Lesson 10 Prompt: Freewrite

I am starting to get more confident about writing my research paper. I like the classical argument format because it will include my own three arguments, a summary of my opponent’s arguments and a rebuttal. The latter two paragraphs will allow for more writing thus helping me to fulfill the seven to ten page requirements. In my research I have found a lot of pros to developing Alberta’s oil sands but not many cons. Most of the articles I have read explain why they should be developed followed by a brief summary of the environmental concerns and then reasoning why those environmental concerns should be discredited. One reason I believe that there are not many articles on the other side of the argument is because of the lack of resources the green movement against the oil sands has at this point. It is impossible to ignore the environmental impacts of the oil sands development but they seem to be an afterthought in the Canadian media. Big oil has a lot of money and weapons in their advertising campaign to get people on their side and the environmentalist are fighting an uphill battle. I would like to see a more balanced perspective on the issue but I do not know if that will ever be possible with all the money the oil companies have to throw around. Despite this fact my research has been very helpful in creating my arguments. The facts and numbers that the articles use will be very helpful to me in conveying my ideas. One area that I am struggling with though is who my audience should be. I am not sure if I should write to the people of Canada, or the people in power around the world who will be consuming the oil. The deadline is getting pretty close now, time to bear down.