Dishonest Evaluation

Recently Maxim wrote an argument of evaluation about The Black Crows new album; however they wrote the review without listening to the full album. The Black Crows are now demanding they publicly apologize for the bad review. The magazine is complying not because of the band, but for its readers. Writing a dishonest review makes them deceitful, and untrustworthy. If the magazine does not give true information they are likely to loose their readers to other magazines and their business will fail. It is important when writing an argument that you are credible.

iPhones for College Freshman

I recently read an article about a Texas University giving all of its incoming freshman iPhones. They argue that they want to integrate more technology into the education system. Many colleges have begun to support Mac’s as their main computers, and some are even giving their students computers built into tuition. They back up this decision with studies they have done that show what the uses of iPhones will be. Mac is also coming up with over 10 new applications that can be added to further the learning experiences of the students. These applications include homework alerts, in-class surveys, directions to classrooms and offices, and meal balance information, just to name a few. I believe this argument is to convince people why Mac’s are the right choice for schools, and also its going to be a great benefit for the schools application process!

Stand by Your Ham

I recently read an article about how pig farmers have created a jingle to alert buyers about a problem in the pig market. With the rising prices in feed and fuel they are loosing around 40 dollars per pig which is slowly but surly running them out of business. Pig farmers in England made up a song entitled "Stand by Your Ham", a spin on the tune of "Stand by Your Man" that will be shown in commercials and the Internet. This use of marketing is common in many arguments because it draws attention to a serious problem in a lighthearted way. I think this is a very clever marketing strategy that could really help with their problem.

Ice Cream and Bees

I recently watched a news clip that argued that there is a problem going on with bee pollination and it is beginning to have an effect on the ice cream market. Bees are responsible for 40% of Haagen Das’s ice cream flavors and 1/3 of the US food supply. Haagen Das is donating 250 million dollars to universities across the country to help solve the bee colony problem that is going on in California. This argument made by Haagen Das is trying to make people aware of the impact that the bee crisis is going to have, and to make consumers aware that they are personally making contributions to fix it. This not only raises awareness of the severity of the problem, but it will increase good will and sales for Haagen Das. It is an argument to fix a problem and to buy ice cream.

Video Games

According to a study seen on CNN men are three times more likely to become addicted to video games as compared to women. They created a video game to study the visual processing and motor skills and men and women. They put the participants in an MRI scanner and found out what was happening in their brain. Not only were men better at the game, but more activity went on in the brain while they were playing. In men it was found that the part of the brain that controls rewards was more active while playing games. This study can also help argue why men can become more addicted to things than women.

Diet Sodas

I watched an online news clip about a study preformed at Purdue University about the effects of diet sodas and artificial sweeteners. The study showed that even just one diet soda a day increased health problems such as weight gain, metabolic syndrome, and pre heart disease by 30%. Diet foods tend to change the metabolism to react to sugar in a different way. Sweet things make your body prepare for a calorie load and when it finds that the artificial sweetener does not have any calories in it the body and brain gets confused. On average Americans drink 163 diet drinks a year. This was an argument to convince people to stop drinking diet soda and eating artificial sweeteners. Although diet sodas are said to help people loose weight it is shown to have the opposite effect.

Dreaming after 9/11

In this article the author is arguing that the attacks of 9/11 have changed the way people dream. They use a logical appeal, using facts and reliable sources to show the changes in people dreams, they showed studies of peoples dreams and how there were more intense images after the attacks. This argument can get people thinking about how their dreams change after they undergo trauma and distress. I found this article to be very unbelievable and I do not think the writer gave enough information to back up their argument. I find it hard to believe that you can track dreaming especially when disasters are unexpected. I definitely believe that people experienced change after 9/11 but whether peoples dreams changed or not, I am not too sure.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20080202/hl_hsn/911attackschangedwayamericansdream;_ylt=Av4m01JzkmyI1vH4yGQXd9jq188F

Double Dipping

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080202/ap_on_he_me/double_dipping;_ylt=AnuvZMcI4Dj5OJDuLXQdvWLq188F


In this argument the author is writing about why people should not double dip their chips. She uses a logical appeal by using facts and reliable sources to make people understand how gross it is to double dip. This is also an argument used to convince. With all the super bowl parties going on the writer encourages everyone to watch their salsa. She uses information gathered by scientists at respected universities and the numbers show that over 10,000 bacteria can be transferred between dippers. I thought it was clever to use a line from Seinfeld to get the reader engaged and then hit us with the real facts. I don’t know how many people really need to be convinced that double dipping your chip is nasty, but seeing the numbers makes it ever grosser!

Disappearing Salmon

In this article the author is augmenting the drop in the number of salmon that has returned to California and why it is so important. I think that he uses both a logical and emotional appeal. He uses facts to show the severity of the situation and ties in to how it will affect our lives. From just the numbers and statistics he used it is clear that there is a problem, and then he explains that this problem will put fisherman out of business and ruin stock prices. I also believe that this could be considered an argument to explore and an argument about the future. The writer gives us the facts to explore a serious problem in society and then tells us what must be done to fix this problem in the future. This is just one of the many effects global warming has had on our planet and there will be many more to come if we do not start changing for a cleaner environment.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080130/ap_on_re_us/disappearing_salmon;_ylt=Aj7.K8sW4ugwaywf7jnPBfTq188F

Post 1 - Lung Cancer

In this article the writer is arguing that smoking marijuana will increase your risk of lung cancer. This argument is used to influence. The writer is not trying to conquer any opponents, but to convince the readers that what he wrote is true and deserves the attention of people. This article is used to persuade readers that smoking a joint is very hazardless to their health and he does this by using facts and statistics. This makes the article an appeal to logic. They use reliable sources and examples to create sound reasons of support. Quotes from scientists and medical researches make that article believable. I am not really knowledgeable on the topic of lung cancer, however reading this article gives me reason to believe that smoking cannabis can be very harmful to the lungs, and from the fact that they give it is worse than tobacco.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080129/hl_nm/cancer_cannabis_dc;_ylt=As5nEEBWhdMhRPtB2cEu2bDq188F