An Argumentative Essay.
Now here is an example of an argumentative essay.
THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF LIVING IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
The advantages of living in the
twentieth century are clear to anyone who spends time in one of the
world's highly developed nations. The disadvantages of modern life,
however, are sometimes not so quickly seen.
Consider the average man
today in contrast with man 200 years ago. Without doubt, man's life has
been eased considerably. Machines now perform for him many of the
services that he previously had to do for himself. They cut his grass,
wash his car, open and close his doors, walk for him, climb stairs for
him, serve him coffee, and both put him to sleep and wake him up to
music. In two major areas — transportation and communications — great
progress has been made. Mass publishing practices have spread
newspapers, magazines, and paperback books around the globe. Relayed
across oceans by Telstar satellites, television informs and entertains
people in every hemisphere. Mail moves swiftly and efficiently;
telephone cables connect all continents. More than any other single
Invention, the gasoline engine has revolutionized modern life. City
streets, clogged with automobile traffic tell us that. More recent
discoveries have led to the surge of jet and supersonic plane travel.
Even as man darts throughout the world, he is protected from disease as
no man before him has been, and he can look forward to living a longer
life than his grandfather did. Furthermore, man now commands a more
plentiful supply of the world's goods. He may own not only a car and a
home but also a stove, a refrigerator, a washing machine, books,
phonograph records and cameras.
Even his old age is better provided for
through pension and retirement plans offered by the government and by
industry. Thus the advantages of living In the twentieth century are
many.
In contrast, one finds that progress can
also have its drawbacks. It is true that today man moves more swiftly
through the world. But in doing so, he often loses track of the roots
and traditions that give substance and meaning to life. Nor does the
fact that he is better informed through television, radio, newspapers,
and books necessarily mean that he is wiser than men of earlier
generations. Instead, the ease with which the written and spoken word
are produced today sometimes seems to lead to superficiality of thought.
Although man has been given the gift of leisure and a longer life, he
has become more restless and is often uncomfortable when he is not
working. Flooded with goods and gadgets, he finds his appetite for
material things increased, not satisfied. Man invented machines to
replace his servants. But some current observers feel that man is in
danger of becoming the servant of his machines. Mass production lowered
the cost of many products, but as prices went down, quality also often
decreased. Another distressing aspect of modem life is its
depersonalization. In many offices, automation is beginning to replace
human workers. Some colleges identify students not by their names, but
by their IBM numbers. Computers are winning the prestige that
philosophers had in an earlier age. The frenzied pace in many cities is
another of the less attractive by-products of an industrial society.
Soon, man may even fall victim to the subtle loss of privacy that
threatens him.
Even today, he can be watched on closed circuit
television screens as he walks in stores and hotels. He may be tracked
by radar while driving on the highway or listened to by means of a
microphone concealed in his heating system. He might even be sharing
his telephone conversation with an unknown auditor. Certainly many
problems face men living in the most technologically advanced era in
history. As old enemies have been overcome, new enemies come into view,
just like the old ones.
Yet if modern man remains the master of his own
fate, he can still fashion a satisfying life in this fast-moving
century.
(from American English Rhetoric by Robert G. Bander)
COMMENTS
The model essay provides another example
of development by analysis, that is, by breaking down the
subject-matter into separate points and arranging these points in a
suitable order.
The structure of the model essay has,
however, one peculiarity which we have not discussed so far. The essay
consists of two contrasting sections, the first dealing with the
advantages of living in the 20th century, the second mainly discussing
its disadvantages. This method of organizing the subject-matter is
generally known as analytical development by contrast.
The main problem which arises when you
organize your pros and cons in separate sections is that in the second
part you will have to remind your readers occasionally of the items
contained in the first part. There are a number of such references in
the model essay: "It is true that today man moves more swiftly through
the world"; "Nor does the fact that he is better informed ...";
"Although man has been given the gift of leisure and a longer life . .
.", etc. If you remove these references, you will see at once why they
are necessary: they establish a firm connection between the contents of
the two parts of the essay, and, moreover, help the author to put his
arguments more forcefully.
Another way of organizing similar
material would be by contrasting pairs, instead of sections, throughout
the composition. Here, for example, is a short extract from Anthony
Trol-lope's essay in which he discusses some differences he has
observed between Americans and Englishmen:
"The American, though he dresses like an
Englishman, and eats roast beef with a silver fork — or sometimes with a
steel knife — as does an Englishman, is not like an Englishman in his
mind, in his aspirations, in his tastes, or in his politics. In his mind
he is quicker, more universally intelligent, more ambitious of general
knowledge, less indulgent of stupidity and ignorance in others, harder,
sharper, brighter with the surface brightness of steel, than is an
Englishman; but he is more brittle, less enduring, less malleable, and I
think less capable of impressions. The mind of the Englishman has more
imagination, but that of the American more incision. The American is a
great observer, but he observes things material rather than things
social or picturesque. He is a constant and ready speculator, but all
speculations, even which come of philosophy, are with him more or less
material ..."
(The Englishman and the American by Anthony Trollope)
Note that Trollope's opening sentence
not only indicates how the work will be organized, but also tells you on
what issues the Americans and the English will be contrasted: their
minds, their aspirations, their tastes, and their politics.
Both methods of analytical
development by contrast may be successfully used in dealing with a wide
range of subjects, for example, in characterizing a person, in
describing an abstract concept, an unfamiliar object or situation. Of
all the means of development, development by contrast is one of the most
forceful.
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