Argument of Definition

Marijuana should be made legal because it is in fact a helpful medical treatment, rather than a harmful drug. I dont agree with this, obviously if I am thinking about being in the FBI, but I thought it would be easy to understand. The next step after finding a topic is to research it, which the most interesting research I found was many facts and statistics about the harmful effects of alcohol versus marijuana, which are significantly less. You can craft your claim of this argument by defining how marijuana helps in medical conditions, more than it harms when used in non medical ways. It can swing both ways, like the 2 pictures of patriotism in the chapter. You can show the medical affects, or you can show one of those "above the influence" commercials that makes weed look really bad.

Factual Arguments

my hypothesis that I started out with was " there are more women on campus than me". This came from complete observation as I walked to class the past couple of days, and even the numbers in my classroom. I went to a source to prove my hypothesis was an argument of fact- my tour guide book of facts. I haven't read the updated 2008 one, and it stated that TCU was indeed, 56% women and 44% men. I also had statements from people that work in the Admissions Office that TCU had more women than men. In presenting my hypothesis, I would choose the first source to use because it is more reliable and believable by my audience than just what someone claimed- everyone knows how false or misleading that can be.

My article has changed several times, so I apologize in advance to my group who will have to read another one.
My article is about what women want in the election, what they will vote for- the article calls women an "untapped" energy. I chose this article because I think it was a brilliant political strategy for McCain to choose Palin after his chances were low and Hilary was out of the picture. It will be interesting to see whether or not this move will gain some of the Hilary voters since Palin is the only female left to vote for or whether they stick to the more left winged politics of Obama. The article discusses how women and men have responded positively or negatively to her nomination, and how the dynamics have now changed on the ticket. There are many positive and many negatives to VP Palin and I am interested to see how it will all play out in the election.

Election 2008

   The most important aspect of the 2008 election is the voter apathy that is rampant in the youth today. Countless people I know, have come into contact with, or even celebrity interviews I have read have reinforced the fact that many and most of the adolescents just don't care enough to vote. 

    Whether for Obama, or "Nobama", whether you think McCain is the best candidate yet, or will die of old age once in office, it is still no excuse for not driving to the polls Tuesday morning. Whoever decides not to vote is obviously so ignorant to not realize that there are millions of people around the world young and old that would die for the chance to vote in a completely free democracy with a fair count. They are compeltely ignoring the free rights our Founding Fathers fought to give us and set up for us in the Consitution. I would much rather the candidate I am not voting for win by votes of the previously apathetic than them to not vote at all.  

Arguments based on logos

Arguments that are based on logos are based on verifiable facts, statistics, and reason. The book claims that audiences are more likely to believe arguments that have "claims that can be counted, measured, photographed, or analyzed than those that are merely defended with words." Having logical facts to back your argument up is important.
My argument I am bringing in is a table a statistic of average maximum prison sentances for both state and federal prisons. It is measured in number of months for 8 different crimes, and compares how harsh of a sentance the state would give versus what the federal government would give. This would be an argument based on logos if I was explaining how the federal courts give harsher punishment to criminals. The chart clearly shows the prison sentances are alot higher in federal courts for all but 2 crimes: burglary and murder. It would be pretty hard for someone to argue logically against this, therefore making logos a key factor in my argument.

Arguments with Pathos

My argumentative object that I chose is a shot glass that I purchased at a Civil War Museum in Atlanta. ( fondly referred to as the "war of Northern Aggression" sometimes in the South). It has a confederate flag on the front and 3 markers on the back for however much alcohal you fill the glass with. The lowest marker says "yellow-bellied yank" on it. If you have a higher tolerance, you can fill it up to the 2nd marker and be a "southern belle". And by filling to glass all the way to the "Rebel" marker, you will be a true southern rebel. 

This definately appeals to the pathos, or the heart because it appeals to the idea of being a rebel southerner, a confederate, and all the ideas about how evil the yankees were to the South not allowing their seccession. It also appeals to the alcohol tolerance, because everyone wants to achieve rebel status by drinking all that alcohol in one sip.