An AnnoTATEd sTudEnT ARgumEnT 71available only to those with $359 to spare and a credit card for
further purchases.
If libraries will indeed become cities, then we need to
carefully begin to lay the foundations, book on top of book on
top of book, and we are going to have to ensure that we have
enough manpower to do it.Camp 410His concluding claim falls
just short of making a
proposal — but he does
suggest that those in
positions of power must
ensure the proliferation
of books.Steps to Analyzing an Argument■^1 identify the type of claim.^ Is it a claim of fact? Value? Policy?
■^2 analyze the reasons used to support the claim. Are they recent?
Relevant? Reliable? Accurate?
■^3 identify concessions. Is there another argument that even the
author acknowledges is legitimate?
■^4 identify counterarguments. What arguments contradict or
challenge the author’s position?A Practice sequence: Analyzing an ArgumentUse the criteria in the “Steps to Analyzing an Argument” box to ana-
lyze the following blog post by Susan D. Blum. What types of claim
does she advance? What seems to be her main claim? Do you find her
reasons recent, relevant, reliable, and accurate? What sort of conces-
sions does she make? What counterarguments would you raise?The United states of (non)reading:
The end of Civilization or a new era?Susan D. Blum is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Notre
Dame, whose wide areas of professional interest and expertise include
Asian Studies and education. She has written or edited many publica-
tions, including Portraits of “Primitives”: Ordering Human Kinds in the
Chinese Nation ( 2001 ), My Word! Plagiarism and College Culture (2009),
and Making Sense of Language: Readings in Culture and Communication
(2009; 2013). She also writes the Learning versus Schooling blog for the
Huffington Post, where this essay was posted on October 8, 2013.sUsan d. BLUM■ ■ ■03_GRE_5344_Ch3_055_079.indd 71 11/19/14 11:06 AM