For this paper, you will construct a causal argument on a controversial issue of your choice. Your central claim must be an issue of cause, rather than any of the other stases and it must be arguable.
Asking a Causal Question
A causal argument answers a "how" or "why" question. To prepare for this paper, you will come up with a causal question, investigate possible answers, and argue for your answer.
- How did things come to be the way they are? Why did [this outcome or problem] happen? What [factors] caused [this outcome or problem]? Example: Why did the World Trade Center collapse so quickly? How did farmers in Iowa hurt the shrimping business in Galveston?
- Why will things be different in the future? What would be the consequences of trying this solution? What [outcomes] would occur if [this agent] [took this action] regarding [this item]? Example: Will lowering the drinking age increase binge drinking?
- What effect did some change really have? Are people wrong to blame some specific factor for a problem? Are people right to credit some change for some improvement? Example: Did the Top Ten Percent admission rule improve education at UT?
Finding a Topic
- Consider the topic of your definition paper and find a new causal angle on it. What happens if your definition were accepted or rejected? For example, what changes would happen in schools if hugging a student is classified as sexual harrassment or if baseball bats were classified as weapons?
- Choose some problematic situation that you care about--at work, in your hometown, in a group you belong to. Investigate what problems or bad outcomes the situation causes. Investigate how things got that way. What obstacles are preventing easy solutions?
- Choose some problematic situation that you care about--at work, in your hometown, in a group you belong to. Investigate what could be done to change it. What has been tried in other similar cases and how did it work?
Developing Your Content
As you investigate your causal argument, be sure to work on each of the following:
- ESTABLISH THE PURPOSE AND VALUE OF THE ARGUMENT. Why is your argument important? Why is it important or controversial? What is at stake? The culprits or consequences shouldn't be so obvious that no argument is necessary.
- DO A WIDE SEARCH FOR INFORMATION AND RESOURCES. Look for MANY possible factors. Look for MANY similar cases where the same thing has happened. You have to have a lot of possibilities before you can choose a factor to argue for.
- AVOID TAKING AN ALL-OR-NOTHING POSITION. Real-world problems rarely have just one cause or just one effect. Consider alternative explanations seriously. Your goal can be to argue for the likeliest factors or the likeliest outcomes.
- STICK TO ARGUING ABOUT CAUSES/EFFECTS, NOT ABOUT ACTIONS. Causal arguments describe causes and/or consequences (doing X has all these consequences). You may feel tempted to use these consequences as reasons why we should or shouldn't take some action, but then you would be writing a proposal argument. In this paper, describe the factors and the outcomes. You are welcome to write your next paper about what should be done.
Additional Requirements
SOURCES: You must use three or more sources and include a Works Cited page. At least one of them should be a print source. Consult our handbook for information on MLA documentation of both in-text citations and the Works Cited page.
FORMAT: Your final draft should be 4-6 pages long, typed, double-spaced, and carefully proofread. The paper version of your draft should look like the model paper on p. 821-33 of The SF Handbook for Writers. Be sure to provide solid introductory and concluding paragraphs, organize the essay coherently, and avoid errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Hand in your paper electronically.
SUBMIT: Submit your work as MSWord documents. Follow the naming conventions below:
Topic proposal: yourname-tp2.doc
Research report: yourname-rr2.doc
Rough Draft: yourname-rd2.doc
Final Draft: yourname-fd2.doc
Grading Criteria
I will evaluate your essay according to these criteria:
- Demonstrated ability to construct a causal argument.
- Choice of a significant and arguable claim.
- Demonstrated ability to use well-chosen, fair and sufficient appeals to ethos, logos and pathos to support your claims (including appropriate graphics).
- Serious consideration of alternative causes and effects, with appropriate use of concessions and rebuttals.
- Effective and fair use of other authors as allies or as opponents.
- Confident but civil advocacy of your own position.
- Proper use, citation, and documentation of source material.
- Effective essay organization to create a clear line of argument.
- Clear and precise sentence-level rhetoric (grammar and style).