Step $1$: Analyze Your Issue

$1.$A$.$ Discuss the Nature of Your Issue: Explain, with cited evidence as support, how and why the current and unresolved issue came into being, how the issue and$/$or the debate associated with it has evolved since, what aspects of the issue are currently being debated in your discipline $($and why these aspects are important to your discipline$),$ what different perspectives are involved in that debate $($and what different resolutions have already been offered$),$ and what exigence there is for a resolution to this issue $($which may include how you imagine the issue will continue to progress if it remains unresolved$).$

$1.$B$.$ Propose How the Issue Should be Resolved: Explain, with cited evidence as support, what your synthesized answer to your research question suggests about a resolution to the issue or to the debate associated with it$,$ why your proposed resolution is the most fair and feasible above all alternative resolutions and in response to all exigencies, what steps and resources would be involved in actually implementing your proposed resolution, and what obstacles may prevent or otherwise constrain that implementation $($or may arise due to that implementation$).$

Step $2$: Analyze Your Audience

$2.$A$.$ Research Audience Information: Explain, with cited evidence as support, which stakeholder is the most appropriate audience $($based on their legitimacy, power, and urgency$),$ what you learned about their demographics $($their gender, age, race$/$ethnicity$,$ location, education, occupation, etc.$)$ to understand their identity and background, and what you learned and$/$or inferred about their psychographics $($their knowledge of$,$ stake in$,$ and opinion on the topic; their associated values, needs, and beliefs; and their associated biases, concerns, or resistances$)$ to understand their stance.

$2.$B$.$ Propose Audience$-$Aware Writing Moves: Explain what your position is on the issue and why you disagree with your audience's stance. Then, using your audience profile as support, explain how you intend to persuade them: what common ground you share that you may be able to build on$,$ what concessions and refutations you can fairly make in response to their stance, what rhetorical appeals $($ethos$,$ logos$,$ pathos$)$ and$/$or needs$-$based appeals $($to their esteem, social, or safety needs$)$ are appropriate, and what motivation or incentives $($positive or negative$),$ if any, you may use.

Step $3$: Analyze Your Genre

$3.$A: Research Genre Conventions: Explain, using your research$-$based advocacy letter samples as support, what determinations you made about obligatory, common, and rare genre moves regarding its structural conventions $($format$/$design and organization$),$ linguistic conventions $($diction$,$ tone, and voice$),$ and referential conventions $($types of sources and evidence, and integration$/$citation methods$).$ Be sure to include determinations you made about how the writers in each sample establish their exigence and purpose, as well as their credibility $($appeal to ethos$).$

$3.$B$.$ Propose Genre$-$Aware Writing Moves: Explain, using your genre analysis as support, the obligatory structure, language, and reference conventions you intend to adhere to$,$ whether you anticipate modifying any of these conventions to serve your audience and purpose $($and if so$,$ how$),$ and what specific choices you intend to make regarding non$-$obligatory $($common or rare$)$ structure, language, and reference conventions $($and how these choices likewise serve your audience and purpose$).$ Also explain how you intend to establish your exigence, purpose, and credibility.

Step $4$: Compose an End$-$page Reflection

On the final page of your project, respond to the following three reflection questions:

Discuss the process you used to identify an appropriate stakeholder audience and what you learned about this particular audience that will have the greatest impact on how you shape the argument you make in your advocacy letter.

Discuss the extent to which your genre analysis helped you to understand genre as following a set of standard conventions$)$ and yet how genre is dynamic $($in that these conventions change across writing situations and$/$or over time$).$

Discuss the extent to which the audience$-$ and genre$-$aware moves you intend to make represent ways of writing ethically $($fairly representing your audience's stance, properly attributing evidence, using inclusive and unbiased language, etc.$).$

Research Logs submitted without the end$-$page reflection cannot receive a grade higher than Under Expectations $($UE$/7\mathrm{.}5).$

Research Log Format

At the top of your Issue, Audience, and Genre Analyses, state your $($sub$)$discipline$.$ Title your first section as Issue Analysis, your second section as Audience Analysis, and your third section as Genre Analysis.

Within each section, respond to the criteria provided $($see Steps $1-3$ above$).$ Be sure to support your analysis with credible sources that are integrated and cited appropriately $($in your discipline's preferred style$).$

Formatting$/$Citation

Use the