What are the Effects of Quantitative Data or, ‘That’s What Studies Show’”

Assignment: “The Persuasive What are the Effects of Quantitative Data or, ‘That’s What Studies Show’”
When arguments are being made for or against a particular political policy, bill, or even party stance, the phrase “studies show” is often invoked as a way to shore up the validity of specific claims. Known as an appeal to quantitative data, this form of argumentation uses statistics, research results, and the conclusions of experts to make its case.
For this essay, you will explain how quantitative data is being used to forward a particular claim. Your job is not to make the quantitative argument yourself, but to analyze a specific example of how quantitative data is being used to support a political claim. To do this, you will focus on the topic below, examine both the evidence provided and an example you have found yourself, and write an essay that details how these sources are deploying quantitative evidence.

Topic: Immigration/Discussing “dreamers”
Recently, there has been significant bipartisan support for “dreamers”: immigrants, without citizenship, who were brought to the U.S. as children. For example, in July 2017, Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) came together to introduce a new Dream Act, thus “reminding Americans that there is strong bipartisan support for Dreamers.” This reflects 2016 Morning Consult and Politico polls which report that “78% of American voters support giving Dreamers the chance to stay permanently in America, including 73% of people who voted for President Donald Trump.”[1]

Pre-Writing Steps:
Review the research that has been provided for you about this topic. On your own, find one additional source that adds to the arguments in the three sources from the provided list. Make sure that this new source and the other three also used quantitative data and that it works well with these three sources:

3. The dreamer incarceration rate

(LINKED TEXT ABOVE)

Note: While you must have a total of at least 4 sources. I do not want your argument to be hampered by unintentionally weak sources.

Paper Guidelines:
Write an essay that explains how these four sources use quantitative data to support their arguments about dreamers. Your essay should be centered on a clear and direct thesis and should cite and analyze the sources within the body of the paper. Ultimately, the goal of the paper is to explicitly illustrate how quantitative data is being used in these sources: how statistics, research results, charts and graphs bolster—or weaken—the overall argument of these texts. As with Essay 1, use Toulmin’s structure of claim, evidence, warrant, and discuss the appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos when appropriate. Ultimately, you must cite at least four secondary sources in this essay: three that have been provided for you and one that you have found on your own (see note above about this point).