This document provides an agenda and guidance for students working on Essay #4. It reviews describing the problem, developing a thesis statement, outlining the proposed solution, and addressing counterarguments and alternative solutions. It then provides new information on writing introductions and conclusions. Students are instructed to finish introducing and concluding their draft essays, read them aloud to check logical order, and post their revised intro/conclusion along with a self-assessment. Revisions are due by the following Friday at noon. The document offers templates and examples to help students structure their essay components.

1. Class 21
EWRT 1A

2. +
AGENDA
Review: Essay #4:
Describing the problem
The solution: the thesis
Outlining the plan
Counterargument
Alternative Solutions
NEW:
Introductions
Conclusions
Self-Assessment

3. +
Do you have a revised and
developed description of your
problem?
It should be two to four good
paragraphs.
It should explain the following:
The problem’s seriousness
Its causes
The consequences of failing to
solve this problem
Review: Describing the Problem

4. +
The Solution: The Thesis
 Do you have one or more sentences
to serve as your tentative thesis
statement? In most essays proposing
solutions to problems, the thesis
statement is a concise announcement
of the solution.
 Your thesis goes after a thorough
explanation of the problem.
 Your thesis might forecast your
reasons for why your solution will
work.

5. +
Outlining The Plan: A Description of
the Proposed Solution
Do you have a complete, working
draft of your proposed solution?
 It should explain why or how it would
solve the problem.
 It should show why or how your plan
is possible.
 It should include a list of steps for
implementing the solution

6. +Reminder: Counterargument vs. Alternative
Solution
 A Counterargument is a challenge to your particular solution.
You must address the argument to your solution by explaining
how or why your solution is the best one regardless of the
specific challenge. For example, if someone says your solution
is too expensive, you have to explain how you will fund it, or
you can explain why your solution should be applied in spite of
its cost.
 An Alternative Solution section takes a look at other solutions
people might consider. Then, you must explain how or why the
solution you are offering is the superior choice. For example, if
you suggest we alleviate parking problems at De Anza by
adding several rapid buses to the local routes, you might also
examine the alternative solution of building a parking structure.
At the end of your discussion of the alternative solution, you
must return to why the rapid buses are are the better solution.

7. + The Counterargument
 You anticipated objections for your homework. Now choose the two
or three most important ones to acknowledge, accommodate, or
refute in your essay. If you have written these out in paragraph
form, take this opportunity to revise them. If not, put them in
paragraph form now.
 Write down objection 1
 Acknowledge, accommodate, or refute the objection.
 Write down objection 2
 Acknowledge, accommodate, or refute the objection.
 And so on.

8. +
Consideration of alternative
solutions and their disadvantages
 You identified alternative solutions for your homework. Now choose
those you will discuss in your essay. Write out each alternative
solution and discuss the disadvantages of it compared to your
solution. If you have written these out in paragraph form, take this
opportunity to revise them.
Write out alternative solution 1
What are the disadvantages of this solution?
Write out alternative solution 2
What are the disadvantages of this solution?
Write out alternative solution 3
What are the disadvantages of this solution?

9. +
Putting it together: The Outline
 Your outline will of course reflect your own writing
situation. Once you have a working outline, you should
not hesitate to change it as necessary while drafting and
revising. For instance, you might find it more effective to
hold back on presenting your own solution until you have
discussed alternative but unacceptable solutions. Or you
might find a better way to order the reasons for adopting
your proposal. The purpose of an outline is to identify the
basic features of your proposal and to help you organize
them effectively, not to lock you into a particular structure.

