Pros and Cons: Persuading an Audience
In various courses, you may be asked to write a paper or present a speech in which you must persuade your audience of your viewpoint. White Library has a variety of resources to help you select a topic and to learn more about the “pros” and “cons” of that topic.
Books
- Opposing Viewpoints
- Call #: Varies with each title; search in the online catalog at http://library.emporia.edu by Title for:
opposing viewpoints series
Opposing Viewpoints are a series of books that outline different aspects of a specific topic. The subject of each book appears in the title, such as: American Foreign Policy: Opposing Viewpoints. These books are helpful when you are starting your research and need to know more about the topic in general.
E-Resources
- Dates and content: 1991 to present; full text
CQ Researcher is another great start for selecting a persuasive topic. Each CQ Researcher issue covers a specific topic and outlines it by “Overview”, “Background”, “Current Situation”, “Pro/Con”, and “Next Step”. A bibliography of additional sources appears at the end of each issue.
- Dates and content: 1980-present for indexing; various dates for full text
- Academic OneFile is a useful source for narrowing and focusing a general topic. Many full-text articles from general magazines and scholarly/professional journals are featured. Start with the “Subject Guide Search” and type a word or phrase, then click on “Search”. You will then be able to browse “Subdivisions” of that topic, or “Related Subjects”. Either choice will help you figure out various approaches to a persuasive topic.
If you find references to articles that are NOT full-text in Academic OneFile, you may be able to locate the complete articles in our library. Go to the online catalog at http://library.emporia.edu and search by “Periodical Title” for the title of the magazine or journal. (Do NOT search by the title of the article!) If our library owns the periodical in print, microfilm, or another electronic resource, you will find the locations listed.
- Dates and content: Various dates depending upon the publication; full text
- Lexis/Nexis Academic is an excellent source for the full text of state and national newspapers as well as magazines and journals. Use this source for current information about your topic.
Need Help?
Ask a Librarian! You can click on the “Ask a Librarian” link at http://library.emporia.edu and use any of the following options:
- Ask in person at the Reference/Information Desk on the 2nd floor of White Library
- Call the Reference/Information Desk at 620-341-5207 (local) or 1-877-613-7323 (toll-free)
- E-mail us at libref01@emporia.edu
- Instant message us! You can use AOL Messenger, Windows Live (MSN) Messenger, or Yahoo! Messenger. Just add wawhitelib to AOL Messenger or Yahoo! Messenger, or wawhitelib@passport.com to Windows Live Messenger. Hours for instant message reference are currently 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Mondays-Fridays.
Last Updated May 20, 2008