Write an essay identifying which one of two speakers offers the most believable argument by analyzing and evaluating the evidence they offer. You can select two different primary sources to compare, such as two different opinion pieces on the same topic from a newspaper. Another option is to find two speaker debating on the same topic in a single primary source such as a YouTube video in which two people are debating the same topic. You must use identify and cite a minimum of six college-level (i.e. academic) sources to help you substantiate your claims.Do not argue how you feel about the topic; you are evaluating the speakers’ arguments and evidence to determine whose is more believable.
Invention Stage
Identify an ongoing debate that interests you (gun control, college debt, immigration policy, LGBTQ+ rights, federal marijuana laws). You can use CQ Researcher (Links to an external site.) or Issues and Controversies (Links to an external site.), which will give you a list of topics you can select from as well as background information.
Select articles, videos, podcasts etc. in which two different people put forth different or opposing viewpoints concerning the issue in question. You can use newspaper editorials, YouTube videos, popular podcasts, or magazine essays (Links to an external site.). Then, identify what the main claims are in each person’s argument.
For example, you might find two editorials discussing whether certain federal monuments should be taken down, different stances on automatic rifle bans, reviews of a movie or video game, or discussion about whether college should be free in the U.S. In any case, select sources that will offer you enough material to analyze and dig into.
Research
Now that you have the topic and have identified the stances of each person’s argument, you’ll need to better understand the topic. Use the MSJC library databases (Links to an external site.) to gain some background knowledge on the topic. You want to get a better understanding of the larger picture and to gather facts and evidence about the issue in question. You can use these sources to “fact-check” the speakers’ arguments and to offer your reader relevant contextual information. Remember, you must identify and cite a minimum of six academic sources to help you substantiate your argument. It’s also important to try and acknowledge your own biases on the topic so that you recognize when you’re not being objective. Remember that the goal of this assignment is to analyze the validity of arguments not to put forth your stance on the topic under examination.
If you’re struggling with this stage, contact a Peer Research Assistant from the MSJC library (Links to an external site.) to help you.
Analysis
Once you have a better grasp of the larger conversation surrounding the topic, return to the two articles to analyze how effective they are. Look at the following:
what evidence does the speaker offer to support their claims? (facts, opinion, research studies, authorities on the topic, etc.)
Don’t take the evidence at face value. Do some research to double-check the sources and to see if the speakers are offering an accurate or fair representation of the source.
identify fallacies
identify ambiguity and/or omissions
Is there confusing, vague, or ambiguous language? Is it intentional? Is the speaker omitting important information. This is where the research you’ve done on the topic is invaluable.
assess biases (halo effect, confirmation bias, bandwagon effect, etc.)
Is the speaker biased and if so are these biases affecting the validity of their arguments?
evaluate the argument
What are the premises? Are they sound? Does the conclusion follow from the premises?
Do not try to include everything you discover in answering the questions above. These questions are designed to help you evaluate the arguments. For the essay, determine a few key factors and walk your reader through an analysis of why these key factors make the speaker’s argument effective (or ineffective).
Writing the Essay
Introduction
Setup the context for your reader. Since you are writing for an academic audienceLinks to an external site., think about what kind of information you may need to include (i.e. introducing the sources with full names, titles, etc.) and what you can omit (i.e. you can assume that an academic audience has at least a high school education). If necessary, explicate any key terms or definitions as they will relate to your analysis. Remember that your goal is to help orient your reader so that they can navigate your argument. Don’t assume your audience is familiar with what we’ve read in class.
Thesis
Your thesis statement should put forth an evaluative claim about which article is most sound and why. Here are some sample thesis statement:
Weakest thesis: Garcia’s argument is more sound.
Weak thesis: Garcia’s argument is more sound in a variety of ways because she uses evidence.
Strong thesis: Rather than trying to persuade her readers by using fear tactics and omitting key future jobs projections, Garcia offers readers strong relatable examples, statistics from credible sources, and numerous case studies conducted by experts to show readers why Artificial Intelligence in the work sector will be beneficial to the economy.
Keep in mind that it’s quite common for writers to refine their thesis statements as they’re writing the essay. Many will draft a more comprehensive and sophisticated version in the conclusion. If this is the case for you, ensure you move the thesis to the most logical position in the essay, typically academics offer the thesis within the first few paragraphs. Ensure you substantiate your thesis in the body paragraphs. This is what forms a strong argument; if you simply make an assertion in your thesis but do not prove it with facts, examples, expert testimony etc., you’ve put forth an opinion or an unsubstantiated assertion, not a well-reasoned argument.
Body Paragraphs and Organization
Plan how you will structure your analysis. Do not simply create a list of issues that you’ve identified in your analysis; hone in on a few key issues to explain why the argument is effective or ineffective. Your thesis should offer a map for readers.
For example, the strong thesis statement above states: Rather than trying to persuade her readers by using fear tactics and omitting key future jobs projections, Garcia offers readers strong relatable examples, statistics from credible sources, and numerous case studies conducted by experts to show readers why Artificial Intelligence in the work sector will be beneficial to the economy. The reader will expect to see you address the following in your body paragraphs:
evidence that the other author uses fear tactics
evidence that the other author omits key future job protections
evidence that Garcia offers readers strong relatable examples,
evidence that Garcia offers statistics from credible sources
evidence that Garcia offers numerous case studies conducted by experts
There isn’t a “right” way to organize an essay, but it’s important to ensure that each paragraph has a single controlling idea and that there is a logical organizational structure connecting each of these controlling ideas. You may decide to create a point-by-point analysis in which you compare and contrast how each author addresses a particular assertion. Another strategy may be to address each author’s logical structure separately, focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of one article at a time. Then you would compare them, and explain why one is more sound.
In your body paragraphs, ensure you are evaluating the validity of the arguments, which means that you need to look for fallacies, what kinds of evidence each author is presenting, how they’re defining (or failing to define) terms, and how ambiguity and omission functions in the argument. Use the key terms from our class textbook, materials, and your independent research to help substantiate your assertions. Again, you don’t need to cover all of these elements, but you do need to focus on at least some of these elements.
Conclusion
Do not simply reiterate your analysis. Explain to readers what your analysis reveals in a larger context. What can it tell us about the different worldviews these opinions may represent? Does it reveal anything about the implicit or explicit biases and perspectives of the opposing sides? In other words, make the case for why your analysis matters.
I am providing the links for the topic I have chosen:
1 st speaker: https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/why-covid-19-vaccines-should-not-be-required-for-all-americans;
2nd speaker: https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/why-covid-19-vaccines-should-be-required-for-all-americans.
Please read carefully the instructions and take a look at the samples essays I’m going to upload . I want the essay to have a strong thesis and lots of analysis.
