Your task: In this essay, you will apply the ideas on evaluation and proposal arguments in The Rhetoric of Argument to evaluate a specific proposal about an environmental issue.  How does the proposal work? What are its costs and benefits? How much will it help?  What are the most important objects that critics have made to this proposal or to proposals like it? In the end, do you recommend moving forward with this plan?

You may want to explore this list of places to look for possible topics.

You paper should do the following:

--briefly define the problem that the solution seeks to address,

--define the proposed solution,

--evaluate the effectiveness of the solution, using causal arguments to assess whether or not the solution will fix the problem,

--and argue for or against implementing it. 

The key is to define your proposal specifically enough, and as with the causal argument essay you may end up narrowing your topic as you go so you can do it justice.

Additional Requirements:

• Identify the criteria by which you will evaluate the proposal (such as financial cost, social costs, reduction in emissions, any side effects).
• Discuss the feasibility of the proposal.  Convince us that it is or isn’t practical and possible.
• Mention and respond to any common objections to the proposal.
• Note and expose any popular fallacies about your topic.  Take care not to include any fallacies in your own argument.
• 10-12 pages total
• Good organization, including a thesis, well-focused paragraphs, and transitions.

• A Works Cited page with at least six reputable sources (not including Wikipedia). Build up your own ethos in the way you refer to these sources when you introduce quotations and paraphrases. 

• MLA format
• You may choose to work with a partner on your research, but you will still need to write separate papers with no four words in a row that are the same.

Resources to help you:

• The list of places to look for possible topics
• The Rhetoric chapters on evaluation and proposal arguments and in particular the lists of steps on pages 310 and 256.
• Library research workshops B and D may be useful if you have not completed them in 1A (see http://www.ccsf.edu/Library/instruct/workshops.html).  You can take Library Workshop B online (click "Register for an online workshop" and then enter your information and select "Workshop B" at http://www.ccsf.edu/Library/online.html)
• Ask a librarian for individualized help.  They’re there to help you.
• Works Cited Help page
• Section 49 on the research process in Rules for Writers (383-397)
• The Writing Lab (at any stage in the process)
• My office hours (at any stage in the process)