To get started on this assignment, I’d like to imagine that you’re writing your individual blog to readers who are somewhat skeptical about the argument you’ll be making. They aren’t exactly hostile, but they certainly won’t automatically be in agreement with you. As you imagine these readers, try to identify a few groups of people who might fit this profile of a skeptical audience.
Now that you have this audience in mind, I’d like you to write a paragraph that explores the following: 1) Describe the larger debate that you are entering into and characterize the issue or the problem as you see it. 2) State as directly as you can (at this point) what you think your argument or your main claim will be. 3) Anticipate the counter arguments that your skeptical audience might state in response to your argument (or even in the way you’ve framed the debate). Identify two or three points that these readers might make against your argument. 4) Identify at least three rhetorical proofs that you could use to strengthen your argument in relation to these counter arguments. Explain how you would use each one as specifically as you can. (That is, don’t just write that you would appeal to pathos; instead, describe as precisely as you can what you would do to cultivate a certain emotional state within your reader and how you would use that emotional state to move them into agreement with your argument.)
I'm writing about the transition that many Denver restaurants are making towards more sustainable farm to table food. This may seem unimportant, but I feel that 'popular restaurants can push certain agenda's if their food is successful. I will hopefully be able to utilize logos, by making the argument that as restaurants change, it begins to highlight the issue of sustainable food, bring more awareness to the audience as a whole, and then showcase the importance of sustainable food, and how eating locally will benefit both the environment of Colorado, and of the world. I will also rely on ethos because for someone of my age I have vast experience in the food world. i have worked at "farm-to-table" restaurants, run my own catering company, and been a private chef, along with being a 100% food enthusiast.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be hard for any person to be all that skeptical to the benefits of farm to table, but where a skeptic might disagree with me is on the "importance" of the restaurants in the bringing the issue to the front page. For that I would try to find an article or two about the growing "foodie" population in Denver, and generally throughout the United States the drastic growth in food culture over the last 5 years and the power that comes with that. I think that as long as i have an organized, fluid argument, the skeptics should be few and far between. Between the benefits for Colorado economically, environmentally, and psychically it is a tough piece to argue with.
Health care is currently very expensive and unaffordable to a large percentage of Americans. It’s debatable if care should be provided to all citizens or if the health care system should stay privatized. Free health care would greatly increase the standard of living in the United States. The biggest counter argument against public health care is that the money that is spent in the health care system increases gross domestic product and is therefore economically beneficial overall. Firstly, I would find a story about an impoverished child with cancer who cannot afford to be treated at a hospital in order to emotionally move the audience towards my proposal for public health care. Secondly, I would explain why public health care would increase the standard of living more than the increase in GDP as a result of privatization. Lastly, I would use the testimony of economists to support my arguments and give them credibility.
ReplyDeleteImagined audience- groups and organizations that currently aid the homeless, policy makers/elected officials, anti-drug activists/organizations.
ReplyDeleteColorado is and has been, one of the healthiest states in America. Between organic food and the great outdoors, this state is filled with healthy people. However, what about those who fall under the radar of “healthy”? With a large homeless population in Denver, this city should focus more attention on lifting this community up, in small steps. The needle exchange program, a very controversial initiative in Denver can in fact, in small steps help to elevate the overall health of this population and to help slow the spread of disease throughout the city. This issue is extremely controversial because some see this as a way to provide tools needed for drug addiction of the homeless or the poor who cannot otherwise afford clean needles. Three proofs that may be used against this argument is one, that the homeless do not have the same resources that the general public has to beat addiction; two, that by providing clean needles, disease will not spread as fast through sharing needles; and three, that in the long run, the healthier homeless population is better for the public good and actually less expensive to tax payers. In baby steps, by lifting the health of this forgotten population in the city, the city as a whole will be better off.
Hickenlooper's budget cuts on education are one of the few ways that the state of Colorado can start to balance the massive budget. The governor is proposing to cut $332 million from public schools around the state to get rid of some deficits. This cut of state funding will have many consequences in the future, which will impact our economy in time. The lack of funding for public schooling will have a much larger negative impact than just the massive layoffs of faculty and the closures of schools. While the state budget needs to be balanced and schools need to handle budgets more wisely, cutting off large portions of money without warning will not accomplish anything positive. Students in public schools may no longer have the materials or teachers to help achieve in classes or special programs may have to be cut that would impact learning. There will be more school closures in order to compensate for the lack of funding, and more layoffs for ‘non-essential’ staff. There are more effective ways to handle the state budget and how to fund public schools.
