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Proposal Argument Essay: An In-Depth Guide

Throughout your academic career, you will come across various essay types, including proposal argument essays. Writing a proposal argument essay can be challenging, as it assumes persuading your audience to support your proposal using robust evidence and convincing arguments. Nevertheless, by adopting the right approach and guidance, you can learn how to write such a paper that wins over your audience. In this article, we offer a step-by-step guide that will walk you from understanding what such an assignment is to learning how to write a strong proposal argument essay effectively. So, let’s dive in.

Let’s Answer the Question: What is a Proposal Argument Essay?

A proposal argument essay is a specific kind of essay that involves presenting a problem and offering a solution how to address and handle that problem. The primary aim of this essay is to convince the readers to support your proposed solution and idea. The proposal can involve a policy change, a novel method or approach to solving a problem, or even introduction of a new product or service.

The key distinguishing feature of the proposal argument essay assignment from other persuasive essays is its focus on a particular proposal or solution to a certain problem. The aim of such a paper is not only to persuade your audience to accept your opinion or viewpoint but also to suggest a practical solution to a real-world issue.

Getting Started: Developing Proposal Argument Essay Outline

A proposal argument essay, just like any other essay, should include an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, the specific structure may vary depending on the assignment instructions given by your professor. Thus, creating an outline is always helpful. Below you can find a tentative outline for your task:

I. Introduction

A. Background information
B. Thesis statement
C. Topicality of the issue

II. Problem

A. Description of the problem
B. Importance of resolving the problem
C. Supporting evidence

III. Proposed Solution

A. Description of proposed solution
B. Advantages of the proposed solution

IV. Counterarguments

A. Explanation of potential objections
B. Refutation of counterarguments

V. Conclusion

A. Restate thesis
B. Recap main points
C. Call to action

Introductory Section: The introduction should provide an overview of the issue and introduce the suggested resolution. Remember to develop a clear and succinct thesis statement, which is essential for effectively conveying the argument.

Issue Elaboration: In this section, you should delve deeper into the problem, discussing its causes and consequences.

Suggested Solution: In this section you should provide recommendations for resolving the issue. Your suggested solution must be specific, practical, and achievable. Remember to present supporting evidence for the proposed solution, which might include statistical data, research findings, or expert opinions.

Counterarguments: You should identify and address any potential objections to your proposal, ensuring that the proposal is well-rounded and comprehensive.

Concluding Remarks: The conclusion should recap the proposal and highlight its advantages, leaving a lasting impression on the readers that would encourage them to accept your viewpoint on the issue and agree with your solution.

Having learned the structure and tentative outline, let’s further review how to make a great proposal argument essay step by step.

How to Write a Proposal Argument Essay – A Step by Step Guide

To craft a compelling proposal argument essay, you will need to employ critical thinking, persuasive writing skills, and conduct thorough research. Follow this step-by-step guide to help you write a persuasive proposal argument essay.

Select a Topic

The first step in writing a proposal argument essay is choosing the topic. Pick a topic that has the potential to make a difference. Also, make sure that your chosen topic is specific, feasible, and appealing to your audience. Yet mind, if you choose a topic you are passionate about, it will be easier for you to persuade your audience.

Conduct Research

After selecting your topic, conduct in-depth research to gather information and evidence to support your proposal. Utilize various sources such as academic journals, books, authoritative websites, and interviews with experts. Remember to take notes and organize your research for easy reference while writing your essay.

Develop an Outline

Creating an outline is a critical stage of writing process. It helps in organizing your thoughts and ideas, making it easier to write a clear, concise and logically-structured essay. You can use the tentative outline mentioned in the previous section and customize it to fit your topic and research.

Create the Introduction

The introduction should capture the reader’s attention and offer a clear understanding of the problem and the proposed solution. Thesis statement should be included in the introduction and present your argument. Make your introduction clear, concise, and engaging.

Write the Body Paragraphs

The body paragraphs should provide supporting evidence for your proposal. Use the information gathered during research to back up your argument and address any counterarguments or objections to your proposal. Utilize transitional words and sentences to ensure a smooth flow in the essay and enhance its comprehensibility.

Compose the Conclusion

The conclusion should recap the main points of your proposal and its advantages. It must also leave an impression on the reader and encourage them to take action in support of your solution. Avoid introducing any new perspectives on the problem in the conclusion and ensure you restate your thesis statement.

