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