Paper 1
Chapter 14--Understanding Academic Audiences and Assignments
Interview an instructor who teaches a class you are taking this term or a class in your major area of study.

• Ask this person to describe his or her understanding of the goals of undergraduate education and the role that your particular class or field of study plays in achieving these goals.
• Discuss the special analytical and argumentative skills required to succeed in this course or field.
• Ask this person what advice her or she would give someone who is taking a class in this field or planning to major in it.
• Determine some of the major problems in academic writing that need to be addressed by student writers.
  
  Write an essay summarizing your findings, and analyzing the writing requirements in the given class or field.

Paper 2
Chapter 15--Understanding Academic Analysis

As Chapter 15 discusses, cademic analysis is an essential skill for most academic writing and thinking. Each field at the University requires a different approach to academic analysis, and to become an expert in your field it will be important for you to master the techniques required in your chosen field. This assignment asks you to examine two major assignments from two different classes (you may choose a class in your field and a class you are taking now). Compare and contrast the analysis requirements of the two assignments, writing an essay that highlights the similarities and differences between the two. Your essay will answer the following questions:

• How have your instructors approached analysis in the class? Do they rely on a systematic procedure, such as a case-study or problem solving methodology, or does their analysis vary, depending on the subject under discussion?
• What kinds of evidence and examples do they draw on?
• What kinds of questions do your instructors typically ask in written assignments? Why might people in the discipline view these as important questions?
• What kinds of answers to the questions do your instructors favor? Why might people in this discipline value such a response?
• What are the main goals of the written assignment? How are the goals acheived?
  

Paper 3
Chapter 16--Understanding Academic Argument

As Chapter 16 discusses, you must analyze your own beliefs as well as the beliefs of others to determine the most effective way to argue. Any argument must include reasons and evidence for your assertions. These reasons and assertions are always informed by your biases on the topic.

Therefore, to be successful with academic arguments you must anticipate the biases of your readers. Beliefs are often held unconsciously, so it is important to evaluate them before attempting an argument. It is also key to determine how your audience might react to your arguments based on their differing or similar values.

Choose a controversial issue in your major field that concerns you. Use the guidelines on pages 407-408 to analyze your values and beliefs specifically as they apply to that issue. Write an essay on your findings that includes answers to the following questions:

• Given your values and beliefs, what challenges would writing an academic essay on this subject pose for you?
• Describe the values and beliefs that might lead readers to make counter arguments. How might you respond to these counter arguments?
• Describe the major assertions or arguments that you would use to support your controlling idea or thesis. Explain the values and beliefs your readers must share with you to accept those assertions.
• If you were to write an academic argument on this issue, how would you organize and develop your ideas? Why? What strategies would you now use to respond to the values and beliefs of your readers?

This assignment does not ask you to write an academic argument on the topic. Instead, it asks you to understand an academic argument by determining where your view comes from.

Paper 4
Chapter 17--Putting It All Together: Analyzing and Writing Academic Arguments
Choose a controversial issue in your major field that interests you. A controversial issue must have two definable sides. When choosing your topic, make sure you can clearly define the two sides of the issue. Write an argument essay with a clear claim and reasonable evidence and arguments supporting that claim.

Definition

A documented argument has the purpose of informing your audience about an interesting topic or controversial issue and persuading them to accept your conclusions about the topic. Like any research essay, the documented argument contains researched information about a well-defined issue with which you already have some experience, expertise, or a high level of interest. Your objective for the documented argument is to take a stance on a topic as well as describe it. Do not merely report your findings but develop an original thesis which argues for a particular position or attitude towards your topic. Rather than write a description of the history of slavery in Haiti, you might argue that the most lasting impact of slavery in Haiti is cultural rather than economic. Do not merely report the research of others; seek to become a discriminating researcher.

You will develop the following research skills with this assignment:

• Narrowing your focus to a manageable topic.
• Locating source materials (traditional and online) and taking notes.
• Analyzing, evaluating, and interpreting materials.
• Arranging and classifying materials.
• Writing an essay with a clear purpose as well as clarity and accuracy of content.
• Incorporating source material into your own style of writing.
• Offering documented evidence for and defense of your particular argument.

Criteria to Consider

The documented argument has two elements: a logical argument and documented research as evidence to support that argument. Argumentation is a skill used not only directly in a letter to the editor, for example, but also indirectly in all writing where you want to make your analysis or point of view convincing to your reader. The skills which are essential for any argument are as follows:

• The formulation of an informed thesis with an argumentative edge based on your accumulation and analysis of sufficient information.
• Careful organization of your argument, whether according to a more formal, classical model such as a syllogism (A=B; B=C; therefore, A=C) or other models such as problem-solution, cause-effect, or claim-evidence.
• Convincing support of your argument with logical reasoning, concrete examples, sufficient evidence, and documentation.
• A key consideration is that the body of your essay should contain your own argument. Your argument will be informed by your research, but it should be written in your own words. Documentation is only used to add authority to an argument which you have already stated.

Documentation is an important skill to develop in this assignment. To make this assignment more relevant to the type of research you will be doing in the future, I would encourage you to select a topic from your discipline and become familiar with the research tools unique to your field. On the other hand, to make this assignment relevant to your general academic skills in a liberal arts college, I want you to learn basic research and writing skills that can be utilized in any research context. The key skills in research writing are as follows:

• Thorough review of both general and specialized sources.
• Detailed research of appropriate sources, using careful note-taking and bibliographic skills.
• Smooth integration of research into your own writing.
• Direct reference to authors and sources within your paragraphs: i.e., In her history of feminist criticism, Janet Todd refers to the "heroics of the seventies" (17).
• Mix paraphrase , summary , and direct quotation , avoiding long direct quotations. Provide a context for and explanation of each direct quotation. Do not rely on a quotation to convey a point in your argument; utilize sources to support your clearly stated argument.
• Accurate documentation of all borrowed material, using correct citation method for your discipline.

While you may select a more academic audience for this assignment, consider the relationship of audience to every aspect of this essay: your focus, argument, development, selection of evidence, etc.

Special Guidelines :
Your final documented argument should include the following:

• Refer to 4 secondary sources in your essay, although you will have consulted more than this during the research process.
• Cite from a variety of sources : encyclopedias, journals, magazines, books, newspaper articles, on-line sources, videos and interviews appropriate to your topic. Be careful to assess the quality of any source, remembering in particular that online sources require nothing but access to the internet and cannot be considered strong support.
• Include a minimum of 8 citations to these materials. If you are in the sciences, social sciences or nursing, use the APA style for documentation. All others use the MLA style. Both of these are clearly explained in your textbook and in on-line resources.
• When integrating material from other sources into your writing, paraphrasing should predominate, direct quotations should be brief and smoothly incorporated into your own style, and long direct quotations (indented) will be rare, if used at all.

( Assignment composed by Beth Martin Birky )