Persuasive Strategies

For each unit of the course, you will write one formal academic essay that synthesizes the materials covered in the assigned chapters. Your essay must advance and support an argument written in response to the assigned essay prompt for the unit.

Your essay should take the form of a traditional academic essay that includes an introduction, a clear thesis statement, well-developed body points, and an effective conclusion. It should be a well-written, developed, and organized essay that fully addresses each component of the essay prompt. Follow the rules of formal academic writing: structure your essay in fully developed paragraphs, write in complete sentences, and do not use bullet point lists, any inappropriate or overly informal language, textspeak, or emojis.

There is no expectation that you will do extensive outside research for these essays; using your assigned reading and course materials will be enough to complete the assignment. However, you must cite all sources you consult (including the course readings). Citations should be formatted according to the author-date system of The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed. You can access a useful guide to citing using the Chicago style guidelines here: The Chicago Manual of Style Citation Quick Guide 17e.pdf.

You must carefully distinguish between your own original thoughts and writing, and the information, arguments, or quotations you take from other sources. Whether you are quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing, all content from other sources must be cited. Failure to do so constitutes academic dishonesty and will result in a grade of zero for the assignment.

Your essay must be a minimum of 1,100 words long (which is typically about 4 pages, double spaced, in a Microsoft Word document). There is no maximum length for the essay.

Write your essay in a Microsoft Word document. Use standard formatting (12-point Times New Roman font, double spaced, 1-inch margins).

You are responsible for ensuring you have uploaded the correct file, in the correct file format, to the assignment link on Canvas before the deadline. Uploading a different or incomplete file will not grant you an extension on the deadline. Be sure to double check your submission before the deadline to ensure you have submitted the correct, working file. You are welcome to resubmit the file up until the deadline if you want to make revisions or corrections.

You have until 10:30 PM (Central) on the due date to submit your essay. Late submissions are not accepted, so be sure to submit your essay well in advance of this deadline.

Essays represent a substantial portion of the points you can earn this semester; don’t gamble with your final grade by waiting until the last minute or failing to double check that you have uploaded the correct, working file through the assignment link on Canvas.

For the Unit 4 Essay, please write in response to the following prompt:

Identify a contemporary social or political issue that is particularly important to you and the change you would like to persuade the public to pursue related to this issue. Which of the types of persuasive campaigns or movements would be best suited for solving the issue you have selected? How would you utilize specific broad-scale strategies of advertising persuasion to gain support for your cause? What methods of interpersonal persuasion would you draw on to persuade audiences through personal interactions?