Revise and Edit

While writing your first draft, plan some time to revise and edit your essay later. Check for grammatical and spelling errors, ensure a smooth flow throughout the essay, and verify that the argument is clear and concise. Seek feedback from friends, family, or peers to ensure your essay is easy to ready and comprehensive.

Writing a Proposal Argument Essay in a Nutshell

Below are the described steps outlined in short statements:

Choose a topic that excites you and may inflame passion in your readers.
Conduct extensive research and find as much information as you can to support your arguments.
Use credible and reliable sources, such as books, academic journals, and trustworthy websites.
Write a clear and concise thesis statement that encapsulates your argument.
Use evidence and examples to back up your argument.
Address potential counterarguments and prepare refutation.
Use transitions to ensure smooth and logical in your essay.

Our team has gathered several topics to help you get started and inspire you to develop a successful essay.

You might also find Research Proposal Essay Topics useful.

Topics for Proposal Argument Essay

Selecting a topic for your proposal argument essay is essential. It will determine the level of interest your audience has in reading your paper. Here are some ideas for proposal argument papers to consider:

Should college tuition be free for students?
Should weekly working hours be limited?
Should governments impose higher taxes on fast food to encourage healthy eating?
Should plastic bags be banned?
Should smoking be banned in public places?
Should parents be held responsible for obesity in their children?
Should social media companies be held accountable for spreading fake news?
Should schools adopt a four-day school week?
Should governments lower the voting age to 16?
Should all states cancel the death penalty?

In conclusion, a proposal argument essay goes beyond merely presenting an argument. You must propose a solution to a problem or issue and provide evidence to support it. By adopting the right approach, you can create a persuasive and captivating essay that convinces your readers and professor to embrace your proposed solution. If you need assistance, our academic writing company is here to provide you with a custom-written essay tailored to your specific requirements.

Get a Proposal Argument Paper for Sale

If you find it challenging to write your proposal argument essay, or simply lack the time to do it yourself, you can always seek assistance from our academic writing company. Our writers have extensive experience in writing various types of academic papers. They are well-versed in all formatting and citation styles and will ensure that your paper is appropriately structured and cited.

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64 Proposal Argument Model

Proposal method.

from Introduction to College Writing at CNM

The proposal method of argument is used when there is a problematic situation, and you would like to offer a solution to the situation. The structure of the proposal method is similar to the other persuasive methods, but there are slight differences.

Introduce and define the nature of the problematic situation. Make sure to focus on the problem and its causes. This may seem simple, but many people focus solely on the effects of a problematic situation. By focusing on the actual problem, your readers will see your proposal as a solution to the problem. If you don’t, your readers might see your solution as a mere complaint.

Propose a solution, or a number of solutions, to the problem. Be specific about these solutions. If you have one solution, you may choose to break it into parts and spend a paragraph or so describing each part. If you have several solutions, you may instead choose to spend a paragraph on each scenario. Each additional solution will add both depth and length to your argument. But remember to stay focused. Added length does not always equal a better argument.

Describe the workability of the various solutions. There are a variety of ways that this could be done. With a single-solution paper you could break the feasibility down into short and long term goals and plans. With a multiple-solution essay, you may instead highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the individual solutions, and establish which would be the most successful, based on your original statement of the problem and its causes. Check out this source from Owlcation, where they give a chart of 12 Ways to Solve Problems in the middle of the page.

Summarize and conclude your proposal. Summarize your solutions, re-state how the solution or solutions would work to remedy the problematic situation, and you’re done.

More information on proposal arguments follows.

Proposal Arguments

from College Comp II

Key Concept

Proposal Argument: argues that something should, ought to, or must happen.

Proposal arguments–which propose that something should, ought to, or must happen–may be one of the most common kinds of arguments we encounter in our day-to-day lives; however, despite how often we find them, they can actually be rhetorically quite complex, perhaps because they appear deceptively simple to make. And this is exactly why we’re covering them last, since there are some very important subtleties to them.

The basic idea behind a proposal argument seems pretty straightforward: we state what we think should happen and then marshal evidence to support that proposal. Seems easy, right?

