The Argument by Omission

The final project --- a piece of persuasive writing, design or media whose force depends on something it deliberately never says

Due: 21 May 2027 · Weight: 45%

The brief#

Build one piece of persuasive work — an essay, a design, a short film, a data visualisation, a speech, anything that argues a position — whose persuasive force depends on something it deliberately never states outright. Submit the piece alongside a 600 to 1000 word critical commentary: what the omission is, why the argument needs it unstated rather than stated, and how it holds up against week 12’s counter-case that not every omission is doing real work.

The commentary must engage at least three weeks of the semester’s material by name, and must directly address the possibility that your own omission is just a gap, not a decision — the same test week 12 puts to the whole course.

Submission format#

The piece itself, in whatever format the medium requires, plus the commentary as a separate document. If the piece depends on being read, watched or heard in a specific order, say so in one line at the top of the commentary.

What this is testing#

The semester’s central claim, applied to your own work under scrutiny: can you make a cut that does real argumentative work, and can you tell the difference between that and a cut that’s just missing something, in your own piece, when you’re the one grading yourself first.