John Ertel
Unit 1 Assignment 1
Sherri T. Roberts
EN1420 - Composition II
9/25/2012
Unit 1 Assignment 1 1. What did you think when you encountered the word argument as you began to read this chapter? What do you think now?
A. When I first encountered the word “argument” in this chapter, I immediately thought of the shouting matches that I would so often engage in with my father. However, upon further reading, I have discovered that in reality, argument means any subject upon which there is the possibility of having more than one view or standpoint. 2. Provide three examples of your own to illustrate the statement “Argument is everywhere.” One of your examples should be a visual argument.
A. Argument is everywhere. This statement is evidenced by the fact that people everywhere are arguing. Whether is be about Romney's inane babble, or the fact that Obama hasn't fixed the Universe yet, people continue to argue their side of any disagreement. Another good example is bow ties. Some people think that bow ties are not cool. These people would be wrong because bow ties are in fact, very cool. 3. Describe traditional and consensual argument. Give two examples of each.
A. Traditional argument is based around winning. It is where two parties are engaged in an argument, not with the goal of convincing the other party that they are right, but instead trying to prove that the other party is wrong. An example of consensual argument is where a group considers all sides of an argument and then tries to reach consensus or agreement about which side pleases most or all of the people. 4. What are some conditions necessary for argument to work best?
A. In order for argument to work best, several conditions must be met. Both parties who engage in the argument should care about the topic at hand. Additionally, both parties should have some common ground on the subject, and be able to argue the points. 5. What are some of the conditions that may cause argument to fail?
A. Conversely, some conditions that may cause argument to fail are there being no reason to argue, or agreement, lack of common ground, or a standoffish attitude. 6. Give two examples of an ethical argument and two examples of an unethical argument.
A. An ethical argument is one that attempts to convince you of its correctness in a way that is beneficial to you, for example, when a parent tries to get their child to eat their vegetables, it is for the childs own good that the mother says “It'll make you grow up to be big and strong like daddy!” and the unethical argument is when the child replies with “But daddy is dead” because in reality their father is not among the deceased, but rather, the child was attempting to get their own way through unethical argument. 7. How has the role of audience changed in the world of digital argument?
A. The audience is no longer necessarily a willing member of the arguments that occur so often in our every day lives. Arguments are being forced down the throat of everyone with an Internet connection or cable television whether they like it or not in the form of TV commercials, ads on websites, pop-ups, and even occasionally re-directs. 8. Identify four sources of arguable issues.
A. Lots of things can be sources of arguable issues, for instance, religion would be a good source of arguable issues for those that have faith and those that deliberately do not. Another good source of arguable issues would be politics in the US. Everyone who lives within the country should be fairly interested in that and have at least some very basic knowledge of the topic. A more global source of arguable issues could be aliens. Some people believe wholeheartedly in the existence of aliens and some people do not.