Let’s look at a hypothetical example:

Friend #1: “We should go see Movie X!” (Proposal claim)

Friend #2: “Okay, sounds good. I’m in!”

Friend #1 is making a proposal claim, arguing that both friends should go see a particular movie. In an abstract setting, this claim makes sense. However, Friend #2’s response seems pretty unlikely. If you were Friend #2, you’d probably have a few questions about why Friend #1 thinks you should go see this movie, right? Equally, you’d probably expect Friend #1 to provide at least some evidence (however scant) about why you should go see this movie. Perhaps, for example, you might want to know about the actors or the director. Maybe you’re curious about what critics are saying. Perhaps you’d like to know how long it is. Indeed, these are pretty typical things that your average person would want to know before they pay for their movie ticket. Maybe a more genuine conversation would look like this:

Friend #1: “Hey, did you know that Movie X in the theaters right now?” (Definition claim, establishing the existence of a condition.)

Friend #2: “Yeah, I did!”

Friend #1: “I’ve been reading that critics across the board are praising it. One critic whose opinion I really trust even said that it’s the best movie to come out all year.” (Evaluative claim, arguing that something is good.)

Friend #2: “Oh wow!”

Friend #1: “I think we should go see it!” (Proposal claim)

Note that in this second example, in order for Friend #1 to build a sound proposal argument, they have to first make several other claims–notably a definition claim, establishing the existence of a condition, following by an evaluative claim, arguing that the movie is good.

However, in less mundane examples, proposal arguments often begin by identifying a problem before proposing a solution to it. For instance, in recent years, there has been increased public awareness of the dangers of disposable plastic drinking straws, particularly focused on the dangers they cause to wildlife. Many stakeholders have proposed (and even implemented) a variety of different solutions. Starbucks, for example, redesigned their cold-drink cups so that they could stop giving customers obligatory straws with their beverages. Other establishments have switched to using straws that are made of paper, which is more biodegradable and therefore breaks down more easily. Other companies have started marketing washable, reusable plastic straws that can be reused over and over again. While a wide variety of solutions have been proposed (and while many of those proposals have even been enacted), what’s important to note is that these proposals were in response to what was identified as a problem–i.e. The wastefulness of disposable drinking straws.

For our purposes, however, here is how we can think about making proposal arguments:

1) Part of showing that a problem exists entails getting your reader to care enough to accept your proposed solution. To get the reader to care, you will need to work on their hearts as well as their minds by showing how the problem affects people (and, potentially, the reader specifically) and has important stakes.

2) You will need to show how your solution solves the problem (wholly or partially).

3) You will need to offer reasons for adopting your proposal. What values can you appeal to? Of the person or organization that needs to be convinced, how can you show that their interests are served? Always remember your audience. You don’t have to pretend that your solution is perfect or has neither costs nor any negative consequences; you should address these and convince your reader that despite them, your solution is about doing the right thing.

Recapping the main ideas behind Proposal Arguments:

They argue that something should, ought to or must happen
They don’t necessarily need to completely “solve” the problem; perhaps they only improve certain parts of it.
Proposal claims are often the culmination of a string of other claims (definition, causal, etc.)

SAMPLE ESSAY

Here is an annotated Sample Proposal Essay .

Proposal Argument Model Copyright © 2020 by Liza Long; Amy Minervini; and Joel Gladd is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Part 4: Rhetorical Modes

18 Proposal Arguments

Proposal argument.

A proposal argument is a structure of argument that focuses on presenting some kind of proposal as a solution to a problem, outlining the details of the proposal, and providing good reasons to support the proposal. In this type of argument, you must propose a solution to a problem. First, you must establish a clear problem and then propose a specific solution to that problem. For example, you might argue for a proposal that would increase retention rates at your college.

This type of essay works well if you see a problem you want to fix or see the change you want to make. For example, it’s not enough to argue that cigarette smoking is bad for one’s health. Most people would agree. But, you could make a good argument that we need a plan to cut down on teens who are becoming addicted to cigarettes.

A proposal, in the technical sense, is a document that tries to persuade the reader to implement a proposed plan or approve a proposed project. Most businesses rely on effective proposal writing to ensure the successful continuation of their business and to get new contracts. The writer tries to convince the reader that the proposed plan or project is worth doing (worth the time, energy, and expense necessary to implement or see it through), that the author represents the best candidate for implementing the idea, and that it will result in tangible benefits.

