For this post, you’ll analyze how a writer from the Denver Post reasons through his or argument. First, pick an editorial or an op-ed piece from the Denver Post that interests you. Then, summarize this piece’s main claim or argument. Then, examine how the writer appeals to logos to support his or her main claim.
To do so, you should first examine its use of enthymemes. For example, you might try writing out the piece’s major premise, minor premise, and conclusion (or main claim) like our textbook does on pages 165-177. Or, you might explain what widely held community beliefs—or commonplaces—provide a foundation for the argument and explain how the writer uses these commonplaces to strengthen his or her reasoning. Then, consider the rhetor’s use of examples, analogies, maxims, or signs. How effectively are these proofs used and how do they lead the reader logically to the conclusions the writer affirms?
Please post your response as a comment to this post before class meets on Monday, January 24.
The editorial I chose was about Governor John Hickenlooper. In the editorial the write talked about how Hickenlooper will have two separate telephones; one issued to him by the state and a personal phone. The writers main argument is that it is good that Hickenlooper is going to be using two separate phones in order to create a more transparent government. Hickenlooper will make all his phone records from his state issued phone available for people to know. As for his personal phone, someone will be watching the records of that phone to make sure there is nothing inappropriate. The writer makes his argument, agreeing with what Hickenlooper is doing by comparing him to the previous governor, Bill Ritter. I think that by comparing Hickenlooper to Bill Ritter they are creating a commonplace. It is obvious that a lot of people were not happy with how Ritter governed and by comparing someone that most people like to someone who most people do not it creates for a strong argument. Also, throughout the editorial there are no “I think” or “I believe” statements. Everything used to support Hickenlooper`s phone decision is all facts and it is easy to understand the writers side of the argument.
ReplyDeleteIn the editorial, “PUC should let Xcel walk away”, from the Denver Post, Xcel Energy is threatening to no longer implement a new string of power lines in Southern Colorado. There has been tremendous debate over these transmission lines because Xcel continuously changes their plans and has been exaggerating the actual help these lines will make. They started out by saying the 1,129 megawatts of power will be exported from the valley but have now changed that enormous number to a mere 60 megawatts. The writer’s main argument is that these power lines have created such controversy recently and the battle is only growing because Xcel has been very uncooperative therefore the Colorado Utilities Commission should allow Xcel to walk away. The community is in commonplace with the writer because these lines, if created, will be in an untouched, natural area of Colorado. People are afraid that Xcel will not hold to their word which would be devastating for Colorado. To have these put up and not carry as much power as promised, or be used rarely, is a major concern. The judge in the case though has considered this concern and recommended that “Xcel face financial sanctions if the line isn’t supplied with large amounts of power”. The writer doesn’t use any analogies or maxims however signs are used. For example, if the power lines go up, the beauty of the area will be jeopardized. The writer is very straightforward in their claim and sympathizing with the people of Colorado being bullied by Xcel in this debate.
ReplyDeleteIn the editorial “Wrong way on medical pot bill” from the Denver Post, the author describes the proposed changes to Colorado’s medical marijuana law. The alterations made to the law would make regulations less strict and also make it so convicted drug felons could open their own dispensaries after a certain amount of time. The article brings up concerns about the limitations of medical marijuana and the safety of the distribution. Colorado is already taking somewhat of a risk by legalizing medical marijuana and loosening restrictions might make it easier for people to take advantage of the system. Although the author sees some beneficial additions to the law, overall they are not supportive of the changes that have been brought up. In order to create a commonplace, the author asks who would want a former felon owning a dispensary, which is similar to the idea that no one would want a former pedophile to teach in a school. Because they have abused drugs before, owning a dispensary might make it easier for them to push their abusive habits on other people. I think the author is just trying to get lawmakers and also voters to realize that they need to look at all aspects of the bill and think about the affects it could have on the various communities that have dispensaries in them. The author does not use any maxims or analogies are used, but they do use signs. For example, the threat of wide spread abuse and giving access of medical marijuana to people who do not deserve it, and who could also make the medical marijuana business unsafe.
ReplyDeleteMajor premise: Marijuana dispensaries should be run responsibly.
ReplyDeleteMinor premise: Convicted felons are not responsible.
Conclusion: Convicted felons should not be allowed to run marijuana dispensaries.
A bill regarding marijuana dispensaries was recently proposed with the idea to modify the existing laws. Currently, convicted felons are disallowed from obtaining licensing to run a marijuana dispensary. The proposal is to change this concept so that felons of drug convictions within the last five years would be omitted. After five years, however, they would be allowed to obtain a license.
