Repurposing an Argument
This project involved transforming an existing piece of writing by modifying its argument. In my Writing 225 class last year, I wrote an argumentative essay explaining why I believe large banks are not fulfilling their social responsibility. As a business school student, I'm indirectly exposed to the corporate banking industry on a daily basis, as many of my closest friends are pursuing investment banking or sales & trading internships. I decided to explore this topic further, and explore how I believe the opinions and perceptions of others affect my decisions when planning my own career path. My audience didn't change from college-aged students, but the context of my argument shifted completely. Instead of seperating an academic argument from myself to maintain objectivity, I explored how it relates to me on a purely personal, subjective basis to answer questions like:
Does the prestige of working at a bank on Wall Street overshadow other tangible considerations as I make recruiting decisions?
OR
How much of my professional decision-making is influenced by how people I think will perceive me?
In this sense, I took a concrete, fact-based argument and modified it to incorporate the subjective nature of human decision-making. My goal was emulate the informal, reflective style that entrepreneur and vlogger Hank Smith uses on his blog. The experience of writing this piece felt very unique, because it lacks confident answers to the questions it poses. Unlike an academic essay that seeks to answer a question or support and argument with well-defined evidence, I exhibited a lot of uncertainty when reflecting on person anecdotes. As a whole, this project forced me to embrace subjectivity, and leave the reader with more questions than answers:
