Outlining My Public Argument

For this blog post I will outline the different parts to my argument for my next project.  I will outline the introduction, body, and conclusion parts to my project.  To help me outline these parts, I will use Writing Public Lives.

Huebi~commonswiki. "Map of USA GA". 9 June 2006 via Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported 

Introduction:

I will choose "Define or Narrow the Problem" option as one of the four to introduce my argument for my next project.  The reason I am choosing this option over the other is because I will have an easier time pointing out to my readers "a realistic plan of action..." (415)  I will "Focus on an aspect of the larger problem that you feel that your audience can actually address" (415).  I will point to the legislation that has already taken place in certain states regarding the strictness of their vaccination requirement laws.  I will connect this statistic with data showing how this correlates with lower rates of vaccine-preventable diseases than states that have more lenient laws.  I want to restate the main points from my first project about this controversy to the audience, which they already have knowledge about.  The main objective in this section of my project is to only point out the different issues surrounded in this controversy, while pointing to a specific plan to improve the issue.  I do not want to include any bias or support for one position over another in this section.  This section will provide the general overview for the rest of the project.

Body:

(#1 List Down the Major Supporting Arguments)  To address this question in my body sections of my project, I will only focus on a few important arguments.  One is to include data showing how the use of stricter vaccination requirement laws in certain states are beneficial with the fact that these states have lower rates of vaccine-preventable diseases.  I will also point out the different states with either more strict or more lenient exemption laws and how they are connected with the different rates of disease.  In connection with this last argument, I will point out how people in certain socioeconomic groups are involved with the use of exemptions.  I will also point out how areas with high exemption rates are clustered together, which contributes to higher rates of disease outbreaks.

(#2 List Down the Major Criticisms)  The arguments mentioned in #1 are important in the controversy as they emphasize the key issues of why this controversy remains a controversy.  Their criticisms could include not having parents, that contribute to higher rates of disease outbreaks due to their children not being properly vaccinated, being faced with harsh penalties.

(#3 Select Your Key Support and Rebuttal Points)  The important key support for improving the situation of this controversy comes with stricter enforcement of laws requiring more children to be properly vaccinated.  Along with these laws, there also comes stricter enforcement for how parents use exemptions for children (specifically reducing the use of nonmedical exemptions).  Certain states have put into place laws that enforce stricter requirements for this issue.  Clearly, statistics have favored these states, in regard to seeing to lower disease rates along with exemption rates.  The success of these states should be used in a larger scale (perhaps nationally).  Some rebuttal points to these supporting points could include that parents having a bigger say in whether or not their own children should be legally obliged to be vaccinated.  Freedom of choice may play a large role in this controversy in regard to having children being properly vaccinated.

(#4 Write Out a Tentative Topic Sentence for Each Support and Rebuttal Point)  [Support] There has been progress made in the overall discussion of improving children's health, but there is more much needed support in order to have more states follow up with legislation requiring stricter laws for vaccinations.  [Rebuttal] There have not been harsh penalties set in place to punish those who contribute to higher disease in certain states.  With these in place, the rates of diseases can possibly become smaller than they are now.

(#5 Gather Evidence)  To support my main supporting arguments along with my rebuttal points, I will use analysis from the New England Journal of Medicine, the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, along with articles from the CDC and NIH.  These sources will point to the specific data involved with these key points and could potentially help readers gain a better understanding and possibly advocate for more beneficial legislation.

(#6 Develop a Map of Your Argument)  I will first introduce the controversy as a whole. Then, I will focus on the main key support and rebuttal points to it.  The thesis will will include these points along with reasoning to support them (to be done in the form of evidence from the sources).  Moving on, I will transition from the two main arguments and the rebuttals to them in the body section of the paper.  I will include evidence within these arguments while trying to tie together the main points.

Conclusion:

For this section of my project I will focus on my concluding strategies.  Of the five options, I will choose "Positive Consequences"to use in my project.  The reason being is that I want to include the benefits involved with individuals taking action or a step forward in this controversy.  This can hopefully provide a positive effect on society, possibly changing the scope of the controversy, for the better.  I will also restate the issue I mentioned in the other sections of my project.