February 19th, 2020 
The environmental impact of single-use plastics has been in the news lately. SMU has already seen Koufu eliminating the use of plastic straws, and now the school would like to open a discussion on the use of plastic bags in the various retail outlets on campus.
The professor in-charge of the planned debate is a researcher who values high quality arguments, based on solid evidence. She is looking for a news article to use to open the discussion about whether paper or plastic bags are the best option for retail outlets.
Her teaching assistant has found these two articles:
Edgington, T. (2019, January 28). Plastic or paper: Which bag is greener? Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47027792
Plumer, B. (2019, March 29). Plastic bags, or paper? Heres what to consider when you hit the grocery store. The New York Times. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/climate/plastic-paper-shopping-bags.html
QUESTION-
Analyse the two articles, and compare them to see which is more persuasive. You should be careful to assess their use of both argument, and evidence. Once you have finished your analysis write a memo to the professor to persuade her which article is the best one to send out to the SMU community to start the discussion.
DELIVERABLES
1. A comparative analysis that clearly explains why one article is more reliable and persuasive than the other. Base your analysis on the use of reliable evidence, and well-structured argumentation. (Max 800 words)
MAKE SURE THERE IS THESIS STATEMENT
AND EACH PARAGRAPH HAS TOPIC SENTENCE
have this structure for some paragraphs Claim Evidence Premise
Skills tested
Thesis Statement
Persuasive writing- Clear connection between premise and conclusion, OR claims, reason and evidence
Awareness of context, audience and purpose
Clear, coherent and concise writing
Expression & grammatical accuracy
Use of sources
Posted in 