ReplyDeleteSome of the communities these days can be the nice and wealth communities, which is every Americans dream is to live. There are also the communities of the lower class, which most Americans do not think about or even realize. The homeless people will stay on the streets of these communities because there are more offered to them, as a place to sleep, warm food to eat. Homeless people are not always living on the lower class streets; they also live in the wealth or middle class streets. They live behind stores, restaurants, gas stations and many more places. This makes the communities look bad, having people with no place to stay and no food to eat and begging for money to get food. The main claim of my argument will be how the homeless affects on all communities (lower class, wealthy class, and middle class)
ReplyDeleteThe idea of medical marijuana is surrounded by great controversy right now. There is much opposition to the negative influences marijuana has on society, but there are reasons that support its use as medicine. I believe that there are benefits from the use of medical marijuana for those who are ill, but this medicinal drug needs to be monitored very closely to keep the capabilities of its recreational use from increasing. Currently marijuana is very easy to get a hold of and the use of medical marijuana is not only for those who are ill but merely anyone who wants legal access to the drug. A possible argument against this opinion is that there will be no way to make the distribution of marijuana limited to those who really need it. There is hope to legitimize the distribution of marijuana and reserve its use to those who would truly benefit from it. I could reason that there are many other drugs that are abused frequently that need to be regulated better as well. By using statistic and research supporting the lack of negative effects of marijuana to one’s body, I will be able to support the use of marijuana against those who question its medicinal benefits.
ReplyDeleteHistorically, Colorado has been one of the healthiest states in the Union. It seems that Coloradan's access to the outdoors encourages healthier exercise-full lifestyles. Despite the fact that Colorado is deemed as very healthy, there is still a large population of citizens that are in the zone of obesity. My goal is to examine why it is, exactly, that obesity can happen even in the healthiest state. I will also examine the health risks of living with obesity and whether or not those health risks can be eliminated by living in Colorado. The counter argument would say that obesity is a choice. They argue that no one has to be overweight with all the diets that exist today. They would also say that maybe the only reason why the obesity rate remains so low in Colorado is because those overweight people that live elsewhere are too intimidated to move to such a healthy place. They argue that obese people would be afraid of being isolated within their own community.
ReplyDeletePathos- I could argue that whether or not obesity is a choice, the problem still exists. Some parents have children that become drug addicts. Drug addiction is a choice, but parents still try to help their children if they struggle with drugs.
Kairos-The time and setting is very important as obesity can result in death, and is still an issue today, whether or not some see it as a 'choice.'
Establishing a connection with reader- I will establish a connection with the reader by alluding to personal experiences with obesity.
1)Homelessness is an issue in every larger city in the United States. This is a common place for many people. Though this is true, it doesn’t mean nothing can be done. Going down town should be a fun time with family and friends; worrying about being picked pocketed or asked for money while walking down main street should not be a regular fear. However, these people should not be looked at as bad people either. Something should be done to help them as well.
ReplyDelete2)My main claim will be how can local organizations in the Denver community do something to make this situation better. I will look at what is happening now and what is being done to fix this; then I will offer an opinion on what more can be done to get rid of this problem.
3)Some counter arguments could be that this is not that big of a problem in Denver. Some may say that nothing should be done, because everything is going fine already. Another counter argument is that if a shelter were to be built where would it be built. Other businesses and stores are more important for the wellbeing of the economy and the city, some may say. Who will pay for the building of these shelters? Tax payers? How is this helping the wellbeing of the city? These are other questions that could come up through opposing arguments.
4)I will need to use all three rhetorical appeals. I need to start out by strengthening my ethos somehow so that my audience will keep reading my paper and give thought to my arguments. I will need to use statistics backing myself up when I say that there is a problem in Denver with regards to homelessness. Pathos can also be used in a smaller sense by saying that we need to help these people. No one deserves to live on the street. Everyone needs to feel safe and protected and by building these shelters we can give this feeling back to these individuals who suffer every winter sleeping on cardboard on the 16th Street Mall.
Similar to every other city in America, Homelessness in our downtown area is facing tough challenges. The growing population of homeless raises consider of the overall health of the downtown community and surrounding areas. Our streets, sidewalks and alleys are becoming more victimized by litter and disorder. Are there ways for us to come together as business owners and community representatives? I believe there is a productive way for all of us to pitch-in for the greater good to help provide a better environment for everyone. How do we do this? Let’s create an association operated by business owners and community representatives, with a focus of supporting the well being of the environment and overall image of our neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteI know you’re asking yourself, “why would I do this, I already pay taxes?” And my answer to you is, “you’re right, we do.” But similarly to HOA’s in well-developed and maintained neighborhoods, we too can control our own surroundings. A place we spend most of our day and an environment our clients see when they come for meetings.
