The students involved in the student-teacher conferences were in the process of writing our fourth written project in the course. This is the official statement of project four.

Statement of Project 4
English 103.26

During this project, you will be persuading a person or specific group of people to adopt an action or belief--you will attempt to move them to act or think in a specific way. There are many important elements to this project, but it is imperative for you choose a very specific audience for this paper; you do not want to leave the audience vague or general, because then it will sound like you're talking to nobody, and nobody will be persuaded of anything. You might choose to write a letter to a specific person or group of people, or you might write an article for a specific newspaper, magazine, or organization. In any case, you will want to articulate exactly who the person or people are you are writing to and keep them in mind as you write.

You will probably want to start with a problem that you have with your audience; clearly define the problem and give a background to the problem that will precisely explain the problem to everyone. Then, you'll be able to offer a proposal that, upon your audience's accepting it, will solve the problem. Your proposal will be the guiding thought of the paper: it is what you want the audience to accept and act upon, and it is what you'll be arguing for during the bulk of the paper.

You'll want to present a full argument of why accepting your proposal will solve the problem and will be a viable action for the audience; and you'll also want to present a refutation, or, the arguments that your audience might have against your proposal. It will be important for you to present the other side fairly and completely, then show how your option is the better one. Otherwise, your audience will have plenty of arguments against your paper when it is finished. Your goal is to have covered all the bases and allow your audience only to agree with you at the end. Finally, you'll want a concluding call to action, which will leave your audience ready to move on your proposal.

You might choose to send your letter to your audience or submit your article to a newspaper or magazine when you are finished; this is certainly the kind of assignment that should be useful to you in real life. In any case, start with a problem that you have with a real audience, and work toward persuading them to act on or believe in your proposal.

MOO-based Metacognition: Incorporating Online and Offline Reflection into the Writing Process
Joel A. English