Details

Prompt:

P!olicy Essay: Food

Be sure to shape your essays with ethos, pathos, and logos, to provide concrete and cited examples, and to map your essay so the structure is clear with only one idea per paragraph. Map and proofread your essay, but also be mindful of Trimble’s techniques as you write. Slow down to make sure you develop your ideas so they both concrete and e!asy to follow. Know your subject and your audience! Feel free to play with style.

Length: 5-6 pages in MLA Format

The Assignment:

The purpose of this assignment is to practice and demonstrate your skill in academic research, rhetorical strategies, and creativity on a question about food. We have read essays and watched films about food (Fed Up, “Why McDonald’s Fries Taste So Good,” “What’s Eating America?,” and “Consider the Lobster”), exploring topics such as organic verses nonorganic, the way corn affects the environment, the moral choice to eat lobster (or any other meat), the impact of artificial flavoring or sugar on us or the environment. Whatever policy essay (using the word “should”) you choose to craft, be sure to cite the readings and include outside research

A very important part of this assignment is your ability to craft your own thesis statement.
You will also want to pay particular attention to the concreteness, tightness, and clarity of your sentences and to

d!evelop your own sense of style, keeping in mind the various techniques of the authors we have studied.
 Requirements:

Format:
The paper should be structured (roughly) according to the following format:

Introduction: You’ll want to start by engaging the reader’s attention, perhaps with a striking anecdote, statistic, quotation, or question. Also, you need to focus your reader’s attention on the issue or question you’ll be addressing. Without going into too much detail (that you should do in the first half of the body of the essay; see below), establish this question or issue by providing very brief background (a few or several sentences) to your argument. Then, present a clear, assertive, and specific thesis statement that will serve as the focus of your paper.

Background: Here you should present in more detail any background information your reader needs to know to understand the issue you’re addressing. You might include definitions of key terms, explanations of important concepts, etc. For example, a paper assessing the effectiveness of California law enforcement in preventing the use of false identification documents might start with a discussion of current laws governing the use of such documents and statistics regarding the prevalence of their use. In any case, start the body of the paper by explaining in some detail the situation or events that have led to the question or problem you’re addressing; in other words, explain why you’re writing the argument.

Arguments and Counter-Arguments: Consider addressing counter-arguments first (before your main supporting reasons), so that your arguments are framed as a “response” to those opposing your thesis.

Rhetorical Strategies: In addition to building ethos by using an objective tone and addressing and /or refuting counter-arguments, you will want to review your paper for authoritative support, clearly defined ideas, statistics, data, logical development (syllogism, logical inference, deduction), personal anecdotes, style and polish, and any other strategies you have learned this semester. You do not need to use them all, but show me that you know how to craft a persuasive essay with specific techniques.

Conclusion: You should remind your reader of the significance of the issue you’re addressing – why it is important, why it should matter to him or her. Consider returning to an anecdote, statistic, or quotation with which you began the paper to reinforce the reader’s attention and the importance of your argument. What policy should we adopt?