PAM Worksheet
Question Description
To prepare to write your non-academic argument you will complete the PAM Worksheet:
First you will determine your PURPOSE. In general, your purpose is to persuade, but you will need to determine what you are trying to persuade your audience to DO. You have the power to bring about change. What do you want changed as it relates to your issue? Go to your thesis from your research paper. Does it point to a need for change? For example, if your research paper was about light pollution and you determined that light pollution could be reduced by better lighting design, your purpose for a non-academic audience could be to change lighting design. Your purpose is NOT to “inform” or to “share.” You want to get someone up off their butt to DO something about the situation.
Next, you will identify your AUDIENCE. For anything to change, the right people need to be persuaded to change it. Who is in a position to bring about the change you want to happen? For example, for the light pollution example listed above, the student might choose as his audience the mayor and propose that the city adopt a “dark skies” designation as a goal by a certain timeframe. Or, the student might choose the head of a major outdoor lighting manufacturer as his audience. Your audience should NOT be “all American citizens,” “the general population,” “adults,” etc. You are expected to target your message to a specific individual or group of individuals who are in a position to enact the change you are trying to bring about. This may require a bit of research on your part.
Then, you will choose a METHOD OF DELIVERY. In order to persuade the right people, you need to know how to reach them. This may require a bit of research on your part. Is there a specific person you are trying to reach? Would a letter work best for that? Or is there a group of people you need to convince? How do you best reach them? You are restricted to making your argument in writing and your argument will have to fall between 1,250 and 1,500 words, but the form that argument takes is up to you. For example, the student above may write a petition to the mayor, or he/she may choose to write a letter to the lighting manufacturer.
Your PURPOSE, AUDIENCE, and METHOD OF DELIVERY will all be identified and justified in your PAM Worksheet (which is due – turned in for review -- Wednesday, March 18). The argument itself will include your PURPOSE (stated as your thesis and/or call to action), but not any mention of your AUDIENCE or DELIVERY. The rhetorical choices you make in your argument will be determined by your audience and method of delivery.
Include the following with your Instructor Review, then Peer Review, then Final Draft:
- A PAM worksheet that accurately reflects the purpose, audience, and method of delivery for your argument. This will serve as your writer's memo for this assignment. However, remember that the PAM worksheet is part of your grade for this assignment. Points will be deducted if no PAM worksheet is submitted, if the PAM worksheet has not been updated to accurately reflect the argument submitted, or if the purpose, audience, and/or method of delivery are not singular, specific, or appropriate.
- A draft of your Argument for peer review. Your PAM may be modified per my comments.
- The final, revised printed version of your Non-Academic Argument assignment. Be sure that you have revised your paper during the process of review (peer review and conference), and that you have revised the date in your heading. Include an accurate word count as part of the heading for your paper (underneath the date). This is a requirement (remember that the word count must be between 1,250 and 1,500 words -- no more, no less). Papers without an accurate word count will be returned and counted as late until submitted correctly.
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