1.
CheckPoint Part 1: Argument Credibility
- Due Date: Day 2 [Individual forum]
- Find a link to an online
video or print news story from your favorite online news source. Your
choice of source may range from a major news network to a small opinion
magazine, and should not include YouTube or Google Video. Select a story
in which claims are made and note the story title and source name. Note: If you cannot obtain a
direct link to a video, write a summary of the video’s key points and
provide a link to the Web site where you found the clip.
- Answer the following questions in a 100- to 200-word
response:
o
What claims are
being made?
a.
PAH’s, or
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, exposure is found to link to lower IQ’s in
children.
o
Do the claims conflict
with your personal observations?
a.
I have no
personal observations on the subject but do find the claim easy to believe.
o
What background
information do you have about the claims?
a.
None.
o
What is the
expertise of the author, if any?
a. Claudia Wallis has a
degree in philosophy, and has been a writer for over 30 years for TIME
magazine, some of which as a medical writer.
o
Is the author
biased and untrustworthy, or unbiased and trustworthy?
a.
My opinion is she
is an unbiased and trustworthy writer.
- Post your response and the link to your online
source.
I found an interesting article at TIME
magazine called “Study Links Exposure to Pollution
with Lower IQ” by Claudia Wallis. Claudia
Wallis is the editor-at-large of the TIME magazine. She has a degree in philosophy and has been a
writer for TIME magazine since 1979, some of which was as a medical writer. The article is located Health and Science
section of time.com, at http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1912197,00.html
. The article claims that exposure to PAH’s,
or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, is found to link to lower IQ’s in
children. Wallis cites a few studies as
references to her information. She
particularly quotes the lead author of one study, Frederica Perera, who is a
director of Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health.
Since I have
no formal expertise or knowledge in this area, and neither does the author, and
with no references quoted on the article page it is hard to determine if the
author is trustworthy or not. Wallis’
tone and word usage suggests she is unbiased and her long-term assignment with
the paper suggest she can be a trustworthy news source.
Referenced from “Study
Links Exposure to Pollution with Lower IQ” by Claudia Wallis at http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1912197,00.html
No comments:
Post a Comment