To Be or Not to Be

Please eliminate as many "be" verbs as possible from the following passage:

After many attempts to “revive” downtown Greensboro, it finally appears to be happening. Streets that were once empty after dark are now bustling with activity – or at least they are showing signs of life. There are now clubs and bars lining Elm Street and the surrounding area, and they are full of twenty- and thirty- somethings. A slightly older crowd has been lured downtown by new art galleries, and live performances are now offered at two theaters. There are a few fine restaurants that have before- and after-theater specials. There is also a new park in the middle of town that has live concerts on a regular basis. Some lunch- hour performances are held there, and many downtown workers have been attracted to them. Young families are also discovering downtown, thanks in large part to the Children’s Museum that has been open for a few years and the baseball stadium, which is brand new and which has a playground that is loved by kids.

Non sequitur

Click the area where it says "Click here to play" (in the center) and fast forward to about 12:40 ish to see the use of non sequitur in a How I Met Your Mother episode.

http://watchseries.eu/open/cale/499970/idepisod/7158.html

Vocabulary, Week 5 and TASS

First, complete the exercises for Sentence Pattern 8 in The Art of Styling Sentences. Then, answer the following prompt. You must use Sentence Pattern 8 at least once, and you must use at least three vocabulary words from Week 5. (We will go over the answers in class.)

Prompt: Write a letter to mom or dad (or both) attempting to persuade them to grant you permission for something you really want or something you really want to do.

Don't Toy with My Emotions!

Please read the following explanation of the difference between a logical and a fallacious appeal to emotion. Then, in a comment, give me an example of a logical use of emotional appeal and a fallacious use of emotional appeal, either an example from something you've read or observed or an example you've created.

"An appeal to emotion is a type of argument which attempts to arouse the emotions of its audience in order to gain acceptance of its conclusion. Despite the example of Mr. Spock from the original Star Trek television series, emotion is not always out of place in logical thinking. However, there is no doubt that strong emotions can subvert rational thought, and playing upon emotions in an argument is often fallacious.

When are appeals to emotion appropriate, and when are they fallacious? No student would attempt to prove a mathematical theorem by playing upon the teacher's sympathy for the long hours of hard work put into it. Such an appeal would be obviously irrelevant, since either the proof is correct or it is flawed, despite the student's best efforts. In contrast, if the teacher attempts to motivate the student to work on proving the theorem by invoking the specter of a failing grade, this appeal to fear is not irrelevant.

So, one distinction between relevant and fallacious appeals to emotion is based on the distinction between arguments which aim to motivate us to action, and those which are intended to convince us to believe something. Appeals to emotion are always fallacious when intended to influence our beliefs, but they are sometimes reasonable when they aim to motivate us to act. The fact that we desire something to be true gives not the slightest reason to believe it, and the fact that we fear something being true is no reason to think it false; but the desire for something is often a good reason to pursue it, and fear of something else a good reason to flee."

I Heart Dashes!

(No, really, I do. In all types of writing--essays, emails, and blog posts--I tend to use them often.)

Please complete the exercises for Pattern 6 and Pattern 7 in The Art of Styling Sentences (TASS) on pages 33-34 and page 37. Then respond to the following prompt in a comment. You must use at least one of the patterns in your response (but I'd prefer two).

Prompt: What are your biggest pet peeves about members of the opposite gender? About your own gender?

James Patterson

I found the following passage in a New York Times article about James Patterson:

"As long as there has been mass-market fiction, it has had its detractors. In the late Victorian era, the English poet and cultural critic Matthew Arnold denounced “the tawdry novels which flare in the bookshelves of our railway stations, and which seem designed . . . for people with a low standard of life.” Yet even within the maligned genre, Patterson has some especially nasty critics. The Washington Post’s thriller reviewer, Patrick Anderson, called “Kiss the Girls” “sick, sexist, sadistic and subliterate.” Stephen King has described Patterson as “a terrible writer.”

First, react to the paragraph. Do you agree or disagree with Anderson and King's critique of Patterson? Why? Secondly, tell me whether the following argument is valid and sound (remember, an argument can be valid without being sound, or invalid and unsound, or valid and sound):

1. James Patterson is one of the best-selling authors of all time.
2. Best-selling authors write high-quality books.
3. Therefore, James Patterson is a high-quality writer.

Responsibility

Blackshear's Ferryman

Based on your reading of "Argument and Persuasion," the seminar discussion, and your own core belief system, how would you define the following:

1. personal responsibility?
2. moral responsibility?
3. collective responsibility?

The Golden Mean Triangle

Read the text for Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, which you can find at the following link:

MLK's "I Have a Dream" Speech

Then, in a comment, explain where you would plot this speech on the Golden Mean Triangle. Give specific examples of where Dr. King uses the intellectual, the emotional, and the material (specific or concrete). Does he lean toward one of these more than the other? Etc.