Based on part one and two explore in more detail and acknowledge the response.
Part One:
The statement, “Drunk drivers are involved in more than 50 percent of traffic deaths.” is a type of proof in the category Inartistic. Specifically, it is a statistic which is classified as hard evidence. Although it may seem like a number must be a truth, people can actually alter the way a statistic is used to better their perspective. Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz say, “…Numbers rarely speak for themselves. They need to be interpreted by writers – and writers almost always have agendas that shape the interpretations” (64). A statistic can be used as evidence, but it’s up to the writer to say how and what it explains or leads to.
Part Two:
The statement, “Make love, not war.” is a type of fallacy called an overly sentimental appeal. It requires using extremely sensitive emotions to distract readers from the whole situation. This statement uses this fallacy perfectly as the time of the slogan was during the Vietnam War, an emotional time period to live in. These fallacies are exceedingly effective, but “But while such human-interest stories stir genuine emotions, they seldom give a complete picture of complex social or economic issue” (80). Overly sentimental appeals are a tradeoff situation, as when using emotion, you sacrifice and lack all facts or details and come into the issue of oversimplifying the situation.
Works Cited:
Lunsford, Andrea A., and John J. Ruszkiewicz. Everything’s an Argument. 9th ed., Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2021.
