Opposing Viewpoints Essay
Madison Martin
CORE 101-19
10/14/14
Opposing Viewpoints Essay
Everyone has their own opinion. The person sitting next to you can have an entirely different outlook on something you do. Having different opinions is what makes for interesting arguments. Especially an author and a critic… like Steven Johnson and Dana Stevens. In the article “Watching TV Makes You Smarter”, Steven Johnson believes that TV does make you smarter, while in her article “Thinking Outside the Idiot Box” Dana Stevens completely disagrees and critiques his article. The two have opposing views on the topic. Both these writers use different examples of ethos, pathos, and logos in their articles to back up their opinion and make for an interesting argument. In my opinion, Dana Stevens overall did a better job at using ethos, pathos, and logos to back up her argument. “From the vantage point of someone who watches a hell of a lot of TV (but still far less than the average American), the medium seems neither like a brain-liquefying poison nor a salutary tonic” (Stevens, 2012, p. 298). This quote is what Steven really tries to prove the whole article and back up with her arguments. Ethos has to do with credibility and trustworthiness. It is usually conveyed through the tone, and the writer’s reputation. This technique is used to make people seem credible and someone whom we respect. Dana Stevens uses ethos very well when trying to make her argument in “Thinking outside the idiot box.” Stevens starts off with informing the audience that she has a Ph.D in comparative literature from the University of California at Berkeley. If the author has earned her a Ph.D in comparative literature that gives her credibility because she has had to go through a lot of years of schooling and she has a lot of writing experience by now after getting a job in the field. “Dana Stevens is Slate’s movie critic and has also written for the New York Times, Bookforum, and the Atlantic” (Stevens, 2012, p. 295) is
CORE 101-19
10/14/14
Opposing Viewpoints Essay
Everyone has their own opinion. The person sitting next to you can have an entirely different outlook on something you do. Having different opinions is what makes for interesting arguments. Especially an author and a critic… like Steven Johnson and Dana Stevens. In the article “Watching TV Makes You Smarter”, Steven Johnson believes that TV does make you smarter, while in her article “Thinking Outside the Idiot Box” Dana Stevens completely disagrees and critiques his article. The two have opposing views on the topic. Both these writers use different examples of ethos, pathos, and logos in their articles to back up their opinion and make for an interesting argument. In my opinion, Dana Stevens overall did a better job at using ethos, pathos, and logos to back up her argument. “From the vantage point of someone who watches a hell of a lot of TV (but still far less than the average American), the medium seems neither like a brain-liquefying poison nor a salutary tonic” (Stevens, 2012, p. 298). This quote is what Steven really tries to prove the whole article and back up with her arguments. Ethos has to do with credibility and trustworthiness. It is usually conveyed through the tone, and the writer’s reputation. This technique is used to make people seem credible and someone whom we respect. Dana Stevens uses ethos very well when trying to make her argument in “Thinking outside the idiot box.” Stevens starts off with informing the audience that she has a Ph.D in comparative literature from the University of California at Berkeley. If the author has earned her a Ph.D in comparative literature that gives her credibility because she has had to go through a lot of years of schooling and she has a lot of writing experience by now after getting a job in the field. “Dana Stevens is Slate’s movie critic and has also written for the New York Times, Bookforum, and the Atlantic” (Stevens, 2012, p. 295) is