Your proposal must persuade the reader that your idea is the one most worth pursuing. Proposals are persuasive documents intended to initiate a project and get the reader to authorize a course of action proposed in the document. These might include proposals to

Perform a task (such as a feasibility study, a research project, etc. )
Provide a product
Provide a service

All proposals must be convincing, logical, and credible, and to do this, they must consider audience, purpose, and tone.

The problem/solution pattern is commonly used in identifying something that’s wrong and in contemplating what might be done to remedy the situation. For example, the problem of water pollution could be described, followed by ideas of new ways to solve the problem. There are probably more ways to organize a problem/solution approach, but here are three possibilities:

Describe the problem, followed by the solution
Propose the solution first and then describe the problems that motivated it
Explain a problem, followed by several solutions, and select one solution as the best

Emphasize the words problem and solution to signal these sections of your paper for your reader.

Here’s an example article from T he New York Times , “ Monks Embrace Web to Reach Recruits ,” that highlights an unexpected approach by a group of Benedictine monks in Rhode Island; they’ve turned to social media to grow their dwindling membership.

Proposal Structure

Watch the video below to learn more about the structure of a proposal argument.

When writing a proposal argument, it’s important that you don’t try to take on too much given the length of your assignment and the time you have to write your essay. Think about proposals that work well given the constraints of the assignment.

If you have a choice in what you write about, find something you feel passionately about . If you’re going to be writing a specific proposal to solve a problem, it helps if you care about the problem.

Think about your audience members as you plan and write. What kind of information do they need? What will be convincing to them? Think about your audience as you work to use ethos , pathos , and logos .

A Sample Essay with annotation can be found here .

Time to Write

Purpose: This assignment will demonstrate the understanding of how to do a full research paper in the problem/solution mode. Students will research a problem and identify a legitimate solution to the problem.

Task: This assignment presents a solution to the problem based on your approved topic.

Write a Proposal Essay. This essay should clearly identify a workable solution to the problem you have been researching. Your research should include the solution’s details (the costs, feasibility, acceptability, and benefits of the solution). This is an Argument essay, so you aren’t making a presentation of facts, you are presenting a position and supporting it. Explain what the problem is very briefly. Then explain in great detail about the solution. Include the costs, not just in money but time and people and opportunity costs. Explain the steps on how it can be done. Defend the feasibility, can this solution actually be implemented? What are the limitations, what problems are faced? Explain the benefits of using this solution. Present views that are different, other possible solutions, and defend why your solution is the best possible approach. Include how. Conclude with a statement of what the readers should understand after reading your essay. Your research should include quotations, summary, paraphrase, and synthesis. Draw on a variety of sources.

Key Features of a Proposal:

The outline is present and matches the essay
The essay is in full APA format, with abstract and reference page
The problem is clearly identified
The problem is of some importance
The audience of the paper is clear
The thesis presents the solution to the problem in argument form
The proposal contains specific details about the costs, feasibility, acceptability, and benefits of the solution
The solution can resolve the problem
There is a process presented for the solution to be fully enacted
Evidence is used throughout the paper with books, references, periodicals, scholarly articles, media sources, as in the Annotated Bibliography (sources can be duplicated)
Clear transitions
8-10 Pages (essay)
No late papers will be accepted.
Submit your paper as ONE document only – NOT 4 separate documents (cover page, outline, essay, References).
The body of the paper should be 10 pages minimum. Papers not meeting the 8-page minimum requirement will be docked 10% for each page it is short. The cover page, outline, and References page DO NOT count in the total page count.

This is the only essay that has AUTOMATIC FAIL restrictions

There are four instances in which your paper could be returned ungraded. They are:

Plagiarism : Any paper with plagiarized material in it will receive a zero (0). No do-overs. No rewrites. If you disagree with any findings, be prepared to take up your argument with the Dean of Academic Affairs. “It was an accident” is not a valid argument. We spent class time learning how to cite sources correctly. If you make a mistake at this point, it’s like failing the test. You get the grade you earn.
Your topic doesn’t match the material created in your previous assignments. Your paper doesn’t utilize any of the previous research and materials discovered during the course research process.
The paper does not reference at least six sources including a book, periodical article, scholarly journal article, reference source, and primary research. The essay, not the reference page.
Excessive errors: grammar, punctuation, and mechanics. You have access to Paperrater, Grammarly, and Brainfuse.