10. +With your purpose and goals in mind,
organize an outline that includes the
following:
1. a clear statement of the problem (A complete discussion
of the problem goes before your thesis statement).
2. your thesis statement, announcing the proposed solution
and forecasting your reasons for it
3. your argument for the solution, giving reasons and support
4. anticipation of counterarguments and a response to
objections readers might have about the proposed solution
5. your evaluation of alternative solutions

11. +Here is a possible outline for a proposal. Yours may differ in
order, but it should include all of these parts:
I. Presentation of the problem (This is likely multiple paragraphs).
A. Its existence
B. Its seriousness
C. Its causes
D. Consequences of failing to solve the problem
II. Description of the proposed solution (Your thesis)
III. Reasons and support for the solution ( This is likely multiple
paragraphs).
IV. List of steps for implementing the solution
V. Counterargument
A. Acknowledgment of objections
B. Accommodation or refutation of objections
VI. Consideration of alternative solutions and their disadvantages.
VII.Conclusion
A. Restatement of the proposed solution and its advantages
B. A warning about the failure to solve the problem
C. A call to action

12. NEW! Introductions are Important

13. +
Writing the Opening Sentences
You should try out one or
two different ways of
beginning your essay. You
might want to review your
invention writing to see if
you have already written
something that would work
to launch your essay. The
next slides will introduce
some options to you.

14. +To engage your readers’ interest from the start,
consider the following opening strategies:
a scenario like O’Malley uses
It’s late at night. The final’s tomorrow.
You got a C on the midterm, so this
one will make or break you. Will it be
like the midterm? Did you study
enough? Did you study the right
things? It’s too late to drop the course.
So what happens if you fail? No time to
worry about that now—you’ve got a ton
of notes to go over.

15. +
Or, you can consider using statistics
like Kornbluh does:
Today fully 70 percent of families with children are
headed by two working parents or by an
unmarried working parent. The “traditional family”
of the breadwinner and homemaker has been
replaced by the “juggler family,” in which no one is
home full-time. Two parent families are working
10 more hours a week than in 1979 (Bernstein
and Kornbluh).

16. +
1. a historical analogy
2. a research study
3. a comparison to other places where the solution has
been tried successfully
4. a preview of the negative consequences if the problem
goes unsolved
5. criticism of an alternative solution
Or you can consider one of the
following opening strategies:

17. +Try two that might work now! Then
pick the best one!
 a scenario
 Using statistics
 a historical analogy
 a research study
 a comparison to other places where the solution
has been tried successfully
 a preview of the negative consequences if the
problem goes unsolved
 criticism of an alternative solution

18. +
NEW:
Endings are
Important too!

19. +End by summarizing your solution and its
advantages, as O’Malley does.
 From the evidence and from my talks with professors and
students, I see frequent, brief in-class exams as the only
way to improve students’ study habits and learning, reduce
their anxiety and procrastination, and increase their
satisfaction with college. These exams are not a panacea,
but only more parking spaces and a winning football team
would do as much to improve college life. Professors can’t
do much about parking or football, but they can give more
frequent exams. Campus administrators should get behind
this effort, and professors should get together to consider
giving exams more frequently. It would make a difference.

20. +Remind readers of something special about the
problem or solution at the end, as Kornbluh does
when she urges that an award be given to the
companies that lead the way.
 Public Education: Critical to the success of the proposal will
be public education along the lines of the education that the
government and business schools conducted in the 1980s
about the need for American business to adopt higher
quality standards to compete against Japanese business. A
Malcolm Baldridge–like award4 should be created for
companies that make flexibility win-win. A public education
campaign conducted by the Department of Labor should
encourage small businesses to adopt best practices of win-
win flexibility. Tax credits could be used in the first year to
reward early adopters.

21. + Or, try one of these
endings
End with a scenario
suggesting the
consequences of a failure to
solve the problem.
End with an inspiring call
to action.

22. +
Try writing two endings! Then choose the
best one or combine them!
1. End by summarizing your solution and
its advantages.
2. Remind readers of something special
about the problem or solution at the end
3. End with a scenario suggesting the
consequences of a failure to solve the
problem.
4. End with an inspiring call to action.

