Final Exam Review

How are rhetorical and referential summaries alike?

A. They are objective.

B. They are based on the author's actions and decisions.

C. They express an opinion.

D. They focus on ideas.

Answer is choice A (EOA 94)

Value claims express ________ regarding the rightness or wrongness of a person's conduct or belief.

A. Facts

B. Solutions

C. Judgements

D. None of the above.

Answer is choice C. (EOA 169)

What type of warrant is based on the credibility of its sources?

A. Motivational

B. Authoritative

C. Substantive

D. Argumentative

Answer is choice B. (EOA 282)

A black-white fallacy is also known as

A. Begging the question

B. A false dilemma

C. A non sequiter

D. Ad populum

Answer is choice B. (EOA 342)

An Unhealthy Body Image

In the western culture, a person's view of their body image is highly distorted. The textbook Elements of Argument defines a person's body image as a "dynamic perception of one's body; how it looks, feels, and moves (Croll 536).

In today's society many of us feel pressured to be thin and beautiful by strong social and cultural forces. These false beliefs of a person's body image is often influenced through television, the internet. advertisements and magazines that often conveys many images of ideal attractiveness. In turn this perception of one's self creates an unrealistic body image. It is important to understand that we live in a culture where a person's appearance is highly judged and criticized. However, the over concern with a person's body image can result in many damaging effects, such as, restrictive dieting and other unhealthy weight control methods (Croll 540).

Jillian Croll shines light on many interesting aspects regarding a person's body image. For example, the use of cosmetic surgery for aesthetic purposes has increased substantially, "Having a nose job or breast enlargement purely for aesthetic reasons was once the sort of thing that only movie stars and the extremely wealthy would have considered" (Croll 535) I agree with this statement because in our culture today many average, middle class citizens are tuning to plastic surgery as if it were no big deal. This obsession in our culture of creating the perfect body for men and women has given rise to  many unhealthy body images and ideologies.

Croll, Jillian. "How Far Will We Go To Change Our Body Image?" New York: Morrow, 1985. Rpt. in Elements of Argument: A Text and Reader. Annette T. Rottenberg and Donna Haisty Winchell. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2009. 535-541

Be The Change You Wish To See In The World

Pollution is defined as the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem. As a resident of Florida we have encountered both air and water pollution. Air pollution comes from both natural and man made sources. Though globally man made pollutants are from combustion, construction, mining, agriculture and warfare. Water pollution is created by the discharge of waste water from commercial and industrial waste into surface waters. This can include but is not limited to discharges of untreated domestic sewage, surface runoff, littering, and eutrophication. Although, this growing evidence of local and global pollution has given rise to environmentalism. In order to manage or even eliminate these problems we must work together to limit human impact on our environment. However, most people believe that they do not need to contribute to our environment because they can only do very little to help. It is ignorant to believe this because it would only take less than a minute to contribute to our environment, whether it is through recycling, joining the local car pool or even picking up a small piece of trash on the beach. My solution to end environmental pollution is to encourage everyone we know to join the environmental movement and become aware of the problems in our neighborhoods. One person can make a profound impact in our environment. It is important to become "the the change you wish to see in the world."-Gandhi

Big Yellow Taxi

During a trip to Hawaii, written by famous recording artist Joni Mitchell was inspired to write the song, Big Yellow Taxi. Her inspiration was derived from her view of the Pacific mountains. The mountains were marvelous and stretched beautifully across the land. She recalls looking out her hotel window only to see a parking lot. However, the scenery behind the parking lot was nothing she could describe, it was paradise, hence the lyrics to her song, "They paved paradise to put up a parking lot." The tone of the song is very sentimental and enjoyable to listen to. Although, many people have heard this song while listening to the radio, for the most part the meaning behind Joni Mitchell's lyrics is not understood. Having that said, some may still wonder, what does this song refer to? The song, Big Yellow Taxi reflects the artist's concern for our environment.

Throughout the entire song the artist is focused on mother nature. She is saddened that we are taking away from the land's natural beauty. In reality, the song Big Yellow Taxi provides us with an important life lesson of not to take things for granted. We all should be aware that construction sites and the pesticide DDT (also mentioned in her song) destroys our environment; "… you don't know what you've got until it's gone."
Video below is remade by Counting Crows.

End World Hunger: Eat Babies!

Jonathan Swift’s excerpt, A Modest Proposal is believed to be the most admirable selection of irony in the English language. Irony can defined as the opposition between the literal and intended meaning of a statement. In the passage, A Modest Proposal Jonathan Swift writes: “As to our city of Dublin, shambles may be appointed for this purpose in the most convenient parts of it, and butchers we may be assured will not be wanting; although I rather recommend buying the children alive, and dressing them hot from the knife as we do roasting pigs.” (A Modest Proposal 357)

The following statement is ironic because the author is comparing an infant to an animal that can be cooked for dinner. Many of those who are Irish in the “kingdom” slave like animals for meager pay in return. The author makes this connection in order to emphasize the poor conditions and poverty of the Irish who live under British rule.



Swift, Jonathan."A Modest Proposal." New York: Morrow, 1985. Rpt. in Elements of Argument: A Text and Reader. Annette T. Rottenberg and Donna Haisty Winchell. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2009. 354-361.

Blondes with brains!

Logical fallacies can be defined as a failure of a persons reasoning, that renders on an invalid argument. Pop culture uses many fallacies in entertainment, including but not limited to movies, television shows, advertisements and other commercials. These fallacies attract a persons attention to the subject matter. An example of a logical fallacy would be the portrayal of a blonde female. In the entertainment industry, women with blonde hair for the most part are portrayed as being unintelligent. This type of logical fallacy functions as a type of comic relief for its viewers. In many movies such as House Bunny, the blonde character is known for taking the role of an airhead. The “dumb blonde” stereotype is a result of pop culture, and is a form of hasty generalizations. Stereotypes are a widely held image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. Characterizing all blondes as being dumb is an invalid argument in pop culture because it is based upon person who shares the same attributes but not characteristics.

The Flynn Effect and the Sleeper Curve

In Johnson’s book, Everything Bad Is Good For You, an American Philosopher named, James Flynn discovered that a persons IQ test results are culturally biased, causing a racial gap between generations of Caucasian and African American test scores. The Flynn Effect is profoundly shaped by the sleeper curve and a persons environment. I strongly agree that, “The Sleeper Curve shows that popular culture is growing more complex, yet it is not sufficiently complex to challenge the most gifted minds, which is why the geniuses aren’t getting any smarter.” (Johnson 152) Today, many Americans enjoy being indoors and playing video games, such as, Call Of Duty: Black Ops, these games challenge a persons mind and allow further cognitive development. A persons cognition is defined as the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. Experiments have also shown that people who play video games are often more social, confident and comfortable when solving problems.


Johnson, Steven. Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter. New York: Riverhead Books, 2005. Print.