Key Grading Considerations

APA Cover Page
The problem is explained briefly
It is a significant problem
It is easy to tell who you are talking to
The thesis is a solution thesis
Feasibility
Acceptability
Some opposition is addressed
The solution comes to a resolution of some kind
There is a clear conclusion
Evidence is used appropriately
Transitions

ATTRIBUTIONS

Content Adapted from Excelsior Online Writing Lab (OWL). (2020). Excelsior College. Retrieved from https://owl.excelsior.edu/ licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-4.0 International License .
Content Adapted from Composition II. Authored by : Alexis McMillan-Clifton. Provided by : Tacoma Community College. Located at : http://www.tacomacc.edu .
“ Chapter 10: The Rhetorical Modes ” and “ Chapter 15: Readings: Examples of Essays ,” from Writing for Success from Saylor Academy, which is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0.
Original Content from Christine Jones. (2021). Proposal Essays. Licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication .

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Chap. 11: Making an Argument: The Argument / Persuasive Essay

The proposal essay: a specific type of argument, proposal argument.

This type of essay works well if you see a problem you want to fix or see change you want to make. For example, it’s not enough to argue that cigarette smoking is bad for one’s health. Most people would agree. But, you could make a good argument that we need a plan to cut down on teens who are becoming addicted to cigarettes.

General Proposal Structure

Creating a well developed argumentative structure is similar to putting together a puzzle. Each piece has certain characteristics and belongs in a particular place to create the whole picture.

Although there may always be variations, a good basic outline for a proposal argument might look like this:

First Piece – In your introduction, which may be more than one paragraph, summarize the details of the problem. End with a thesis that presents your proposal.

Second Piece – Provide a detailed history of the problem. Give your audience background on the issue.

Third Piece – Present your proposal in detail. Explain how it would address the problem, be a better “fix” than current solutions, and exactly how your proposal would work. You need to think about the logistics – money, manpower, workability. This should take several paragraphs.

Fourth Piece – Address the opposing views. What problems might others see in your proposal? Address those and explain why your solution is the best solution to the problem.

Fifth Piece – Finally, in your conclusion, summarize your main points of your essay and then ask your audience to take a particular action (if that is appropriate to the assignment).

TIPS! When writing a proposal argument, it’s important that you don’t try to take on too much given the length of your assignment and the time you have to write your essay. Think about proposals that work well given the constraints of the assignment.If you have a choice in what you write about, find something you feel passionately about . If you’re going to be writing a specific proposal to solve a problem, it helps if you care about the problem.

Material taken from Excelsior Online Writing Lab: https://owl.excelsior.edu/argument-and-critical-thinking/argumentative-purposes/argumentative-purposes-proposal/

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12 Type 4: Proposal Argument

Proposal arguments.

Proposal arguments attempt to push for action of some kind. They answer the question “What should be done about it?”

In order to build up to a proposal, an argument needs to incorporate elements of definition argument, evaluation argument, and causal argument. First, we will need to define a problem or a situation that calls for action. Then we need to make an evaluation argument to convince readers that the problem is bad enough to be worth addressing. This will create a sense of urgency within the argument and inspire the audience to seek and adopt proposed action. In most cases, it will need to make causal arguments about the roots of the problem and the good effects of the proposed solution.

Below are some elements of proposal arguments. Together, these elements can help us create a sense of urgency about the need for action and confidence in your proposal as a solution.

Common elements of proposal arguments

Background on the problem, opportunity, or situation.

Often just after the introduction, the background section discusses what has brought about the need for the proposal—what problem, what opportunity exists for improving things, what the basic situation is. For example, management of a chain of daycare centers may need to ensure that all employees know CPR because of new state mandates requiring it, or an owner of pine timberland in eastern Oregon may want to make sure the land can produce saleable timber without destroying the environment.

While the named audience of the proposal may know the problem very well, writing the background section is useful in demonstrating our particular view of the problem. If we cannot assume readers know the problem, we will need to spend more time convincing them that the problem or opportunity exists and that it should be addressed. For a larger audience not familiar with the problem, this section can give detailed context.

