Student Name
Tara King
English II – ENG 123
11 September 2016
Assignment 1: Writing Plan
My argument is that renewable energy will sustain the future growth and success of the United States.  Renewable energy is becoming cost competitive with fossil fuels and typically does not require any sort of exhaustible fuels.  With the finite supply of fossil fuels that is projected to be exhausted in 50-120 years, it is of utmost importance that we supplement and eventually supplant fossil fuels with renewable energy sources. Additionally, fossil fuels are costly due to their constant need for non-renewable fuels which depend on the global fuel markets where fossil fuel prices are in constant flux based on supply, demand, and political instability.  While renewable energy is not directly related to my major or field of work, it is a passion of mine that may lead to a minor in environmental science.  Data Analytics can coexist with environmental science by analyzing trends and providing data to those who make decisions on how to invest in renewable energy and where renewable energy makes sense, geographically-speaking.

Key points for my selected topic are the cost-benefit analysis of renewable energy sources versus fossil fuels.  As discussed previously, the levelized costs of energy from renewable energy are highly competitive with fossil fuels and will continue to be competitive, especially as they require no fuel and do not rely on global markets for such fossil fuels.  Next, fossil fuels are of finite supply and are suspected to be exhausted in 50-120 years, thus necessitating a renewable energy future for the United States (not to mention the world as a whole).  Lastly, renewable energy can create hundreds of thousands of new jobs in manufacturing and other sectors.  These key points support my main argument by providing factual information that demonstrates current cost-competitiveness, a finite supply of fossil fuels with exhaustion expected in 50-120 years, thus necessitating a switch to renewable energy, and the fact that an entire new sector of industry can be nurtured into maturity, thereby creating hundreds of thousands (or more) jobs.

Legislators will be the audience I address in my essay.  There are challenges in addressing legislators, however.  Due to interests that may be by lobbyists, constituents, or campaign donors with vested interests in the fossil fuel industry, legislators--or at least a good percentage of them--are entrenched in coal, oil, and natural gas, for example.  Also, legislators may argue that the initial costs of conventional energy are much less than implementing an entire solar farm creating the same amount of energy.  Of course, the overall costs of renewable energy is much more cost competitive and possibly even cheaper over the life of both forms of energy production.  Legislators may also state that conventional power production is becoming "cleaner" through technological advancements.  Some legislators may see the implementation of a new renewable energy industry as a war on every day Americans working in mines and oil fields.

I hope to alter at least some minds on a clean energy economy by supporting investment in renewable energy and encouraging its growth.  This essay will need to provide the factual information necessary to help legislators make informed decisions.  The facts of economy, finite supply of fossil fuels, and resistance of renewable energy sources to foreign fossil fuel markets will aid in accomplishing my goal for this essay.  Providing strong, reliable sources will strengthen my position.  I will need to provide counter-arguments to some common misconceptions or other viewpoints to support my position.

"Diverse Alternative Energy Sources Will Be Essential to the Future
Energy Alternatives, 2015": this source demonstrates the non-renewable nature of fossil fuels and why it is important to provide a diversified energy portfolio for the United States with the ultimate goal of replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy.
"Help wanted--green: green development could be a big generator of good jobs--if America will seize the opportunity
The American Prospect, January-February 2007": this source demonstrates the job opportunities presented by renewable energy.  It states that renewable energy can spur the creation of jobs in construction, manufacturing, and installation of renewable energy sources than what would normally be found in the fossil fuel industry.
"Renewable Energies Will Increase Energy Prices
Renewable Energy, 2012": this source states that renewable energy is expensive and will ultimately increase the price of electricity for home owners and businesses/industry. This article provides a counter-argument to mine but is not supported by reliable sources.  It references the levelized costs of energy by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, but is in conflict with actual costs demonstrated by the EIA.  The EIA shows renewable energy as being very competitive with wind energy actually being cheaper than other forms of energy.
The first resource I described demonstrates the finite supply of fossil fuels and thus the need to move away from them and onto renewable energy sources.  It also shows that energy demand will continue to increase and the limited supply of fossil fuels will not be able to keep up.  Inevitably, prices for conventional energy will increase due to the law of supply and demand.  My key argument of finite supply of fossil fuels thus aligns with this resource.

The second resource I referenced demonstrates that hundreds of thousands of new jobs can be created by the investment in a renewable energy economy.  This aligns with my key point that renewable energy is a job-creation opportunity.
The third resource is a counter-argument that says electricity prices will increase due to the introduction of renewable energy, which the author states is much more expensive than conventional sources.  I will provide another source to refute this argument by showing the levelized costs of energy as provided by the author's own source, the U.S. Energy Information Administration.  This will support my key point of renewable energy being cost competitive.

It will be especially important to integrate evidence into the discussion of a counter-argument to my claim that renewable energy sources are cost competitive.  The counter-argument states otherwise.  It will be necessary to integrate evidence to refute this claim to strengthen my argument that it is actually cost-competitive with conventional energy.  Another area to provide evidence in is that of the remaining supply of fossil fuels as projected by sources such as the U.S. Department of Energy.  I will need to reference this to prove the point that fossil fuels will rapidly need to be supplemented and supplanted by renewable energy sources.

Revising based on a reverse outline may be most effective in informing me while writing this essay.  This strategy could be effective in presenting any problems in the flow of my essay along with my key points to make sure they are substantially reinforced.  Furthermore, it will help me make sure I am sticking to supporting my thesis statement.  It will also help with the logical progression of ideas to ensure that I am tackling my argument in a well-developed manner.  I can also make sure that I am sticking to just my key points and the evidence necessary to support them without going off on a tangent in my essay that may make the essay confusing and otherwise weaker.

An outside party can provide an objective view on my essay.  Separating myself from my own essay is more difficult than having one or more outside parties provide constructive feedback.  I can integrate the feedback by listening to all of the points made by the outside parties.  I can then compare that feedback to what I've actually listened to reference any weak or illogical points in my essay.  After accepting some or all of the feedback, I can create a stronger essay by integrating that feedback logically into my essay.