1)The larger debate regarding that I am entering into regarding the issue of bullying is whether or not it is really a serious problem. Also is the issue worth our time and money to fix it. The issue as I see it is that legislation has been passed to try and halt the issue of bullying within schools, however, bullying is still happening.
ReplyDelete2)My argument will be that schools need to spend more time and or money preventing the issue of bullying within schools.
3)They would say that there is not enough money to prevent the issue. Also they might argue that is it really a huge issue with consequences.
I am writing about hunger in the Denver area. I believe that hunger here is a more widespread issue than most would think due to the fact that the vast majority of people would never imagine having to struggle to put food on the table. My argument will be that because we as a community have characterized this problem as rare, we have become almost blind to it and therefore we need to once again open our eyes to hunger in our community and implement a strategy to eradicate it. I think that possible counter arguments could include:
ReplyDeleteHunger doesn’t really exist in Denver
We’re already doing enough to prevent hunger
Taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot the bill for other peoples’ food (ex: 30 cents a day for school breakfast is the responsibility of family’s, not “Uncle Sam”)
I think that pathos would be extremely effective in gaining sympathy and ultimately support for curing hunger. For example, I could use imagery of a hungry child as a form of pathos. I could also use ethos. Although I’m not a nutritionist, activist or facing hunger myself, I have experienced people asking me for food and/or money due to their inability to provide food for themselves. Logos would also be an effective appeal as I believe it’s possible to prove through logic that curing hunger in the community is in the best interests of us all.
Imagine a world where there is no more fighting over oil because a new clean cheap energy has been developed. Imagine a world where we are able to live off of the object that gave us life in the first place, the sun. I am talking about solar energy. Currently we have the capability of solar panels and semi solar cars. This is only the beginning of the potential leaps we can make with solar energy. It is an energy that runs as long as the sun does. A major problem that people will pose is what if the sun doesn't shine, how will we get energy? This is where solar energy still is lacking but, will eventually thrive. A way needs to be figured out to store solar energy. Think of it as a battery. A battery you place into an electrical device sits there and holds its charge and electrical potential until used and needed. If we can figure a way to store solar energy then this completely answers the problem of what do we do when the sun doesn't shine. In a state like CO where you get over 300 days of sun a year this type of energy could supply the entire state and keep the prestine nature of our state. Once this technology is developed it will become a cheap renewable energy source with a lot less pollution than other sources. It will also help us in foreign relations because we will not be so consumed with the obtaining of oil.
ReplyDeleteFor a topic like this i feel ethos and logos will be my most convincing and strongest types of language to use. Empirical evidence must be presented to convince anyone who has the funding to support this type of technology. In terms of new technology data, experiments, prototypes, etc. must be presented for this to convince the skeptics. Logos is then important because because the logical side of why solar energy is better than other types and must be pursued over other types such as hydro or wind must be presented. Through logic you can appeal to the more common man who would not understand all the numbers and data that those who would appeal to ethos would prefer. Through the use of ethos and logos a majority of peoples support both financially and logically.
1. The larger debate of homelessness in Denver in terms of ecnomocial issues is how to fix the “drain” on society that homelessness causes. There are two views surrounding this drain, however, and those are: a) is it the individual who casues the drain by demanding more from the economy or b) is it the society who causes the drain by not 1) helping these people 1.1) by not helping society does not receive their skills, essentially we are unable to better society overall.
ReplyDelete2. My argument will be focused on how the first, and its extreme solutions, are both inhumane and not economically sound. I will prove that the second, helping the homeless, actually makes more economic sense than anything else.
3. I will point out the counter arguments, ranging from extreme to conventional: 1) neo-Nazis solution of the eradication of homeless people, and how this is not financially responsible, as heartless as that sounds; 2) how trickle-down economics and basing the help system for homeless people on purely altruistic people and personal donations actually does not help the people as much, and in our government “stinginess” actually harms us economically.
4. I plan to play with people’s morals by starting out with the counter argument one from a neo-Nazi party might be more inclined to make. My hope is, that while it will turn stomachs, if people don’t stop reading, at that point hopefully the 1) cynics will appreciate the economic sense of actually keeping people alive and 2) those with hearts (which I hope is 99.9% of my readers) will see that there is more logic behind it as well as all those moral reasons. I suppose it’s an attempt at “We can both agree this is a bad solution” or finding common ground in opposition to the extreme. Beyond that I plan to expand on a more logical aspect of this argument and rather appealing to emotions and begging people to care about the homeless, I plan to inform why they should care in terms of financial reason.