The author of this editorial points out that the medical marijuana business is one that has high potential for abuse, therefore, convicted drug felons (those who abused drugs in some form) should not be allowed anywhere near this business. The author uses a maxim to emphasize the importance of responsibility in this trade: “That’s just inviting a fox into the henhouse.” This particular maxim implies neglect, carelessness, and irresponsibility. In relation to this editorial, this maxim explains that by inviting a previously convicted drug felon into the legal marijuana business, it would be incredibly easy for them to abuse the system in an even more simple outlet.
The op-ed piece, In-state tuition for all students, discusses the recent change of allowing illegal immigrants to be able to pay for in-state tuition. The children have to have graduated from a Colorado high school in order to receive the tuition rights. While these people are illegal immigrants, it is the right thing to treat them as state residents. The writer appeals to logos to support his claim. Society typically does not favor the mass population of illegal immigrants. The commonplace is not exactly agreeing with the writer. It is the right thing to do both morally and economically, but there are individuals who do not believe that immigrants getting in-state college tuition is fair to Coloradans themselves. The writer proves that Colorado is doing the right thing by taking immigrants under its wing. It will help the economy, even though it seems like we are losing money. It is up to the congress later to figure out whether or not these immigrants will have work once they graduate. Colorado is just helping young adults get an education. The writer uses an analogy by stating “it makes sense for Colorado to help those who want to help themselves.” This statement shows the compassion of the writer about the topic at hand. He truly believes in helping our society and that it starts here in Colorado.
ReplyDeleteAndrews: Why unions fear school reform written by John Andrews, talk about the reason why some teacher unions afraid of school reform. It introduces three undoubted facts. First, some people go to school for many years, however, their reading or math skills are not improved. Second, educational costs cannot be last, and public school in CO costs more than others in Utah and parochial schools. Nevertheless, their grades are much lower than other schools. Third, it is not far away form the better educational performance coupled with lower cost. Because people want to do more with less money, the national obsession with class-size reduction cannot be accept by whole people. Some people think that this reduces in class-size could improve the number of teachers. As a result teachers can earn more. While as a teacher what they need to do is teaching students skills of learning. Even if the number of teacher becomes bigger, there is no big deal with their income.
ReplyDelete“Johnson: It’s hard to move on if you’re stuck in line”. This article is talking about people need to get over anything that happened to your life. The author gave an example of his friend who has a wonderful family before, but one day everything was gone. His friend got disvoce, and lost her job. Therefore, she can only went to the food stamps to get food for her children and herself. However, she said “There is no way to argue it, and i know they are doing the best with what tehy have.” It can really shows that the author’s friend haven’t been stuck in line. This is a good example to support the author’s idea. I also think it is a good idea for our life. We cannot keep good thing last forever, so we have to face the bad situation when it comes. We have to move on, after we go through it, everything gonna be fine.
ReplyDeleteIn the editorial, “In-state tuition for all students” the issue of illegal immigrants and education in our country is addressed. The writer makes an argument that students who have graduated from Colorado high schools but are also illegal immigrants should be allowed to receive in-state tuition.
ReplyDeleteMajor Premise: Individuals who have received a higher education are more productive and involved in society and the economy.
Minor Premise: Many illegal immigrants are not able to afford a higher education.
Conclusion: Illegal immigrants who have graduated high school in Colorado should receive in-state tuition to become productive members of society.
Although most American’s views about illegal immigrants are negative, the writer argues that children should not be held responsible if they illegally entered the country at a young age with their parents. The writer argues that these children should instead be allowed to continue with their education. Once they have graduated a Colorado high school, they will be able to receive in-state tuition, which will allow them to attend college. By making funds available for college, these students have the opportunity to positively contribute to our economy by receiving a higher education. Without this opportunity, it would be extremely difficult for these students to attain jobs that allow for success and possible promotions.
For my editorial piece, I chose to read and write about the State Capitol building and its signature dome, which is falling apart. Dating back to 2007 when a 10 pound piece of the dome fell onto a public sidewalk, local and state officials have been campaigning to have the dome repaired rather than destroyed. The building itself is one of the most recognized and well-known pieces of Colorado and destroying it would be to alter Colorado’s image. From the outside the dome looks fine, but that is only because you cannot get close enough to view it in detail. Few would know about the issue if such a large piece had fallen off. Since it is such an important part of Colorado, one would assume that they would fix it no questions asked? Sadly, that is not the case. With such a tight budget, and the economic downturn, the state historical foundation only offers 4 million dollars to replace the dome. There are other projects that need funding allotting only 4 out of the needed 12 million dollars to repair the dome coming from state funds. State officials look at it as a challenge to raise so much money, but they also say that if each Coloradan were to donate one dollar, that would cover a large part of the bill. Also, through fundraisers, private donation, and corporations, anything is possible. It is important to raise money for the dome and try to preserve a vital piece of Colorado history.
