WRI102—Spring 2026
Major Assignment: Non-Academic Argument
15% of Final Grade
Length: Between 1100-1200 words (about 4-5 pages)
Directions: Using the thesis from your Scholarly Argument, rewrite your argument so that is persuasive to a non-expert audience. Think of your argument as appearing as an editorial on a website or in a magazine. Thus, this paper should adhere to the proper conventions of non-academic writing to fulfill its purpose.
Rely on the same sources from the Scholarly Argument to support your thesis in this essay. Your sources must be properly introduced in a manner expected by a non-expert discourse community who is reading a credible non-academic article. Like the Scholarly Argument, your argument and the intended audience should be at the heart of the essay and each paragraph. Thus, the organization will not necessarily be determined by the sources, but rather by the organizational structure that best supports the your argument.
Consider your intended audience when rewriting your argument. You will need to carefully balance what information the audience needs to know in order to fully understand your argument with how much information and depth they would expect to find in a nonacademic article. This means that you will likely more heavily depend on certain sources, while others may only be used briefly or not at all.
Format: The essay must use standard APA following format with the following exception:
• No title page. Instead, your name, date, assignment, and word count should be in the upper left-hand corner of the first page.
• Consider whether subheadings would help make your argument more readable for its intended audience.
• Spell-check and edit for proper grammar, sentence structure, and clarity.