Weekly post 9: Trick or Treat

Read the article about halloween in Anne Arundel county. Then respond by noting any logical fallacies used by either side, argue your support or disagreement briefly.

Then... create your own list of politically correct holiday names.
For example, Accidental Discovery and Genocide Day = Columbus Day

Week 8 Blog- Letter to the Editor

Let's draft letters to the editor regarding the news articles and this article we'll explore on Wednesday: For your post, paste your entire letter (150 words max!). Make sure you understand the stylistic requirements of the genre (just what is a letter to the editor?). For responses, give feedback. What works, what doesn't? Are there any logical fallacies? Is the evidence sufficient? How can the appeals to audience be more persuasive? etc.

Final Draft of your letter is due on Tuesday!!!

Make up Blog -- Trailers of blood.

If you missed a blog or scored lowly on one of the week's blogs do this one, remembering to post a response. It's on a topic near and dear to some of our hearts: mustangs. Ironically, the topic came up in chapter one of our text and last week's Newsweek. Read the article, respond by comparing it to the essay we read in chapter 1, then identify and challenge any assumptions the author made.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/42536

Weekly Post 7 - Oprah

Watch the Oprah Winfrey Show on Wednesday, October 17th, or read the transcripts found on the website:
http://www2.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200710/tows_past_20071017.jhtml

After the show, discuss your reactions to Bill Cosby's message. Is it fair? What are his assumptions, biases, logical fallacies? Will his message be effective? How does the context of talking on the Oprah show to Oprah affect his message? What kind of evidence does he use?

Then, relate Cosby or Oprah's message to any of the essays we have or will read for Chapter two on freedom of speech and/or racist language.

Have fun!!!

Weekly Post 6: Fallacies in Immigration

Read the article (in the link). Note any logical fallacies used on either side of the argument. Then, in a well thought out and constructed response, state your beliefs about immigration in this area. Try to explore the rationale, or reasoning of your assertion about immigration. Is it based on anecdotal, factual, or fallacious evidence?

In your responses, challenge, qualify or defend the original post's assertion.

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2007-10-08-0143.html

Have fun!

Weekly post 5:

Sorry I haven't gotten this up, I keep getting detained.

Your assignment is to create an example for 4 of the logical fallacies, without identifying them. In responses, guess which ones they've created.

Here's the rhetorical situation: Student A needs to convince Mom A that his grades will improve.