23. +
Review:
Using your library research

24. +
Using Sources
Statistics can be helpful in establishing that the problem exists and
is serious. For example, Patrick O’Malley cites research to
support his assertion that students prefer frequent exams to
fewer high-stakes exams: “A Harvard study notes students’
‘strong preference for frequent evaluation in a course’ ” (par. 4).
But his argument would have been stronger and possibly more
convincing if he had cited statistics to support the study’s
conclusion. All of the other writers in this chapter cite statistics in
their proposals. Let us look at some of the ways Karen Kornbluh
uses statistics to define the problem:
Today fully 70 percent of families with children are headed
by two working parents or by an unmarried working parent.
The “traditional family” of the breadwinner and homemaker
has been replaced by the “juggler family,” in which no one
is home fulltime. (par. 1)

25. Kornbluh also compares different time periods to show that the
problem has worsened over the last thirty years. Here are several
examples from paragraph 7. Note that Kornbluh presents statistics
in three different ways: percentages, numbers, and proportion.
She writes,
Between 1970 and 2000, the percentage of mothers in
the workforce rose from 38 to 67 percent (Smolensky
and Gootman). Moreover, the number of hours worked
by dual-income families has increased dramatically.
Couples with children worked a full 60 hours a week in
1979. By 2000 they were working 70 hours a week
(Bernstein and Kornbluh). And more parents than ever
are working long hours. In 2000, nearly 1 out of every 8
couples with children was putting in 100 hours a week
or more on the job, compared to only 1 out of 12
families in 1970 (Jacobs and Gerson). (Kornbluh).

26. For statistics to be persuasive, they must be from sources that
readers consider reliable. Researchers’ trustworthiness, in turn,
depends on their credentials as experts in the field they are
investigating and also on the degree to which they are disinterested,
or free from bias.
Kornbluh provides a Works Cited list of sources that readers
can follow up on to check whether the sources are indeed reliable.
The fact that some of her sources are books published by major
publishers (Harvard University Press and Basic Books, for example)
helps establish their credibility. Other sources she cites are research
institutes (such as New America Foundation, Economic Policy
Institute, and Families and Work Institute) that readers can easily
check out. Another factor that adds to the appearance of reliability is
that Kornbluh cites statistics from a range of sources instead of
relying on only one or two. Moreover, the statistics are current and
clearly relevant to her argument.

27. +
Ask Yourself:
Are my sources reliable?
Do they support my assertions
with facts, statistics, or credible
opinions?
Do I need more support?
Where will I find it?

28. +
The blogging post points (150) require self-
assessment. Consider three aspects of
your responses: First, how many of the
posts did you make? Second, what was the
quality of your response? Third, how timely
were your submissions? Write a
paragraph justifying your grade. Submit
your self-assessment via Kaizena as
soon as you finish today’s post; you
must send it before our final meeting.
The formula is on the next slide.
Self-Assessment

29. +Here is the Math!
See the Assignment Sheet for More Details
 Your final grade will be figured this way: 150/26 =5.77 points per post minus 2.88
points for each late post (48 hours after the due time. There are no points awarded for
posts more than 48 hours late). Then, multiply the total times the average grade
percentage for the quality of your work.
Example
 Posts completed: 25 x 5.77 points = 144.25 points
 Late posts: 4 x 2.88 =11.52
 Subtract the smaller from the larger: 144.25 – 11.52= 132.73
 Quality of posts: A or 95% (Quality only exceeds 95% if you have positive comments
from me.)
 Multiply the total times the quality: 132.73 x.95=126.09 or 126/150 points.

30. +
HOMEWORK
 Finish the introductions and
conclusions we wrote today in class,
and then add them to your draft.
 Read your essay aloud to make
sure it is in a logical order. Change
the order of your paragraphs if that
makes sense to you. Remember, the
problem is introduced before the
thesis!
 Post #26: Your revised introduction
and conclusion
 Self-Assessment: Due via Kaizena
before our final meeting
 Revisions due via Kaizena Friday
at noon, Friday Week 11.