Argument and Persuasion

A claim is the writer's position on a problem or an issue

• True

• False

Support includes reasons but not evidence that help justifies the claim.

• True

• False

A counterargument is a brief objection to the claim and gives the 'other side'.

• True

• False

In 'Abolishing the Penny Makes Good Sense', the author includes the story about his son's refusing to wrap pennies to show that

• Pennies are hard to wrap

• Children are lazy

• Children care little for money

• Pennies have little value

In 'Doing Nothing is Something', what does the author suggest parents do with their television sets?

• Throw them away

• Unhook the cable box (today the streaming, etc.)

• Watch with their children

• Sell them at a yard sale

• Give them to Mr. Myers to sell for his retirement fund

In 'Doing Nothing is Something', the kind of summer the author Anna Quindlen fears is gone for good is the kind that is

• Productive

• Joyless

• Enriching

• Unstructured

Carl Sagan supports his claim that 'everywhere on earth is a potential battlefield' in his speech On Nuclear Disarmament by

• Stating that today's weapons can reach anyplace

• Naming the nations that now have nuclear weapons

• Reminding us of wars around the world

• Listing pairs of unfriendly countries and organizations

In Jane Goodall's essay 'I Acknowledge Mine', she described the "dull and blank" eyes of the chimpanzees at the research centers. Why did she do this?

• To compare them to machines

• To show that they are not smart

• To contrast them with doctors

• To help show how sad they are

Which of the following is a counterargument to the opinion that experiments should be on humans in the position paper "Use of Animals in Biomedical Research"?

• Humans are able to tell doctors what hurts

• Humans do not reproduce fast enough

• It is impossible to test the effects of poisons on humans

• Medical testing on humans is too costly

In the position paper "Use of Animals in Biomedical Research", when the author state that "Americans should not be misled by emotional appeals," they mean that Americans

• Have too many pets to take care of

• Believe animals are too valuable to test

• Should not let emotions affect their thinking

• Have unfair attitudes toward researchers