Yesterday I was listening to the radio while returning home
from classes, and there was a discussion going on about gun control. There was
a woman who called in and was giving her input about why there should be gun
control, while on the other hand the talk show host was arguing about how he
wants to keep his guns in his house.
What these speakers and authors do to make me agree with
them is that they bring up all the facts, and logically demonstrate why they’re
right. For example the talk show host spoke of the pros and cons of having gun
control; he brought up both sides of the argument but quickly brought the
listener to his side of the debate through reasoning, logic, and facts.
So, when I listen to or read opinion editorials or to
arguments in general, I like to examine their logic and see how much they know
about the subject. Just through the way people debate or argue, you can tell
who is more knowledgeable on the subject. When someone is more intelligent on
the matter, they can bring up more arguments and seem smarter just through
knowing more. You have the freedom to speak more when you know more on the
subject. (And that applies to more than just arguing, but for any type of
conversation.)
In conclusion, the writer or speaker needs to be
knowledgeable on their issue and back it up with reasoning, logic, and facts.
They need to be firm on their stance, and act as if it’s the only logical
solution to the matter. When they do this, they are more agreeable and more
likely to have more supporters.
I'm pretty similar to you in that I prefer facts over emotional tug. The one thing I have noticed though, is that no facts are 100% free of spin. Whenever someone presents numbers, they a are at risk of putting them out of context and twisting facts. So numbers and logic can be very truth based, but also very deceptive.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your response. I like how you used the radio example to illustrate a situation where someone made an argument that was persuasive to you. Your example also did a great job of showing a context outside of essay writing where people use logical arguments.
ReplyDeleteI love the point Matt brought up! Facts are facts, but analysts word statistics in a way that let us associate it with something different than what they actually measured. We must also take into account what researchers used as an operational definition.
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