9/13/11 A First Look at the Structure of Arguments

Exercise 1.1 (p. 16) Schwarzenegger
1. This essay's thesis is that Congress should develop an immigration policy that improves our security but is also merciful to immigrants.
2. The three arguments Schwarzenegger presents as evidence are the ineffectiveness of state/citizen border patrol and need for federal involvement, the need for and benefits of an immigrants' worker program, and the humanity of immigrants.
3. The opposing argument is that improving border control would require severe, costly, and in some cases impossible actions. Schwarzenegger refutes this by saying those things are unnecessary and that federal actions, especially that of a worker program, would get the job done.
4. The essay's concluding statement is that Congress should solve the problem by heightening border control and showing sympathy to the immigrant people.

Article 1: In Praise of Tap Water
1. The editorial's thesis is that Americans need to start drinking tap water and stop buying bottled water.
2. The arguments the writer uses in paragraphs 1-3 to support the thesis include that American water is high enough quality, drinking tap water would save a lot of money, and water bottles are bad for the environment due to the natural resources used to produce and transport them and a lack of recycling the bottles.
3. The editorial's concluding statement is that if Americans switch out bottled water for tap water, they will save money and help save the planet.
4. I do not think the writer considers enough opposing arguments. A few others I can think of are: the convenience of bottled water, the water waste that would result from the washing of more permanent containers, the jobs that would be lost if the bottled water industry collapsed, and the probable rise in tap water prices if demand rose and there were not as many companies to compete as in the bottled water industry.
5. Paragraph 5 is a leeway from the evidence into the concluding statement, and provides a sort of ethos; using the example of what the mayor has done encourages following.