A recommendation (or evaluation) argument is the perfect introductory argument assignment. You’ve spent the semester analyzing arguments, and now, you’ll need to write an argument of your own. What makes this assignment a great “Introduction to Arguing” assignment?
1. It’s easy to make an argumentative claim (or thesis).
A recommendation is an argument, so your topic will be your thesis: “I recommend a vacation in London for first time travelers to Europe,” “I recommend college graduates to move to the Phoenix area,” or “Biology is a great major for college students.” Students often struggle with developing a topic into an argument, but for this assignment, your topic is your argument. You’re less likely to have an informative topic because you’ll have to explain why someone should make the choices you suggest.
2. It’s easy to choose an audience.
If you’re considering a vacation, college major, or location to live, it’s important to consider for whom you’re making the recommendation. For a vacation topic, you might consider a vacation for a college student, or a vacation for a family; it’s not hard to think about how the audience might have different needs: A family probably won’t care about the clubs at vacation destination. If you’re choosing a college major, it’s logical to write the recommendation for an audience of your peers: other college students.
3. It’s an argument with consequences and a “real world” connection.
The reason I’ve mandated that the choices require a significant investment of time/money/work is that these choices have serious stakes to them. Even a vacation is an important choice: You are spending a great deal of money and using a chunk of your limited vacation time (once you’re working a regular job and don’t have the breaks of a college student). A poor or unsatisfying experience means wasted money and opportunity that you won’t be able to address for another year. If you’re recommending a vehicle purchase, you have many things to consider: a driver’s needs (do they need gas mileage or off-road ability) or the vehicle’s maintenance costs. The choice of a college major has implications for someone’s life. These choices require you to weigh the evidence and make informed choices—these are important skills for any argument. Additionally, you’ll actually have to make these kinds of choices in your own life and may even have friends who ask for your advice. You may not get asked to write a paper—in fact, you probably won’t—but you can make a good choice by considering the same issues that you will for this assignment.
This stage of a writing assignment is important; it take skill to find an appropriate topic. However, you can think of your own interests as you decide upon a topic. In what kinds of major purchases or life choices do you have experience or interest? There are many possibilities: where to live, where to vacation, which major to pursue, which career to pursue, which vehicle to purchase, which hobby to follow—as you’re deciding upon a topic this week, remember to choose one that interests you in some way.
Alas, no extra credit this time, but there will be at least one more offering in a blog post before the semester’s end.
