English 101

Essay #3: Problem and Solution100 points

Schedule and due dates

Thu 11/3: Seminar paper on “A Modest Proposal,” by Jonathan Swift, 408-416.

Fri 11/4:Read Trimble, Chapter 7, “Readability.”

Mon 11/7: Seminar paper on “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” by MLK Jr. (203-220).

Tue 11/8: Worksheet for Essay #3

Wed 11/9: Read Trimble, Chapter 10, “Dramatizing your ideas.”

Mon 11/14: Essay #3 due in Workshop groups. Bring 3 copies.

Tue 11/15: Completed Essay #3 due.

Format: Typed and double-spaced, in MLA format like our previous essays. Due in class at the beginning of class. Your essay folder must include all of the following, in this order, from top to bottom:

  1. The revised, finished essay.
  2. The Worksheet which was submitted on 11/8.
  3. The version you brought to class on 11/14. Other notes and drafts, if any.

Length: Approximately 3 ½ - 4 pages, or about 1000-1300 words.

The topic: For this essay, you will propose a solution to a problem that affects a community or group that you are a part of. Make this a small and specific community, a community that you are actually a member of: a family, a basketball team, a writing group, a band, a group of co-workers, consumers of a certain product, people who all go to a certain nightclub, etc. We discuss further in class the many possibilities for communities and problems to write about.

Form: This essay can take whatever form would be appropriate and effective for communicating with this particular group of people: an article in a newsletter, a posting in an e-mail newsgroup, an office memo, a letter to the editor, a letter posted on the refrigerator, a blog entry, etc. Of course, it’s going to be a little longer than most letters posted on refrigerators, but that’s ok.

Voice and audience: Address your essay specifically to your exact audience. Say what you would say to them, using the kinds of words and sentences that would best appeal to them. You will probably need to address them as “you.” Remember that you want to persuade them that your solution is a good one, so appeal to their specific concerns and interests. Remember that even though you may be criticizing something about them or their behavior, if they are to accept your solution, you cannot offend them or accuse them. Write your piece in a way you think they will welcome and accept.

Essay elements: Your essay must address the following elements:

  1. Introducing the problem: You need to convince your readers that the problem you are discussing is indeed a problem. Explain what the problem is, what may have caused it, and why it matters. Your audience needs to care about the problem before it can consider your proposed solution.
  1. Establishing credibility: Your piece needs to establish your credibility as a writer, member of the community, and problem-solver for this problem. It does this throughout, by means of your tone, your presentation of the information, your recognition of opposing ideas, your connection with and understanding of the problem, and your ability to understand all sides. It might also do it specifically, early on in the essay, saying something about your qualifications as a solver of this problem—your past experience, your expertise, etc.
  1. Presenting the solution: State your idea for a solution to your problem. The length of this part of the essay, the description and development of the solution, will vary depending on the subject matter. Your solution may be a fairly simple suggestion or may consist of a series of steps.
  1. Arguing for the proposed solution: You will need to convince your readers that your solution is reasonable and will be effective. You can use personal experience, observation, hypothetical scenarios, examples, and/or speculations to support your proposal. You may talk with and interview people in the community. You will not be doing library or internet research, and you will not need to supply statistics or data.Make sure you have chosen a topic that will provide you with vivid examples from your own observation and experience. Arguing for the proposed solution will probably take up the most of your essay.
  1. Counterarguing readers' objections, questions; counterarguing their preferred solutions: Consider the objections or questions your audience may have, and recognize that they may have other ideas about how to solve the problem. In your essay, show that you understand what the objections are, and meet those objections, showing why your proposed solution is reasonable. You can address these counterarguments point by point as the essay goes along, or all in a clump at once; you’ll have to use your judgment about which style of organization will best reach your audience.
  1. Use the form and voice that will best reach and convince your audience. For example, if you are addressing teammates, you might compose this as a speech that you would give at a practice, or as a group e-mail you might send to your teammates. In the case of e-mail, you would format your assignment as an actual e-mail, with the “To” line, the “Subject” line, etc. If you are addressing an online community, you might write in the form of an article for the organization’s website, or in the form of a blog post for the organizations blog. Use titling and formatting that makes your form and your intended audience clear.

For help with finding a form and formatting, try any of the following:

  • Look at samples to see how writing of that kind is formatted. For example, you can look at office memos, letters to the editor, business e-mails, press releases, etc.
  • Consult the Student Media Center for help producing your designs. The Student Media Center is on the top floor of the library. Find their hours and services on the library website.
  • Discuss your ideas with me—I can help you think about what form might work best.

Grading: 100 points total

Basic MLA format; portfolio is complete and in order (5 points):The essay follows the required MLA format for header, title, spacing, paragraphing, etc.It contains the final revision, the version you brought to the writing group, and the worksheet, as well as any other notes and drafts.

Opening and ending (8 points):The opening (including the title) is vivid and engaging, and helps a reader focus on the idea. The ending helps a reader know what to make of the idea and provides a satisfying sense of closure, a feeling that the significance of the idea has been explored.

Main idea (10 points): The piece is clear about what the problem is and what the proposed solution is.

Example and evidence (20 points): The piece supports its point ethos, pathos, and logos: It shows your credibility for addressing the issue, evokes the audience’s emotion, and uses reasoning—presenting evidence, providing examples with plenty of detail, giving plenty of information, explaining background where necessary, following clear logic, and addressing counterarguments where necessary.

Form and audience (15 points): The format/method of publication is clear. For example, if it’s an e-mail, it should look like an e-mail. If it’s a newspaper editorial, the title and format should show this. If it’s an article on a website, make it look like a web article, including the website name and the title of your article. The writing is shaped for and directed to a specific and clearly defined audience. It anticipates the responses of the audience. It speaks in a way that that audience will understand and accept.

Organization (15 points):The piece includes all the required elements, is easy to follow, and is organized sentence by sentence and paragraph by paragraph (use PIE!) to emphasize the main points.

Style and voice (7 points):The writing is efficient, so that every word counts. Verbs are vivid and active, clichés are avoided, the thinking is original, and the writing conveys the sense that there’s a writer behind the work, an actual person with unique and worthwhile perspectives.

Grammar and proofreading (20 points): The essay is free of distracting errors in grammar, and it has been carefully proofread.

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