Arguing to Inquire

Paper One: Arguing to Inquire
Your first essay assignment involves arguing to inquire, which is likely to be quite different from any preconceived notions of argumentation you might have. It is the most introspective assignment you will have all quarter—something with the quality of musing or “thinking out loud”—and its focus is inward, directed towards finding a personal truth, not outward, directed towards an audience that needs convincing. The purpose of inquiry is to determine how you really feel about something and whether or not your feelings are actually justifiable.
From feelings come a position; from a position comes your thesis. The difference lies in the degree of conscious thought and inquiry directed at any given topic; this is a process of crystallization. And like a slow-growing crystal, this process takes some time. Think of your opinion about a topic as your “knee-jerk reaction” to it, think of your position as a tentative but reasoned belief (usually growing from the initial opinion), and think of your thesis as a specific, focused, and defensible written statement of your position.
The goal is to arrive at a thesis statement (one written sentence) after careful inquiry. In more common types of argument, the thesis statement will come early in the paper; here, it comes at the end. Your thesis statement for this paper should appear as the very last sentence!
Hello, for this one you don't have to write from scratch, go into the file that has been attached and just write new things and delete if needed to improve the essay. The instructions are there because maybe I misunderstood something and didn't write it down. So if you have any questions, you are free to ask.
However, inquiry does not always lend itself to quick solutions. You might not be able to arrive at a thesis statement by the end of the essay; you still might not have made up your mind. If that is the case, then your last sentence must state why you have been unable to come to a resolution (and your plans for future inquiry, if any). Please note that this should not be looked upon as a “failure” in inquiry. Inquiries are often composed of a whole series of ongoing questions that can span many years of a thoughtful person’s life. I really do not mind if you cannot arrive at a definite position; you simply need to tell me that.
Write a three to five page paper on the topic of your choice, showing me the process of your search for truth as you struggle towards a reasoned and specific thesis statement. You might ask yourself, for example, if your opposition to marijuana legalization was a justifiable decision driven by research or simply a moral reaction against a behavior deemed dangerous or antithetical to community values. You might question our recent legalization of same-sex marriage despite the fact that you’re for it (playing devil’s advocate). Beware that playing devil’s advocate can be tricky, requiring genuine effort to see the other side; what you do not want to do is bring up arguments from the other side only to knock them down. For that reason, rhetorical questions are extremely damaging to the act of inquiry.
Because this assignment is introspective, not research-driven, no research is required. You may do research if it suits you; however, remember that all research must be documented. To repeat: research is optional, but documentation of research is not! See the MLA or APA styles in Hacker (your choice).
Arguing to inquire is a search for truth; hopefully, you will find a comforting or at least illuminating truth for yourself. Whether you arrive at the destination you suspected or a brand new one, the inquiry will be successful if you ask questions and pursue them with the diligence of someone seeking answers. Please use the first person in this assignment and see me if you have any problems or questions. Also see below for important suggestions!
Adopt a tentative tone.
Ask questions and build the essay around them. Be sincere when asking questions, as “rhetorical questions” are actually convincing in nature.
Try to answer most of the questions. You need not answer them all (and may be unable to anyway). I do want to see you make a sincere effort to think about the question(s) you’ve just raised.
Use the first person (I, me) for a more personal and informal essay. Use the third person (he, she, it) for a more formal essay—note, however, that this is not recommended because it’s harder to write an inquiry in the third person (just take my word for it). Avoid the second person as a general rule, although you may, with proper justification, use it at the very end.