Brainstorming

I am debating between a couple of different ideas for the paper. I'd like to write about revising the NFL playoff rankings, but this isn't a "real world" problem so I'm not sure if it is going to be an issue that is important enough to the class. I would address the fact that even if the NFC West has a division winner this year, the East is more likely to have stronger teams. So should the West send a team with a worse record to the playoffs? I could also write about Direct Access for physical therapy, which addresses the issue of not needing a prescription to go see a physical therapist, but being able to visit if you feel like you need to. Since a Physical Therapist is technically a doctor who does and evaluation and diagnosis, I don't really see why this is such a huge issue.

Sample Arguments

I chose an image for Camel Lights advertising as my sample argument. The ad appeals to looking cool with the cigarette in the camel's mouth and he is leaning against his sporty car with sunglasses on. The camel is also muscular with his cigs tucked into his sleeve, and his arms crossed across his body. The Surgeon General's Warning is hardly even visible to the reader, as it appears to be somewhat blurry on the computer image. Obviously, the advertiser is trying to make an appeal that smoking cigarettes is a cool look, and even seems to associate the idea of smoking with toughness. The advertiser is clearly not worried about the health risks that smoking has on a person, and also places the warning on the poster in a way that some people might miss it. Of course, this is because they want to sell their product and not have the customer worry about the risks that are associated with it. Given, this is the man or woman's job, but the advertising is going to be one-sided.

Chapter 14

Reading chapter 14 doesn't present a whole lot of new information in my opinion. I feel like a lot of papers that I have written in school are arguments, including the one that we are writing right now. In most papers, I am required to make a claim and back it with evidence. This chapter does address some different ways of supporting your argument, which is useful. Examples, factual data, and testimonials are just a few of the ways that the author says you can support your argument in a paper. They also introduced the STAR criteria for evaluating the evidence that you use. This is useful in determining whether or not the evidence that you have is going to be effective in your paper. They also make sure that there is an appeal to ethos and pathos in the paper which is an important point. Overall, I learned a few things from the chapter.