media to notice a problem with corporate America,
which caused citizens to get in contact with their
congressmen, which caused congressional inquiries
into Enron, which caused politicians to rethink
the way the government handles business, which
could lead to more benefits for working people.)
If your surprising reversal entails a number of
discrete, separate phenomena, make your most
surprising phenomena the last one in your paper,
and your second most surprising your first
phenomena in your paper. (For example, say you
wanted to inform us of the benefits of forest
fires, the first surprising info you could show us
is that it makes people aware of environmental
issues like droughts, the last one could be that
it allows for new growth in the forest that would
not be possible before the fire.)
Conclusion:
It is always a good idea to not only summarize the main
point of your essay, but also keep an eye on the "big
picture" for this paper. You can do this by revisiting
your surprising reversal thesis, as well as reminding
your audience that you are not saying the common view
is necessarily wrong, just that it seems to ignore some
surprising information. If you haven’t really hit up
significance in the intro, the conclusion is a great
time to explain how you see this answer to your good
question as significant.