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Research Project Part Two: Advocacy
The second half of your quarter-long research project, the AP asks that you 1) introduce and
evaluate one or more significant efforts to address the problem you described in your CP;
and then 2) develop an argument about which of the efforts to address the problem work
best, explain why, and offer possible next steps; OR make the case that none of the efforts
to address the problem works, explain why, and offer possible next steps. Unlike the CP, an
expository essay that asks you to use your research to describe the problem, the AP requires you
to stake out a clear position in a thesis statement that you must defend through deeply engaged
research.
An advocate takes a position in a debate or conflict and works to solve problems. Social justice
advocates, for example, aim to give voice to the marginalized and defend the vulnerable from
harm by forging resolutions among stakeholders where intractable problems persist. To advance
their aims, advocates must be strategic: they must con sider
whether or not various modes of redress will effectively
mitigate or resolve the problem at hand. And to be strategic,
they must also be informed. You, too, must be deeply
informed about the advocacy landscape and ongoing
conversations concerning your topic and the problems
associated with it.
Your initial research for the AP should explore the various
efforts to shape public opinion through the media; to change
policies; to institute new laws or amend existing ones; or to
pursue litigation. As you examine these efforts, you should
assess their short- and long-term outcomes; their costs (in a
variety of senses: cultural, economic, personal, moral,
institutional, to name a few) and benefits; their relative
fitness in comparison to one another; their ability to produce
equitable outcomes; and the obstacles that stand in their
way.
Thinking about obstacles necessitates thinking about
rhetorical context. The role of public opinion, for example,
has always been instrumental (for better and worse) in
shaping advocacy efforts. Advocates must consider the
values expressed through social affiliations—political,
institutional, religious, cultural, and regional. Sometimes these considerations involve
compromise (advocates have terms for these compromises: “respectability politics” is one;
“matters of expediency,” another). Where there is compromise that bends to corporate interests
or public opinion, there may exist other kinds of compromise, such as short term solutions that
satisfy demands in the present but fail to address damaging consequences in the long term. You
should account for similar dynamics in the representation of advocacy efforts you examine.
Some questions that might
help to direct your research
include:
Is the problem you addressed
in your CP well-known to the
public? If so, has public
opinion influenced efforts to
address it? If not, how are
advocates working to raise
awareness?
How do scholars in various
disciplines study and write
about efforts to address the
problem?
Who or what informs the
positions and proposals of
reports on the problem from
government agencies, think
tanks, or other organizations?
Indeed, you will learn that few advocacy efforts enjoy universal support, and accounting for the
range of attitudes toward and characterizations of your chosen efforts—some you may agree
with, others you may strongly contest—will strengthen your advocacy analysis.
By the time you complete the AP, you should be able to:
• Write a developed thesis statement that clearly and concisely articulates the central claims of
your argument.
• Strengthen your argument by analyzing the positions of academics and other experts,
including those who offer perspectives that differ from your own
You should continue to practice the major skills from the CP:
• Develop effective research note-taking habits through source annotations.
• Practice information literacy in the research process by locating and critically evaluating
relevant and credible evidence from a variety of sources and genres.
• Understand research as a part of the larger composition process of prewriting, drafting, and
revision.
• Collaborate with fellow researchers to give and receive constructive feedback on the work in
progress.
• Plan, draft and revise an essay with organization and style appropriate for addressing a
general academic audience.
• Arrange and integrate evidence—primary-source, secondary-source, and multimodal—
intentionally, with particular attention to its argumentative purpose and rhetorical effect.
• Integrate and cite evidence in a transparent and ethical manner, using a standard citation
system. Learn how and why to avoid plagiarism and patch-writing.
Assignment Requirements
Process work is required to be eligible to submit a final draft for a grade. This may include but
is not limited to a proposal or prospectus and multiple essay drafts. Late or incomplete process
work may result in a grade penalty on the final draft.
At a minimum the argument in your AP should integrate evidence from 6-8 new sources, at
least two of which should involve complex, comprehensive arguments that substantively
consider the obstacles at work in solving the problem you addressed in your CP. You may
continue to use relevant sources that you found while researching for the Contexts Project. Keep
in mind that the total number of sources for the entire project’s bibliography is 12-20 sources.
Your final submission for Part Two should be an approximately 2000-word multimodal
composition. It should be formatted in MLA style , with parenthetical citations, a Works Cited
page, and a descriptive academic title.
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