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Essay 1 Prompt: For this essay, you will write a claim of fact (“a claim of fact
Essay 1 Prompt: For this essay, you will write a claim of fact (“a claim of fact asserts that something is true”) on the topic of perception management. The claim of fact is supported by factual information such as statistics, examples, and testimony. Different from many of the other essays, this one requires you only to explore a topic – not choose a side or propose a solution. You will not indulge your personal feelings, but rather demonstrate that there is a false reality that people believe in as well as an actual reality when it comes to your topic. Perception management is defined as “the carefully choreographed manipulation of the beliefs and feelings of large numbers of people. Going beyond marketing and spin, perception management uses fear, anger, distortion, disinformation, and deceit – whatever it takes, including creating martyrs for the cause, faking enemy threats, lying to the media, destroying documents, etc. – to achieve its goals. Those goals are always to influence people’s beliefs and behavior, typically toward one outcome rather than the other” (Facione and Gittens 5). Prompt: Explore the concept of perception management as it applies to a topic of your choosing: What perception do you suspect is being portrayed and what do you think the actual reality is? You will research the reality of your topic as well as the false reality (perception). Your goal for this assignment is to write a claim of fact that persuades the audience that the perception you have identified is false. For the reality sections, you must find academic/scholarly sources to help support your claim. However, this essay is unique in that when it comes to demonstrating the perception of your topic, you can use any source you want to, credible or not. After all, the false reality is perpetuated by false information.
The essay can only include scholarly sources! I’ve attached some that support the topic greatly but their should be at least a minimum of 6 scholarly sources. I’ve attached a short introduction to help direct you with this topic but please feel free to include your own ideas.
The structure of the essay should follow this:
Introduction (.5-1 page)
Include a hook
Introduce pe

rception of topic
Introduce reality of topic
Claim of fact/thesis statement: Last sentence of intro and explain the 3 realities you will prove i.e. “People perceive that prescriiption drugs are safe because they come from a doctor, when in reality these drugs cause numerous health issues, dependency, and sometimes death.”
Body of essay
Section 1 (1-2 pages)
Discuss perception management 1 + evidence (any source)
Topic sentence for this section must include the term “perception” or “perceive” or “false reality” and utilize easy to follow transitions i.e. “Firstly, many people perceive that …” or “One false reality that people buy into is …”
Discuss reality 1 + evidence (academic and/or scholarly source)
Topic sentence for this section must include the term “reality” and utilize easy to follow transitions i.e. “However, the reality is that …” or “Despite what many perceive to be true, the reality is …”
Section 2 (1-2 pages)
Discuss perception management 2 + evidence (any source)
Topic sentence for this section must include the term “perception” or “perceive” or “false reality” and utilize easy to follow transitions i.e. “Secondly, many people perceive that …” or “Another false reality that people believe is …”
Discuss reality 2 + evidence (academic and/or scholarly source)
Topic sentence for this section must include the term “reality” and utilize easy to follow transitions i.e. “On the contrary, the reality is that …” or “Although many people are misinformed, some are aware of the reality that …”
Section 3 (1-2 pages)
Discuss perception management 3 + evidence (any source)
Topic sentence for this section must include the term “perception” or “perceive” or “false reality” and utilize easy to follow transitions i.e. “Finally, some people perceive that …” or “Lastly, a significant number of people perceive that …”
Discuss reality 3 + evidence (academic and/or scholarly source)
Topic sentence for this section must include the term “reality” and utilize easy to follow transitions i.e. “Nevertheless, the reality is that …” or “Despite the perception that several people hold, the reality is …”
Conclusion (.5-1 page)
Restate thesis in different words
Summarize argument (briefly)
Thank you!
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