As we have talked about, arguments are often shared to benefit a group of people rather than just to prove that we are “right” or “win” a debate. When we engage in persuasive exercises with people who share a community with us, whether at work, in our families, at school, or in our town, we have a greater chance of success when we carefully consider the different stakeholders and how our recommendations may affect them.
For this unit’s discussion, you will analyze different stakeholders’ positions in your argument and find one source that demonstrates an area of common ground you expect to find among the many stakeholders. Be sure to review this week’s learning activities on search techniques before searching for a source. Then, respond to the following prompts in at least two well-developed paragraphs:
Share your revised statement and tell us who the key stakeholders are. Whom does this issue affect that we do not often hear from?
What aspects of the argument do you expect most stakeholders to agree about?
Identify three search terms you could use to find evidence that helps to illustrate the common ground between stakeholders.
Hint: The learning activity “Choosing & Using Keywords” can help you figure out what search terms to use as you seek out common ground sources.