Description of the proposed solution

Here we define the nature of what we are proposing so readers can see what is involved in the proposed action. For example, if we write an essay proposing to donate food scraps from restaurants to pig farms, we will need to define what will be considered food scraps. In another example, if we argue that organic produce is inherently healthier for consumers than non-organic produce, and we propose governmental subsidies to reduce the cost of organic produce, we will need to define “organic” and describe how much the government subsidies will be and which products or consumers will be eligible. See 7.2: Definition Arguments for strategies that can help us elaborate on our proposed solution so readers can envision it clearly.

If we have not already covered the proposal’s methods in the description, we may want to add this. How will we go about completing the proposed work? For example, in the above example about food scraps, we would want to describe and how the leftover food will be stored and delivered to the pig farms. Describing the methods shows the audience we have a sound, thoughtful approach to the project. It serves to demonstrate that we have the knowledge of the field to complete the project.

Feasibility of the project

A proposal argument needs to convince readers that the project can actually be accomplished. How can enough time, money, and will be found to make it happen? Have similar proposals been carried out successully in the past? For example, we might observe that according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Rutgers University runs a program that sends a ton of food scraps a day from its dining halls to a local farm. 1 If we describe how other efforts overcame obstacles, we will persuade readers that if they can succeed, this proposal can as well.

Benefits of the proposal

Most proposals discuss the advantages or benefits that will come from the solution proposed. Describing the benefits helps you win the audience to your side, so readers become more invested in adopting your proposed solution. In the food scraps example, we might emphasize that the Rutgers program, rather than costing more, led to $100,000 a year in savings because the dining halls no longer needed to pay to have the food scraps hauled away. We could calculate the predicted savings for our new proposed program as well.

In order to predict the positive effects of the proposal and show how implementing it will lead to good results, we will want to use causal arguments. The strategies in 7.5: Causal Arguments will be helpful here. This is a good time to refer back to the problem we identified early in the essay and show how the proposal will resolve that original problem.

Sample annotated proposal argument

The sample essay “Why We Should Open Our Borders” by student Laurent Wenjun Jiang can serve as an example. Annotations point out how Jiang uses several proposal argument strategies.

Sample proposal essay “Why We Should Open Our Borders” in PDF with margin notes
Sample proposal essay “Why We Should Open Our Borders” accessible version with notes in parentheses

Find a proposal argument that you strongly support. Browse news and opinion websites, or try The Conversation . Once you have chosen a proposal, read it closely and look for the elements discussed in this section. Do you find enough discussion of the background, methods, feasibility, and benefits of the proposal? Discuss at least one way in which you think the proposal could be revised to be even more convincing.

Works Cited

1 “Fact Sheet About the Food Scraps Diversion Program at Rutgers University.” Environmental Protection Agency, U.S . October 2009, https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-mana…ers-university . Accessed 12/10/2021.

Attributions

Parts of this section on proposal arguments are original content by Anna Mills and Darya Myers. Parts were adapted from Technical Writing, which was derived in turn by Annemarie Hamlin, Chris Rubio, and Michele DeSilva, Central Oregon Community College, from Online Technical Writing by David McMurrey – CC BY 4.0 .

Screen-Reader Accessible Annotated Proposal Argument

Format note: This version is accessible to screen reader users. For a more traditional visual format, see the PDF version of “Why We Should Open Our Borders” above.

Laurent Wenjun Jiang

Prof. Natalie Peterkin

July 25, 2020

Why We Should Open Our Borders

Refugees, inequalities, economic instabilities…the fact that we are bombarded by news on those topics every day is proof that we live in a world with lots of problems, and many of us suffer as a consequence. Nations have tried a variety of solutions, but the reality has not improved. Yet there exists a single easy measure that could solve almost all of the problems mentioned above: an open-border policy. The current border and immigration practices, including border controls and detention centers, are unjustified and counterproductive. (Note: The first body paragraph gives background on the problem, opportunity, or situation.) This paper discusses the refugee problem, the history of open-border policy, the refutations for the current border policies on philosophical and moral grounds, and the arguments why this open-border policy will work economically.

