For the third essay, develop your own original argument about some theme, relying on the literature as evidence to support the argument. Rather than focusing on one reading as you did in the previous assignment, now you will examine differing viewpoints FROM THE TEXTBOOK on a single theme.
Articulating a Claim:
In this essay you will be explaining your views in multiple ways: contrasting your belief with others’ ideas, offering authoritative opinions, including documented examples, and always using clear logic. The literary works are introduced as needed, not necessarily in the first paragraph. For example, you might wish to discuss the impracticality of the belief that one should "seize the day" in love. After an introduction that engages the readers’ interest, in your first body paragraph, you would show why some people think this is a good philosophy. Here you could borrow from Andrew Marvell’s "To His Coy Mistress," Aphra Behn’s “The Willing Mistress,” or Christopher Marlowe’s "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love." Then in the remaining body paragraphs, you can draw from any number of other works, including poetry, short stories, or essays that support your theory. Murial Stuart’s “In the Orchard” and Sir Walter Raleigh’s “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” are good examples of poems that refute the concept of carpe diem. (All of the poems mentioned here are popular and easily found on the internet.) Addressing conflicting views can strengthen your argument since this demonstrates that you have considered other possibilities before arriving at your beliefs. In the conclusion, you will summarize what should have been learned through your analysis.
Objectives:
• To effectively use ethos to build trust in the audience.
• To effectively use logos to persuade your audience.
• To think outside of binary oppositions, which often doom a debate to failure.
• To learn how to use the rhetorical triangle effectively and see how ethos, logos,