- 11 Mar, 2021
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Toulmin Essay
First, you will choose a topic of interest. Make sure that you choose a public debate with clear sides and stakes (see attachment!).
Then, you need to research that debate in order to narrow the topic’s scope, so it can be easily discussed within the word count range.
For example, you may be interested in learning more about traffic issues in the United States. However, that topic is too large to cover for this assignment. After researching peer reviewed articles that discuss US traffic issues in general, you may discover that the metro system in the District of Columbia is underfunded and underutilized. Through your research, you found that you could make a claim that more funds should be made available in order to upgrade the metro system, which would improve traffic issues in the District of Columbia. This would make for a stronger, specific argument. Attached below is a PDF on sides and stakes that can help with this process.
Finding sources:
As you’ll see from the requirements of the assignment (listed in the requirements section of these instructions), you need to find peer-reviewed sources using the APUS databases. From the library welcome page, click on Advanced Search at the bottom of the page and then check the “peer reviewed” sources box filter.
Structure of the argument:
Make sure to include the following sections in your essay:
an introduction and claim,
background,
body,
and a conclusion.
Within the body of your essay, make sure to include the following in any order:
support for your claim,
opposing or alternate views,
the strengths and weaknesses of your opponents’ claims,
and your rebuttals of their claims.
The Essay:
For this assignment, you have some rather creative options. This will not be a “traditional” essay, so part of the challenges is trying to apply the Toulmin model to a very real situation in which you might use it. Choose what will challenge your writing and what would be appropriate for your topic and field:
Op-ed newspaper article.
Blog post.
Letter/proposal to stakeholders.
Press release.
Letter to the editor.
Presidential address.
Election speech (written only).
Application for a position related to the topic.
Defense attorney’s opening statement.
Meeting or conference speech (written only).
Report to supervisor or colleagues.
Case brief.
Advocacy statement.
Call to action paper.
You might need to do a bit of Googling on the type of document you decide to write. For instance, if you choose to write a defense attorney’s opening statement for your persuasion paper, you’ll want to find out how that is structured by looking up examples and tips.
***In the title page, state which document type you’ve chosen so that I know how to grade it, such as stating that this is a letter to the editor***