Brief Assignment 4

Objective: To demonstrate your ability to analyze the effectiveness of support in an argument.

Description: In a 300-500 word essay, answer one of the following prompts:

o Describe and give examples of the different types of evidence James Baldwin marshals in support of his argument in “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What is?” (339 – 342). Comment on how convincing you find his argument for recognizing black English as a language.
o How successful is Jonathon Kozol in building his argument about the costs of illiteracy in “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” (383-90)? What specific characteristics of the essay contribute to your evaluation? Be sure to explain fully what types of evidence Kozol uses.
o Martin Alexander’s thesis (556-63) is “that current analytical methods, because they measure total and not bioavailable concentrations, may overestimate the magnitude of the environmental and societal problem from these pollutants.” How does this thesis fit with the research he summarizes in his essay? Relying on Alexander’s summary of the research, count up the number of studies he cites for two topics: the bioavailability of aging chemicals and the effectiveness of analytical procedures. Compare your counts with Alexander’s thesis, and evaluate Alexander’s focus. Does all the research he cites support his thesis? If so, how does it do so? If not, what would you eliminate?

I recommend that you focus on one of the first two choices for this assignment. You can do the third if it interests you, however.