Book Work

Exercise 2.8

"According to Gerard Jones, violent media can actaully have positive effects on young people because" it exposes them to the real world so that they can learn to make their own decisions and understand that not all people can be trusted. "Jones also believes that violent media are a positive influence on children beacause" it allows them to become opinionated and powerful. "Jones makes some good points. For example, he says that" violent media assists children by helping them improve their own self-knowledge. He aslso stats that violent media helps children to feel and experience rage in their own way. Violent media also helps children learn to feel impowered and develop a sense of self, according to Jones. "However," many people believe violent media causes a lot of added violence in today's society. "All in all," I believe violent media is something we must accept as a part of culture that helps children gain an understanding of the real world.

Practical Argument: A Text and Anthology by Laurie G Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell (Page 51)

Exercise 12.1

1.) Refering to tanktops as "wife-beaters" is an issue because "wife-beaters" are people who abuse women, not something you wear around to look good.

2.) Defining the word "wife-beater" is a problem because it has many different origins of where the name began. Another problem is that because it relates to violence it provides unstable messages to people who wear them.

3.) The author includes the definition to ensure that there is a clear understanding of what is being stated. In order to have an argument, it must be clear what the argument is focussing on. By listing the different definitions, the author shows that a "wife-beater" is used to discribe a violent act and also a fashion statement.

4.) Many opposing arguments state that the term "wife-beater" is not used in relation with spousal abuse, but as an article of popculture. The author refutes this statement by claiming that it is not the term that bothers her but the poor signal that it sends to men.

5.) I do not think that a picture of a man wearing a wife-beater would strengthen her argument because in the picture, the man is simply wearing the article of clothing and is causing no harm to anyone while wearing it.

Practical Argument: A Text and Anthology by Laurie G Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell (Page 324)