Isaiah Jones - Assignment 4

The purpose of Assignment 4 is to write a practical policy on a topic that relates you. The argument should have a cover letter addressing an individual with the authority to enact on your proposal. The argument should also consist of a problem, solution, and justification. The instructions for this assignment are very clear. One thing I’m confused on is how many sources and quotations we need to have.

A Proposal to Change the Meal Plan

The University of Louisville should modify it's current student meal plan because the plan is too large for students, and students can only use their meal cards at certain restaurants. A solution to this problem is to allow students to choose how many flex points and meal swipes they’ll need for the semester, and to allow local restaurants around campus to accept the meal cards.  

Research needed for this argument are:

·         Find statistics on students who think the meal plan is too big and on if they believe the university should allow more restaurants to accept the meal cards.

·         A survey showing how many students are dissatisfied with the current meal plan

·         Cost information

·         Information on how this will effect restaurants around campus

Isaiah Jones - Proposal Argument

There are two types of proposal arguments: practical and policy. Practical proposals propose an action to solve a local or immediate problem and are narrow and concrete. An example of this would be a proposal to change the meal plan for students. Policy proposals propose a broad plan of action to solve major social, economic, or political problems. This type of proposal is more concerned with the broad outline and shape of a course of action. An example of this would be what the U.S. government should do about the overcrowding of prisons.

The three main stages of a proposal argument are description of a problem, proposed solution, and justification for the proposed solution. The first stage, description of a problem, calls for the reader’s attention and states statistics so the reader can gain knowledge of the seriousness of the problem. The second stage is the proposed solution. This lays out the thesis, stresses the feasibility of a solution, and shows how it will solve the problem. The third stage is justification, and this stage convinces the audience that your solution will be successful and to develop persuasive reasons for enacting it.

a.       Marijuana should be legalized because it’s not harmful. (principle)

b.      Marijuana should be legalized because it can create more jobs. (consequences)

c.       Marijuana should be legalized because of its many health benefits. (resemblance)

d.      Division I athletes should receive salaries because it’s fair since people are making money off of them. (principle)

e.      Division I athletes should receive salaries because the university makes a lot of money off of them. (consequences)

f.        Division I athletes should receive salaries because they work hard and deserve to be paid. (resemblance)