Description: For project 2, you will be allowed to choose a topic you are interested in. When choosing your topic,
make sure that it is narrow enough so that you’re not overwhelmed by the amount of research you
encounter. Since we’ll be writing a relatively short paper, we don’t want to wade into an overly broad,
complicated topic. For example, “pollution” might be too big of a topic to thoroughly discuss in 750
words. However, you could begin with “pollution” as an overall topic, and then narrow it down and
make it more specific from there, until your argument would fit well within the space allotted (light
pollution in Phoenix, etc.).
Once you’ve chosen a topic, you will need to begin research (it’s okay if your topic changes after
beginning the research portion—this is very common). You will first need to decide where you stand on
the topic, and then begin researching the views of people who disagree with you.
When you begin writing, you’ll have three goals:
1) You need to make your reader (someone who would disagree with you) feel like his point-of view has
been accurately represented and understood. We are making an argument, yes, but we can still do that
without overt bias. (But we DO need to have a side that we clearly stand for).
2) You need to make a distinction between the opponent’s point-of-view and your own opinion.
3) You should try to find some common ground between the two points of view during your argument.
This does not mean that you are forced to agree with your opponent. Most people have reasonable
reasons for their opinions. These are the people you’ll be writing too. It’s okay to acknowledge that they
have valid reasons for their opinions even if you disagree.
Organization: Like always, you’ll have an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. There’s no one-size-fits-all
formula for essay writing, but throughout this antithesis essay, you’ll need to present a problem that
requires action, discuss both sides of the debate in a non-biased way, and still make it clear what side of
the debate you are arguing for. Presenting the problem will likely need to happen at or near the
beginning of your essay (in your introduction, explain the issue and the debate over it). When it comes
to the body paragraph, it’s also a good idea to present your opponent’s side of the argument first—
people are more likely to listen if you start on a note that they would respond to positively rather than
beginning by immediately trying to convince them they’re wrong. By starting with a paragraph that sort
of says, “Hey, I hear where you’re coming from,” they’re more likely to listen to you when you get to the
part of the essay where you say, “But….”
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