Bridgewater 1

Essay #1: Finding Common Ground

Diving into an argument is very difficult to do. Imagine you are invited to a cocktail party and you arrive
30 minutes late. You walk into the ballroom and there are already 50 people there. There are numerous
conversations going on; some of which have been going on for half an hour. You randomly pick out a
group of 4 people to approach and socialize by getting involved with their conversation. You walk up,
introduce yourself, and then listen in to what they are talking about. It takes time to get glued into the
conversation so that you can contribute. This situation is analogous to writing our first essay, Finding
Common Ground. Over the course of WRIT 112, youll develop the reading, writing, and research skills
to write mature, researched papers. But the first step is to know how to get involved in a researched
topic.
Write an essay analyzing at least two essays/TED Talks taking different positions on an issue. You may
also draw on other sources for background information or context. Your purpose is to analyze at least
two essays/TED Talks to understand their authors main points of disagreement and to suggest ways to
identify points of agreement and build common ground based on shared values, concerns, needs, and
interests, as well as to identify points of disagreement and different perspectives. To do this, youll use
the essays posted to the course web site under Happiness and its Discontents and the TED Talks from
the syllabus.
Criteria youll be graded on
An informative introduction to the issue and opposing positions

A paragraph or so laying out the idea of happiness as you, a culture, or someone else
understands it. Begin with a quote, a surprising fact, a startling statistic, or a mini story.

A paragraph or so briefly describing the articles on happiness that youll be using, focusing on
their main ideas and/or theoretical approaches to understanding happiness

A thesis identifying areas of disagreement and areas of common ground

A probing analysis with properly synthesized sources

Several paragraphs in which you argue to support your thesiss assertions

Interesting and insightful discussion of the points of disagreement and potential agreement

Focus in on a few points rather than too many points

Explain in detail the points that are hard for readers to grasp

Consider emphasizing the less obvious points of agreement

Consider why the writers make a particular kind of argument rather than another kind of
argument

Consider how the writers profession or biography could explain why a particular idea has so
much persuasive power

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Think about the social and political situation in which each essay was originally written and how
the writer was trying to appeal to readers

Examine the concessions and refutations of opposing views to see where there might be room
for agreement

A fair and impartial presentation

Consider your word choices, replacing judgmental words with neutral ones

Make sure you are representing each writer accurately and fairly

Give equal space to both arguments

A clear, logical organization

Paragraphs and sections are properly laid out and have effective flow and logic

Effective topic and wrap up sentences

Transition words

Appropriate use of headings, if applicable

An engaging, mature writing style and proper APA formatting

Title page, References page, proper page header format, and in-text citations

Sources: at least 2
Page length: 5