One of the major learning targets for our course is 🎯 Target #4: Writing Research—locating and using researched evidence to support a claim and incorporating that research (via proper documentation or hyperlinking) into our writing while maintaining a personal voice that thoughtfully communicates with an audience. One of the best ways I've found to encourage my students to perform research on topics that interest them (or which they find meaningful) is to focus on the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
You are a member of “an increasingly interconnected and multicultural society. Students need to be aware of cultural norms and differences around the world so that they can succeed and thrive. The SDGs are universal goals for all people and are inherently global in nature. Learning about these initiatives helps students develop insights into issues around the world, such as lack of access to clean water and gender equality. These issues are inseparable from culture, and to truly understand the SDGs, students need to learn about the world around them” (“4 Reasons to Teach the Sustainable Development Goals” para. 4).
As you explore and read about the various SDGs, you probably will connect with one or two particular goals that really resonate with you and maybe even make you angry. Or you may come to hate the "problem" that's the focus of the SDG. Writing an analytical argument about the problem you hate may be a way to better understand this "problem" that bothers you while also possibly helping you find solutions to this problem. What if you could persuade those who have the power to change the "problem" that you hate? Tackling a problem that is reflected in one of the SDGs is the purpose of this blog posting. Something is not as it should be, and you wish it were different. You have the solutions to the problem; your goal may be to get those in power to accept these solutions.
In this research blog posting, I invite you to explore one of the SDGs that resonates with you and compose a problem/solution argument to convince your intended audience.
The HOW of this learning activity
Try your hand at a blog posting! In your Sutori blog, try composing a problem/solution argument that incorporates outside research to convince your audience that your solutions to the problem should be accepted/implemented.Your posting could contain text, video, images, links, etc. You are considered the composer of your blog, so there is no limit to the creativity you may use! Try to employ 4-6 outside sources in this blog posting (see below for specifics). Check out this Google Folder with resources for writing your Problem/Solution Argument.
Who is my audience? You are writing for the someone (or people) who has the power to make the change that you seek. You must convince them that the problem is serious and that your solutions will, indeed, work. You want to persuade this audience. But remember, this is not the persuasion of an emotional person throwing a written tantrum about the problem. Instead, you need to convince your audience that the change that your solutions will bring about is in everyone's best interest, not just one segment of the global community.
What should I consider? Once you have chosen the SDG that you will explore, write down everything that you can think of that makes this goal representative of a severe problem. Focus on the causes of the problem and who it impacts. What stands in the way of having this problem solved? What are all the different groups that are affected by this problem? Which decision-maker(s) are you going to write to? Why have you chosen them? Consider your audience's needs, attitudes, and knowledge regarding your chosen problem.
Try drafting your blog posting. Try writing an argument that describes and illustrates the problem to the best of your ability while relying on your additional sources. What can you say that will persuade them to agree with you that this is a problem worthy of their attention?
Improve your case. What additional information and research will help improve your argument that this is a problem? What do you need to prove to your audience to be convincing, and what kind of proof do you need to find? Are your sources convincing and authoritative (your appeal to ethos)? To support your evidence of the need for solutions, try providing research about the SDG "problem" that is being discussed. You can use the Library’s Electronic Databases or reputable websites to locate at least 4-6 sources; just be sure that you evaluate what you find. Try using these 4-6 outside sources in your blog — you can use MLA or APA formatting for in-text citations and a Works Cited or References page, or you can HYPERLINK your sources directly within the context of your writing. The goal here is to use your sources ethically and properly, appropriate to the rhetorical situation in your blog posting.
Create solutions. As you research your problem, you will likely locate information on potential solutions. You probably have a few ideas of your own as well. What would be effective solutions to your problem? Try to come up with at least 3 separate solutions that could be implemented. How will you convince your audience that these are good solutions? Are they reasonable? How will they be implemented? What are any additional costs for these solutions? How will you know if your solutions work?
Try revising your blog posting.Revision will likely happen even as you draft and your thinking clarifies, but of course, if an idea arrives that requires you to rethink something earlier, such as your choice of solutions, you'll need to revise accordingly. If you are connected to your material and considering your audience, your instincts will tell you if something seems off-target. Listen to those instincts, and don't shy away from digging in and fixing something you think needs it.
The POSSIBILITIES in this learning activity
Reflection: The SDGs are an awesome way to explore our global community and to decide what type of global citizen we wish to be. I trust that the problem that you've identified has prompted your thinking about the way inequities and social injustice have created hierarchical divisions in our world. Perhaps reading about the SDGs can be overwhelming (as in: "What can one individual person do in the face of so many issues?"); however, I hope that the solutions that you've created present a "way forward," to see our global community as something worth protecting and fighting for!
Remixing: Perhaps you can think of a way to condense your problem/solution argument into a digestible format—maybe a 2-3 minute elevator pitch, or an illustrated infographic, or a podcast, or a brochure. This remix contains endless possibilities!
Student Samples: Check out what previous students have done with this blog posting. You are invited to use these as a guide for your own argument.