My notes on what I liked about the post, from the announcement:
“The Case for the EA Hotel” is another instance of strong analysis applied to a speculative cause area. Some of the post’s best features:
The author starts with a general theory about the needs of the EA community before explaining how the EA Hotel might address these needs more effectively than other options. Discussing the nature of a problem before suggesting solutions helps readers:
Decide whether they agree that the proposed problem is really a concern.
Understand whether the author’s suggestions actually address the problem.
The arguments are clear and well-formatted, making it easy to move back and forth through the piece and consider each point in turn.
The author uses an “epistemic status” note and biographical information to help readers understand the context of his argument. We’d love to see more epistemic statuses on Forum posts. (And more biographical information!)
His note that the post isn’t meant to be “balanced” is especially helpful; if you want to write something persuasive for the Forum, it’s good to acknowledge it as persuasion.
This post was awarded an EA Forum Prize; see the prize announcement for more details.
My notes on what I liked about the post, from the announcement: