When I teach the course (see description and learning objectives below), I use the final 2/3 of the semester mentoring student teams. Each team chooses an issue that requires understanding the context, the two (or more) competing positions, and advocating for or recommending a course of action.

I imagine using this assignment to complete the background research (students create annotated bibliographies for both texts and graphics/pictures they can use to inform the public); then they focus on an issue or rhetorical situation that requires them to take a stance.

I would have the stance portion separate from this work; it would be their final project; each student would take the research about the topic, the various positions they've found, and they would draft a final paper advocating for change, with their focus on writing to someone who might have some policy power.

Course description and objectives: English 2844 provides a foundation in the theory and practice of professional and technical writing. You will gain an understanding of genres that professional writers use regularly (e.g., correspondence, proposals, fact sheets, reports). Equally, if not more important, you will learn to analyze rhetorical situations and then, using those analyses, write and design texts to meet the demands of those situations. In addition, you will gain practical experience with collaborative project practices and project management (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and distributing). By the end of the course, you will have an overview of the roles and responsibilities of professional and technical writers.

Learning Objectives

Analyze communication problems and offer potential solutions Analyze audience needs, focusing on contexts/situations Conduct research—primary and secondary Collaborate to produce professional deliverables Create documents that are usable and effective (that help audiences solve problems or make decisions in the workplace) Manage document projects via collaboration (and learn to meet deadlines)