Evidence Study Aid

Part 1

Identify the source of the evidence the speaker is using to support his/her claim:

1. Unfortunately, incompetence and poor planning has yet again taught Maryland students how the SGA is "working for us." The STAR Center's budget entailed about $10,000 for ink, paper and a staff that monitors the center the 25 hours per week it is open. The exam house exceeded this budget, running costs up to $13,000, which resulted in the mighty hand of the SGA authoritatively ruling, "You're fired."
   -- Cyrus Aghamolla, Diamondback, March 27, 2006



Primary	Secondary	Enthymatic	Direct



2. Perhaps most damning to the U.S. image (besides the brutal torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib) is the recent report issued by Amnesty International. The report found the United States and its allies are holding 14,000 Iraqis in prisons, the majority without any charges or trials.
   -- Shane Dillingham & Rayyan Ghuma, Diamondback, March 27, 2006



Primary	Secondary	Enthymatic	Direct



3. Connect to the following cartoon



Primary	Secondary	Enthymatic	Direct



4. Perhaps more worrisome than what's not there, is that what is given is wrong or misleading. The sandwiches under the California Deli are hard to decipher. Let's look at the Los Angeles again — roast beef, lettuce, tomatoes and horseradish cream cheese on a tortilla. The sandwich claims to have 38 grams of carbohydrates. Okay, that's fine. But now, let's look at the information for that tortilla. It claims to have 44 grams of carbohydrates! Somehow, when you put food on the tortilla, it magically disposes of those nasty carbs. Now, you could imagine that maybe the sandwich is counted not including the bread. But, at the bottom of the page there's a note that says: “Nutritional information for sandwiches may vary depending on the type of bread used. The BLT, Cheese and PB&J sandwich information shown below assumes white bread is used. Other sandwiches listed are made from recipes calling for a specific bread type.” I don't know what went on here, but it's confusing as hell and wrong.
   -- Eric Josef Cahoon, Diamondback, March 27, 2006



Primary	Secondary	Enthymatic	Direct

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Part 2

For each of the following arguments

1. Identify the claim
2. Identify the source of the evidence
3. Apply the general tests of arguments
4. Identify the type of evidence offered
5. Apply the relevant test

• "Today the United States provides most of the business role models, from Starbucks to Procter & Gamble, from Apple to Cisco. The (British) Financial Times publishes an annual list of the world's most respected companies. In 2004 and again in 2005, no fewer than 12 of the top 15 slots were occupied by American firms."   Sebastian Mallaby, Washington Post, Monday, March 27, 2006; Page A15
• " Or consider the database on management quality constructed by Nick Bloom and John Van Reenen of Stanford University and the London School of Economics. This duo organized a survey of 732 medium-sized American and European companies and measured their management procedures against benchmarks of best practice. The result: American firms, including the subsidiaries of American firms in Europe, are simply better managed than European rivals. In fact, superior American management accounts for more than half of the productivity gap between American and European firms."  Sebastian Mallaby, Washington Post, Monday, March 27, 2006; Page A15
• "There are few basketball outcomes more unimaginable than Chaminade beating Virginia in Honolulu 24 years ago. Chaminade, back then, was an NAIA school. That's further away from big-time college sports than Division III. Chaminade was so small back then it shared a campus with a high school. Yet, one December night in 1982, the Silverswords beat Virginia of the mighty ACC, beat the undefeated and top-ranked Cavaliers, beat three-time player of the year Ralph Sampson."  Michael Wilbon, Washington Post, Monday, March 27, 2006; Page E01
• Connect to the following cartoon
• " There was so much more at stake here yesterday, which makes George Mason beating Connecticut the college basketball equivalent of Ali beating Sonny Liston, which changed the fight game as we came to know it." Michael Wilbon, Washington Post, Monday, March 27, 2006; Page E01

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