Humanities Homework Help

Background: As you probably are aware, the policing situation in America has reached a boiling point as a result of the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by a police officer. His death and the phrase “I can’t breathe” has become a rallying cry for Black Lives Matter and other protests throughout the United States and around the world. In only a matter of months, police departments across the United States are being defunded, dismantled, and abolished (in some cases).

For this essay, we will be reading and analyzing a number of various perspectives on what should be done about the future of policing in America. In this sense, it’s important that we, as critical thinkers, evaluate these types of arguments to make sure they are logical and free from logical fallacies.

Writing Task: You will write a four-five page, rhetorical analysis of one, argumentative piece of writing. The  four options are listed below.

Essay’s Purpose: To determine whether the writer’s argument is effective based on specific rhetorical elements such as logos, ethos, and other components that were covered in “Backpacks vs. Briefcases…” and other resources in this Unit.

Important to Remember: Your goal is to analyze the writer’s argument and not to argue a position or agree/disagree with the writer’s points.

Potential Argumentative Essays to Analyze (You must choose one of these readings from this list, and not any of the readings that we are doing together):

• “What the City Where Defunding Police Worked Really Tells us About it. download” 
• “The Case for Defunding the Police after the January 6th Coup Attempt download” 
• “Defund the Police” download 
• “Defund the Police? Tried that in the 60s and 70s. Here’s How it Worked download” 

Here is a Helpful Overview of What a Successful Argument Entails

In writing your essay, you should consider all of these components in deciding an argument’s effectiveness.

An Effective Argument:

1.) deals with an issue that is debatable and open to different interpretations
2.) is not based solely on strong, “knee jerk” reactions or beliefs, unsubstantiated by evidence
3.) stands up to a critical reading (avoids logical fallacies)
4.) takes a position and makes a clear claim about the topic
5.) supports that position with detailed and specific evidence (such as reasons, facts, examples, descriptions, and stories)
6.) establishes common ground with listeners, viewers or readers and avoids confrontation.
7.) takes opposing views into account and either refutes them or shows why they may be unimportant or irrelevant
8.) incorporates the use of the three persuasive appeals: logos, pathos, and ethos
9.) presents reasons in a logical order.
10.) is engaged and vital, a reflection of the creator’s thinking rather than just a marshaling of others’ opinions.

Some Advice on Writing a Successful Rhetorical Analysis:

• Read all of the selections early and decide which article will work best for you. Even though I’m sure that many of you have strong feelings about this issue, try to be open-minded and objective. This will lead to a better analysis, overall.
• Make sure to annotate in the margins, take notes, ask questions, highlighting significant ideas/points, discussing the reading with classmates or other people, etc. We will be practicing some of this over the next few weeks.
• In your essay, you will most likely not be writing about every rhetorical element, but mainly focusing on the ones that are relevant to the specific argument. You might use the questions below as a guide to help you plan out your essay (though I don’t suggest that you organize based on the order of the questions).
• In addition to using support from the reading you are analyzing, you should also integrate evidence from “Backpacks vs. Briefcases…” and “Logical Fallacies,” if relevant. For instance, if you are analyzing ethos, it would be helpful to use “Backpacks…” to help define this concept. There will also be additional resources on Canvas to help you with this paper.

Questions to Help you Develop Your Essay:

• What is the author’s main claim? What is the main point the writer is trying to make? Is there a clearly stated thesis statement, or is it merely implied?
• What are the exigence and constraints of the essay?
• What support does the writer offer for the claim? What REASONS are given to support the claim, and what EVIDENCE backs up those reasons? Are the reasons plausible and sufficient?
• How evenhandedly does the writer present the issues? Are the arguments appropriately qualified? Is there any mention of COUNTERARGUMENTS—and if so, how does the writer deal with them?
• What authorities or other sources of information are cited? How credible and current are they?
• How does the writer address you as the reader? Does the writer assume that you know something about what’s being discussed? Does his or her language include you, or not?
• Be sure to check for Fallacies, arguments that rely on faulty reasoning.
• Who is the intended or unintended audience based on the context, formality, and diction (word choices, language, style) and tone?
• What types of persuasive appeals (logos, pathos, ethos) does the writer use to convince the reader?