Question

1. Discuss whether the following are strong arguments. If you consider them weak, explain why.

1. We need to protect American jobs. Therefore, we need stricter laws to keep illegal aliens from crossing the United States–Mexico border.
2. We shouldn’t be making such a big deal about football players and concussions. After all, look at all the people, especially kids, who get concussions falling off their bicycles and no one is arguing that we should ban bicycles!

3. People need to pass a driving test to get a license to drive a car. People should also have to take a parenting test and get a license before they can have a child. After all, parenting is a greater responsibility and requires more skill than driving.
4. We should allow fraternities on our campus. After all, they provide volunteers to do a lot of charitable work.
5. My dog Rex growls only at people who are untrustworthy. Rex growled at Bob when he brought me home after our date. Therefore, I should not trust Bob.
6. If you’re going to buy a new car, you should buy a Toyota Camry. They’re one of the safest cars on the road, according to Consumer Reports.
7. Abdul is a freshman at state community college. All freshmen at state community college are residents of Texas. Therefore, Abdul is a resident of Texas.

Good argument

8. Marijuana use should be legal in the United States. After all, both Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush as much as admitted that they had used marijuana.
9. God is all powerful. God is all good. Terrible things happen to people through no fault of their own. Therefore, God does not exist.
10. You should stay away from Gloria because she’s a troublemaker.

2. Identify the unstated premise(s) in each of the following arguments. Evaluate each of the arguments. Does leaving out the premise weaken or change the argument?

1. Maria is a single mother. We should reject her application to the pre-med program.
2. Buck’s father is a successful doctor and a graduate of State University. Buck should do well in the pre-med program.
3. If you want to save money, buy your textbooks on Amazon.com instead of the college bookstore.
4. Cats don’t bark. Therefore, Friskie doesn’t bark.
5. If you’re traveling in Europe you should buy a rail pass instead of renting a car.
6. I hear you’d like to do a semester in an African country. Given that the only languages you speak are Portuguese and German, you should consider doing an internship in Angola or Mozambique.
7. I wouldn’t trust Ben around children. I hear he was abused as a child.

1. Identify the conclusion and premises in the argument in this advertisement. Evaluate the argument.

2. What is the objective of this ad? Is the ad effective in meeting its objective? Discuss the strategies, including rhetorical devices and fallacies,

Answer 1

1.

a.We need to protect American jobs. Therefore, we need stricter laws to keep illegal aliens from crossing the United States–Mexico border.

Answer: I think this is a very subjective argument .The advocates of open borders and cheap-labor business lobbyists would have Americans believe that the U.S. economy would suddenly collapse without illegal immigration and cheap foreign labor. This is a classic scare tactic. It is also implicitly based on the false and outright insulting claim that native-born Americans are somehow averse to hard work. The fact, however, is that the average American works more hours annually than do the inhabitants of most other developed nations. Moreover, Americans will perform any work for a market-clearing wage and under safe working conditions.

The defenders of illegal aliens — ethnic advocacy groups, business lobbyists, and some religious organizations — often assert that illegal aliens only take jobs Americans “will not do.” This is patently false because they are working in jobs in which U.S. workers are also employed — whether in construction, agricultural harvesting, or service professions. In fact, as one study demonstrates, “of the 474 civilian occupations, only six are majority immigrant (legal and illegal).”

So to sum up this argument , I feel "Illegal" Immigrants enter America for a better life compared to their former life .But in most cases these people look around for any job that would pay them well .So they usually opt for jobs that are otherwise not seen as successful jobs by natives, Such as house maids , Cooks , agriculturists etc . But if you take an average native american without a highschool degree , they would prefer working as a cashier , truck driver or a janitor .

So i think iam against this argument , cause this statement is highly subjective and is based on various circumstances.

b.We shouldn’t be making such a big deal about football players and concussions. After all, look at all the people, especially kids, who get concussions falling off their bicycles and no one is arguing that we should ban bicycles!

Answer: Iam totally against the idea of being ignorant about the head impacts and blows a footballer is faced to in his football career. It is completely silly to compare this to a kid falling from a bike .

Concussions and other types of repetitive play-related head blows in American football have been shown to be the cause of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which has led to player deaths and other debilitating symptoms after retirement, including memory loss, depression, anxiety, headaches, and sleep disturbances. So comparing this to a normal falling accident of a normal person would be basically naive of us to do. According to the Boston University CTE Center, CTE is a brain degenerative disease found in athletes, military veterans, and others with history of repetitive brain trauma. Although CTE is highly controversial and misunderstood . So this topic must be taken seriously if we care about the players .

Banning football altogether would not be a good solution , but we can take many precautionary and preventive steps to avoid such things from happening .Players faced with a concusssion should not be allowed to play in the field until he is completely fine is one of the simple steps the NFL could do.

a.People need to pass a driving test to get a license to drive a car. People should also have to take a parenting test and get a license before they can have a child. After all, parenting is a greater responsibility and requires more skill than driving.

Answer: I need to completley agree with the first part of this argument because passing a driving test is a very crucial criteria to analyze ones driving skills.If giving away license to anyone would to encouraged then alot of accidents will sieze the roads claiming many lives . So i think it is mandatory to grant a driving license only after a person passes a driving test .

But coming to the second part of the argument about a parenting test , i think its not that necessary . Parenting on its whole is definately a very huge responsibility , not only when it comes to driving but in everything a parent does along with their kids. I beleive if a person is able to take care of a child in other normal circumstances then taking care of a child while driving (with a driver's license)wouldnt need an extra criteria check.

b.We should allow fraternities on our campus. After all, they provide volunteers to do a lot of charitable work.

Answer: I agree with this statement because fraternities offer alot of advantages in a student's life and also for the campus . Its a perfect community where like minded people can share ideas and increase their social skills and feel comfortable away from home cause college life can end up being pretty lonely at times. So a community where students can release their stress is highly needed in an educational setup . As mentioned in the above statement about charity work , its so true. No wonder applicants with good fraternities are chosen for jobs as it plays a major role in a student's life.