Unit II: Analyzing and Arguing about Language: Communities and Issues

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In Unit II, you'll learn how to take the basic ideas about language you generated in Unit I, along with the analytical skills you developed in Unit I, and apply both to a specific language issue. You'll deepen your analytical skills, learn to do library and field research, and learn specific strategies for making your point to an audience.

Rhetorical Prospectus, 5%

• In the Rhetorical Prospectus essay, you'll learn how to generate an argument by starting with your initial position, analyzing the audience you want to argue to, and generating your reasons and evidence based on those two vital pieces of information. The prospectus is essentially a preliminary study for your Arguing Essay.

Arguing Essay, 30%.

• In the Arguing Essay, you'll start with a specific claim you want to make about a language issue and argue for the validity of that claim to an audience of other writers.