Hello,

I need two responses of at least 150 words each for the below students discussions for this week. Also in the bold below are the questions the students at answering.

Please note that this forum has several parts, so read these instructions carefully.

First, choose one (1) of the essays from the “Issues Facing the International Community” listed in the “Supplemental Readings” section of the course lessons. Then, let the reader know why you chose this particular essay. Does this essay discuss an issue that is facing you currently? Next, discuss whether or not your essay is peer-reviewed. How do you know? State the claim of the essay. Then, discuss how the author proves this claim. Is the author using the Toulmin method? Use complete sentences, give citations to back up your points, and create a final works cited citation for this essay.

After completing the first section, consider the following. During week five, you are creating an argument using the Toulmin model. Have you used this style of argumentation before in your studies or career (either verbally or in past writing assignments/projects)? Will you use it in the future? Why or why not? Check out this amusing (ok, corny) video rap on the Toulmin in a nutshell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hu5MyF8GLc

The text of the video is also available if you click on CC at the bottom of the screen.

Finally, please revisit your first essay: The Critical Evaluation Essay. Take a look at the comments your instructor made to you about your essay. How will you incorporate your instructor’s feedback in your Toulmin essay, assigned this week? What improvements do you hope to make in the Toulmin essay?

In your response to your classmates, find a student who wrote about a different essay from the “Issues Facing the International Community” list, and comment on your classmate’s discussion of his/her chosen essay. Do you agree with his or her analysis of this essay? Why? The why is key – please post a rich response to your classmate. You may also respond to your classmate’s discussion of the Toulmin argumentation model.

Student one:

Hello classmates,

This week I chose to write my forum of the article entitled “The Veil of Ignorance” by Leila Ahmed. I believe the claim of this essay is the author coming to realization that what she once saw as a form of oppression has now become a symbol of empowerment. The author first speaks about how when she was younger she’d read an article by an Oxford historian that read, “The trend to unveil, Hourani wrote, had begun in Egypt in the early 20rh century, set in motion by the writer Qasim Amin. Amin had argued that “gradual and careful change in the status of women,” including women’s casting off their veils, was now an essential step in the advancement of Muslim societies – and “not contrary to the principles of Islam.” (par. 2) This is what Ahmed states that she also believed. Later in the article Ahmed admits that after speaking with Muslim women and seeing the movement toward an increased wear of the hijab that she no longer feels this way. She states, “Where I once saw the veil as a symbol of intolerance, I now understand that for many women, it is a badge of individuality and justice.” ( par. 5) After seeing both sides of what Ahmed has believed her claim becomes even more evident. That being that the hijab is not something she should fear. I do believe that the she uses the Toulmin method to some extent, but not extremely closely.

I have never purposefully used the Toulmin method. This method is one of those things that you may have been loosely doing throughout the years and never had a name for, then you find out someone has named it haha. Also I believe I will use this method in the future, I enjoy learning new formats of writing so that when I am writing and I have the freedom of choosing the format I can just go into my nifty toolkit of “formats i’ve learned in ENG102” and pick the most appropriate one for that topic.

In my improvements for my next essay I hope, and plan to avoid making mistakes such as improper grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Works Cited

Ahmed, Leila. “VEIL OF IGNORANCE.” Foreign Policy May 2011: 40,43,10. ProQuest. Web. 5 June 2019 . https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/docview/867919448?accountid=8289

– Chan

Student two:

Good afternoon everyone,

For this weeks discussion, I have chosen to cover the essay titled “The Great Climate Experiment” by Ken Caldeira. I chose this essay because in todays world climate change is the single biggest threat to every single inhabitant of our planet. For that reason, I believe everyone should have a baseline knowledge on the topic. This article is in fact not peer reviewed. Finding out is really as simple as a few clicks of the mouse. For the EBSCOhost database, all you have to do is click on the journal in the sources. From there you will be sent to a list of information about the journal you are sourcing. There is one piece of information that says “Peer reviewed” and for this specific journal, it says no.

I believe the author is claim is stated when he says, “carbon dioxide dumped into the atmosphere today will affect Earth hundreds of thousands of years hence.” (Caldeira) early on in his essay. He then goes on to list examples of how climate change is affecting, and will affect the planet. Although he does not back this information with statistics, he is a climate scientist that works Carnegie Institution for Science’s Department of Global Ecology at Stanford University, so there is credibility to his work. In this essay, he does not use the Toulmin method. He does not provide any opposition to his claim, therefor not leaving it open for debate. (Which in my opinion is a good thing when it comes to climate change)

As for myself and the Toulmin method, I have used it before. Albeit a decade or so ago when I was in high school. I do believe it is a valuable method to understand and utilize in certain situations, as it can help one to find the holes in their own claims.

I have reviewed the notes from my first paper and will definitely pay more attention to my MLA formatting moving forward!

Works Cited

Caldeira, Ken. “The Great Climate Experiment.” Scientific American, vol. 307, no. 3, Sept. 2012, pp. 78–83. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0912-78.

-Grant