Refugees are a problem of worldwide concern. Recently the biggest wave of refugees came from Syria, which witnessed an eight-year-long civil war. In an interview, a Syrian refugee expresses deep sorrows regarding the loss of her home: “My brothers, sisters, uncles, neighbors, streets, the bread ovens, schools, children going to schools …we miss all of that, everything in Syria is precious to us” she says, with tears hovering in her eyes (Firpo). She also exposes the terrible living conditions there: “[W]e didn’t run away, Syria has become uninhabitable. Not even animals could live there. No power, no running water, no safety, and no security. You don’t know who to fight…even when you lock yourself away, you’re not safe…I was most scared of seeing my children die right in front of me” (Firpo). (Note: Moving refugee testimonies serve as evidence supporting the claim that their situation is one of great urgency.) As heart-breaking as it sounds, we should also know that this is only the tip of the iceberg: Gerhard Hoffstaedter, an anthropologist at the University of Queensland, states that there are around 70 million displaced people in developing countries, which is the highest recorded number since the 1950s, causing the United Nations to call this world issue “a crisis.” The leading nations in the world do not offer enough support to displaced people living in abject conditions. Refugees at the U.S.-Mexico border and in Southeast Asia and Australia are constantly kept in detention centers. Many nations do not comply with the provisions signed in the 1951 Refugee Convention and the succeeding 1967 Protocol; they treat the refugees only as those in passive need of simply humanitarian aids (Hoffstaedter). In this crisis, it is our common responsibility as members of an international community to help those who are in need.

Historically, the large-scale control of the mobility of people is a relatively new phenomenon worldwide. (Note: This body paragraph starts with a definition argument to show that the current trend is new. This argument later becomes support for the idea that open borders are possible.) In the modern era, border signifies “ever more restrictive immigration policies” at the same time grants “greater freedom of mobility to capital and commodities”, as defined in the editorial “Why No Borders.” This creates a contradictory ideology that could cause potential harm to those who need to migrate (Anderson, et al.). John Maynard Keynes dates the beginning of this process only back to World War I in the early 20th century. However, this trend did not become widespread until after World War II. According to a historical outline created by Christof Van Mol and Helga de Valk, due to the booming in the industrial production in northwestern Europe in the 1950s, the local workers were increasingly educated and gradually became whitecollar employers, leaving vacancies in blue-collar occupations (Mol and Valk).

Thus, those countries started recruiting immigrants from other parts of Europe and even North Africa: for example, Germany and France started seasonal working programs to attract immigrants (Mol and Valk). Because of the lack of job opportunities in the other parts of Europe and North Africa and the need for workers in the industrializing countries in Northern and Western Europe, “international migration was generally viewed positively because of its economic benefits, from the perspective of both the sending and the receiving countries” (Mol and Valk). This early migration pattern within Europe provides the basic model for the European Union that builds on the fundamental ideology of the free movements of goods and human resources. In recent days, the European Union has become one of the biggest multinational organizations, which can also serve as a successful example of this open-border ideology, at least on a regional scale.

Borders do not satisfy the needs of contemporary societies. From both philosophical and moral perspectives, restrictive border policies are not justified. First of all, borders divide and subjugate people. The editorial “Why No Borders” describes the border as being“thoroughly ideological” (Anderson, et al.). The authors argue that because border policies try to categorize people into “desirable and non-desirable” according to their skills, race, or social status, etc., they thus create an interplay between “subjects and subjectivities,” placing people into “new types of power relationship” (Anderson, et al.). This is what is identified as the ultimate cause of the divisions and inequalities between people.

Some fear that competition from immigrants would cause a reduction in the wages of local workers (Caplan). (Note: In this body paragraph, the author attempts to disprove the counterargument about a downside of open borders for local workers.) This is not an uncalled-for worry, but it is also a misunderstanding of the nature of the open-border policy. Nick Srnicek reasons that this kind of competition has already existed under the current trend of globalization, where workers in developed countries are already competing against those in developing countries that have cheaper labor. He argues, “Workers in rich countries are already losing, as companies eliminate good jobs and move their factories and offices elsewhere” (Srnicek). The border serves companies by making workers in the developing world stay where wages are low. Thus, “companies can freely exploit” cheap labor. In this sense, workers on both sides will be better off under an open-border policy (Srnicek). A recent study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison investigating the economic implications of immigration between rich and poor countries concluded that the benefits of an open-border policy far outweigh the cons and that “the real wage effects are small” (Kennan).

