What’s particularly important to remember is that you’re giving deference to the audience who opposes your stance, so the first half of your essay should lay the groundwork and examine their side of the argument. The goal is not to dismiss their values or beliefs; the goal is to show your reader that you understand their perspective and acknowledge why their position may be valid.
Remember some of the key features of a Rogerian argument as you begin drafting your essay:
Neutral tone
Shared or common values between your position and your opposition’s position
Delayed thesis
Use of sources to validate opposition’s stance and your own stance
Explanation of the contexts (historical, educational, technological, religious, etc.) where the other side’s stance is valid
Explanation of the contexts (historical, educational, technological, religious, etc.) where your stance is valid
A practical middle-ground “solution” that is beneficial to both sides
It’s not enough for you to add in a quote from a text and assume that the reader will understand its significance or importance to your thesis or claim. Instead, you want to be sure that you’re analyzing, evaluating, and generally making the source material play a vital role in the effectiveness of your body paragraphs.
One way to think about the way to use your selected sources is to think of the MEAL method.
M = Main Idea
Your first sentence should be a topic sentence that presents the main idea of your paragraph. This main idea should be in your own words and should not be from your source material. This paragraph main idea should connect to the main idea of your paper.
E = Evidence
This is where you should bring in your evidence. You can summarize, paraphrase, or quote your evidence. Just be sure to present it clearly, and, of course, cite it
A = Analysis
After you have presented your evidence, its time to comment on that evidence. You should explain the information for your audience in your own words and make connections to your overall main idea as you work to help you audience understand why this information is relevant and important.
L = Lead Out
At the end of your paragraph, you should provide a wrap-up sentence or sentences that summarize the main idea of the paragraph, connect that idea to the main idea to your paper, and help transition to the next paragraph.
