Arguments -- Young




Arguments and Explanations

Jon Young

For each of the passages below, indicate if it is an argument, explanation, report or description, or expression of emotion.

  1. Anthony must be rich. He drives a Mercedes-Benz, wears a Rolex watch, and owns three houses.
  2. Your answer:Description or reportArgumentExplanationExpression of emotion

  3. Of course, Anthony is rich. His father owns half the real-estate in town and his mother inherited several million from a rich uncle.
  4. Your answer:Expression of emotionDescription or reportArgumentExplanation

  5. The submarine sat lifeless on the bottom of the sea with a large hole in one side. It took more than a week for anyone to open up the hatch. There were no survivors.
  6. Your answer:ArgumentReport or descriptionExpression of emotionExplanation

  7. Frozen yogurt has fewer calories than ice cream. That's because it has less cream and less fat.
  8. Your answer:ExplanationExpression of emotionArgumentReport or description

  9. You should eat frozen yogurt if you want a healthy dessert. It has much fewer calories and fat than ice cream.
  10. Your answer:Expression of emotionArgumentReport or descriptionExplanation

  11. Fayetteville, North Carolina is a great place to live. It has three colleges, a good climate, and is located near the ocean and the mountains.
  12. Your answer:ExplanationExpression of emotionArgumentDescription or report

  13. Fayetteville is the fourth largest city in North Carolina. The city is the home of three colleges. It is located near the beaches and the mountains.
  14. Your answer:ArgumentExpression of emotionExplanationReport or description

  15. "The Green Mile" was a movie about a man wrongfully convicted of murder who had the power to heal people from illnesses and even bring a dead mouse back to life. The movie ended sadly, however, when the man was executed.
  16. Your answer:Description or reportArgumentExplanationExpression of emotion

  17. "The Green Mile" was the best movie I've ever seen in my life!
  18. Your answer:Report or descriptionExpression of emotionExplanationArgument

  19. The Green Mile was a great movie. It had an interesting plot that kept my attention. The acting was great, and it really made me think.
  20. Your answer:ArgumentExplanationReport or descriptionExpressioni of emotion

  21. You've been drinking too much coffee at night. That's why you've been unable to sleep.
  22. Your answer:Expression of emotionArgumentExplanationReport or description

  23. It can't be the coffee that's keeping me awake. I only drink decaffeinated coffee.
  24. Your answer:ArgumentExplanationExpression of emotionReport or description

  25. Students should attend class regularly and punctually. Our research shows that there is a director correlation between good grades and regular class attendance.
  26. Your answer:Expression of emotionExplanationReport or descriptionArgument

  27. And here comes the question of whether it is better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loved. It might be answered that we should wish to be both; but since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved. For of men it may generally be affirmed that they are thankless, fickle, false, studious to avoid danger, greedy of gain, devoted to you while you confer benefits upon them, and ready, while the need is remote, to shed their blood, and sacrifice their property, their lives, and their children for you. But, when danger comes near they turn against you. The Prince who builds wholly on their professions of support will be undone. From Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince.
  28. Your answer:Report or descriptionArgumentExplanationExpression of emotion

  29. Paul Kennedy's The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers has had a remarkable impact in the United States since its publication late last year. It has been widely and almost universally favorably reviewed. Its arguments have been discussed in editorials and opinion columns. One major national magazine ran excerpts as its cover story, while another called it the "book of the year."
  30. Your answer:Expression of emotionExplanationReport or descriptionArgument

  31. Television has had a disastrous impact on children. It appears to be shortening the attention span of the young. It also seems to be eroding their linguistic powers and ability to handle mathematical symbolism. Television also caused them to be increasingly impatient with deferred gratification. Even more serious, televion is opening all of society's secrets and taboos, thus erasing the dividing line between childhood and adulthood....
  32. Your answer:Report or descriptionExpression of emotionArgumentExplanation

  33. In one half of all traffic deaths in the United States, the driver has been drinking. One third of pedestrians struck and killed by cars were drunk. Driving while intoxicated, or DWI, is illegal in every state. In most states, it is illegal to drive a car if the Blood Alcohol Content is 0.1 percent or greater. In most states, it is illegal to drink alcohol while driving. In some, it is against the law to have an open container of any alcoholic drink inthe car.
  34. Your answer:ExplanationReport or descriptionExpression of emotionArgument

  35. The man was driving while intoxicated and at a speed of 100 mph. That what caused the accident.
  36. Your answer:Report or descriptionArgumentExpression of emotionExplanation

  37. Studies show that even one drink harms vision and reactions. A driver with a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of 0.05 percent, even though he or she is within the legal limit, is twice as likely to have an accident as a nondrinking dirver. A BAC of 0.1percent increasees the risk of being in an accident by seven times. At BAC 0.15, the risk is ten times greater. You should never drink and drive.
  38. Your answer:ArgumentExpression of emotionExplanationReport or description

  39. We must resist all effort to allow the government to censor entertainment. Freedom of speech and expressions are essential to a democratic form of government. As soon as we allow some censorship, it won't be long before censorship will be used to silence the opinions critical of the government. The next thing we know, we will have no more freedom than the Germans did under Hitler.
  40. Your answer:ExplanationArgumentReport or descriptionExpression of emotion