Although an open border could lead to minor reductions in the wages of local workers in developed countries, there is a simple solution. Since the labor market follows the economic law of supply, work supply and wages are inversely related, meaning that the lower the supply of labor, the more wages rise. (Note: This paragraph could be seen as a limit and a rebuttal because the open border would need to be combined with changes to labor laws in order to avoid a possible bad effect.) Nick Srnicek proposes, “a shortening of the workweek…would reduce the amount of work supplied, spread the work out more equally among everyone and give more power to workers … more free time to everyone” (Srnicek). Thus, although the open-border policy is not perfect, its downside is easy to address. (Note: The author does not investigate how much time, money, and will an open border policy would need; the argument remains mostly theoretical because it doesn’t address feasibility.)

As an expatriate myself, I can truly relate to this type of thinking. Due to a variety of the political, economic, and social limitations that I came across in my home country, I was not able to achieve self-actualization. In pursuit of a better education and a more free living environment, I went abroad and finally arrived in this country a few years ago. It was not until then that I gained a vision of my future. Now I am working in hopes that one day the vision could become reality. Sometimes I cannot help wondering what could happen if I was not so lucky to be where I am today. But at the same time, I am also conscious of the fact that there are also millions of people out there who cannot even conceive of what it is like to actualize their lives. (Note: The conclusion humanizes the possible benefits of the proposed solution.) I am sure that one of the mothers who escaped her war-torn home country with her family has the sole hope to witness her children growing up in a happy and free place, just like any mother in the world. I am sure that there is one little girl whose family fled her country in desperation who once studied so hard in school, dreaming of becoming the greatest scientist in the world. I am also sure that there is a young boy who survived persecutions and wishes to become a politician one day to make the world a better place for the downtrodden. Because of borders, these children can only dream of the things that many of us take for granted every day. We, as human beings, might be losing a great mother, great scientist, great politician, or just a great person who simply wishes for a better world. But everything could be otherwise. Change requires nothing but a minimal effort. With open borders, we can help people achieve their dreams.

Hoffstaedter, Gerhard. “There Are 70 Million Refugees in the World. Here Are 5 Solutions to the Problem.” The Conversation , 24 Mar. 2020, theconversation.com/there-are-70-million-refugees-in-the-world-here-are-5- solutions-to-the-problem-118920.

Anderson, Sharma. “Editorial: Why No Borders?” Refuge , vol. 26, no. 2, 2009, pp.5+. Centre for Refugee Studies, York University. Accessed July 26, 2020.

D, D. “Keynes, J. M., The economic consequences of the peace.” Ekonomisk tidskrift, vol. 22, no. 1, Basil Blackwell Ltd., etc, Jan. 1920, p. 15–. Accessed July 26, 2020.

Srnicek, Nick. “The US$100 Trillion Case for Open Borders.” The Conversation , 18 Feb. 2020, theconversation.com/the-us-100-trillion-case-for-open-borders-72595.

Caplan, Bryan. “Why Should We Restrict Immigration?” Cato Journal , vol. 32, no. 1, 2012, pp. 5-24. ProQuest , https://libris.mtsac.edu/login?url=https://search- proquest-com.libris.mtsac.edu/docview/921128626?accountid=12611.Accessed July 26, 2020.

Kennan, John. “Open Borders in the European Union and Beyond: Migration Flows and Labor Market Implications.” NBER Working Paper Series, 2017, www.nber.org/papers/w23048.pdf.

Firpo, Matthew K., director. Refuge . 2016. The Refuge Project, www.refugeproject.co/watch.

Van Mol, Cristof, and Helga de Valk. “Migration and Immigrants in Europe: A Historical and Demographic Perspective.” Integration Processes and Policies in Europe , edited by Blanca Garcés-Mascareñas and Rinus Penninx, 2016, IMISCOE Research Series, pp. 33-55.

Attribution

This sample essay was written by Laurent Wenjun Jiang and edited and annotated by Natalie Peterkin. Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 .

Chapter Attribution

This chapter is from “Forming a Research-Based Argument” in in How Arguments Work: A Guide to Writing and Analyzing Texts in College by Anna Mills under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license.

Upping Your Argument and Research Game Copyright © 2022 by Liona Burnham is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.