ReplyDeleteI chose to write about front range gas prices raising dramatically. People are gong to start having to pay more for unleaded fuel. These prices are starting to raise over 3 dollars a gallon, which is hardly believable. These gas prices are raising along with oil prices. By the springtime, gas prices are supposed to be over 3 dollars a gallon, but with oil costing 90 dollars a barrel, we may see these prices change even fast then we thought. The price of oil is the determining factor of what happens with these gas prices. Should oil prices be raised to 100 dollars a barrel, then gas will be $3.50, if it lowers to 85 dollars, than the gas prices will return to around 3 dollars. Gas consumers say that between 2 and 3 dollars is reasonable, but once it hits that over 3 dollar mark, things start to change and it will eventually become a problem for transportation. Gasoline prices have dropped since 2008, which was a year that will go down in history as some of the most expensive gas prices to date. Honestly, a port of me wishes it hits 4 and 5 dollars again, it will be good for the environment, the air will be a lot cleaner.
ReplyDeleteI picked an article on less garbage at Colorado landfills can be good and bad. The major premise is that the landfills look like they are going to last at least 20 more years. The minor premise is that the economy is at a low point and this is the reason why the landfills are not as busy. It creates a cycle of money loss. There is less garbage going into Colorado’s landfills but it is also cutting into the revenue stream that allows the landfill to keep running. The author in my article is stating the good and the bad of the situation. He is saying that it is good there is reduced garbage but it is also affecting the revenue that is coming in.
ReplyDeleteIn the editorial piece, "Hickenlooper making the right call on cellphone use," brings up the issue on government transparency. Hickenlooper has decided to make his cellphone records available to the public. The previous governor, Gov. Bill Ritter contained more state government secrecy. He had his personal cell phone and state-issued cell phone. Ritter would only use his personal cell phone for both business and personal calls, which made it hard for phone records to be found. Now that Hickenlooper is the new governor, he is making sure that his state issued cell phone will be available to the public. His personal cell phone will be observed to make sure he is not hiding anything. The main argument in this editorial is how the public was very upset with Ritters lack of government transparency through cellphone use. The editor then creates a commonplace by saying that Hickenlooper will be doing the opposite as a governor. This creates a distinctiveness between the two governors with two different views on the argument. The editorial is very easily read, it begins with the issue then quickly explains how the issue will be resolved. The argument is stated right away and the resolution follows. The rest of the editorial compares Ritter and Hickenlooper; Hickenlooper as the positive and Ritter as the negative governor. The examples of how Hickenlooper will have his cellphone records available and his reasoning, adds to the positives in Governor Hickenlooper.
ReplyDeleteThe article that I chose is by Daniel Brigham. It is about the change in snow shoveling laws in Boulder. Previously residents had until noon the next day to shovel their walks and drives but now they have a whole twenty four hours after the storm to clear walks and drives. The author’s main claim is about the fact that people should shovel their walks to be a good neighbor and that you don’t shovel for yourself but for those that live around you. He said that the longer amount of time weakens the already weak connections between neighbors. The major premise of this article is about the loss of neighbors. The minor premise is about snow shoveling. There are two main groups in this argument: the major players and the slackers. These are some commonplaces in this argument because all neighborhoods have those people who shovel their walk immediately and those that don’t do it at all and just wait for the snow to melt.
ReplyDeleteThe main claim the author of the editorial “Message is clear: No link between autism, vaccine” is that “Using a measure of skepticism is natural and healthy when dealing with medical studies” (Denver Post). The idea in this case is that these vaccines have been made and have been proven to work. That’s why they are so prevailing in what they were designed for. When someone proposes a new idea about an existing vaccine that has been in use for years and years, take what they say with a pinch of salt. One maxim that the author integrates is that “parents don’t want to harm their children”. I found this effective, because I cannot think of one parent who would want to endanger their offspring. In our society, I believe that is a prevailing ideal. The author uses that maxim to move towards his argument: “The last thing a parent would want to do is make their child sick. So we understand it is often agonizing for parents to wrestle with the stream of conflicting medical information out there, especially when it comes to a largely unexplained ailment like autism” (Denver Post).
ReplyDelete