This week, you are going to write a brief 500-word paper arguing the opposite position of an article in one of the ProCon pages–and then you are going to analyze your own argument. The trick here is to set up a set of premises that lead to the conclusion you want your reader to believe. Make sure you use evidence from at least two sources (and the appropriate in-text and references list citations) to support your claims.

 

So here is your assignment written in steps:

 

Step 1: Locate an issue from www.procon.org (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. that you would like to write about. Pick one of the sides of the argument to write about.

 

Step 2: Write an argument that argues a position the ProCon article takes.

 

• Make sure your argument uses the premise-conclusion format.
• Make sure your premises are true.
• Make sure your conclusion is a logical result of your premises.
• Make sure your argument is valid.

 

Step 3: At the top of the first page of text, write your argument in the form of statements. For example,

 

I love chocolate because it cheers me up when I am sad.

 

Something awful happened today, and it really brought me down.

 

Therefore, I should eat a candy bar because it will make me feel better.

 

Step 4: Write your argument in paragraph form below the statement version. In other words, use the statements to build a short paper that argues the points you want to make.

 

Step 5: Add evidence from at least two sources. (You are free to use any of the resources in the Course Media page if you want.) Make sure you include appropriate in-text and References list citations.

 

Assignment requirements:

 

• 12 pt Times New Roman font
• Cover page and References list
• Minimum 500 words in length
• Includes two citations
• Argument (both in statement form and in paragraph form) must use the premise-conclusion format