Two Critiques

There are many examples of strong argumentative writing in the second half of the book Everyday Arguments. Topics of writing examples include today’s college student, the internet, sports, earning your living, diet, and reading popular culture. Of the writings, two stood out as notable works to be critiqued; Who is a Teacher, and Thoughts on Facebook.
Critique of Who is a Teacher
In the article Who is a Teacher, the author made a factual claim about two correlated theories; that students are permitted too much influence over their instructors, and that influence affects female professors to a greater degree than their male counterparts. The article was written from the perspective of the author’s experience as a female professor at the University of Georgia as well as the accounts of her colleagues. The article listed numerous examples of inappropriate behavior, which would not be tolerated in many other circumstances.
The author, Celeste M. Condit, listed many of her personal experiences instead of statistics and research findings, which made the article easy for the reader to identify with , while remaining highly credible. Condit provided ample examples to justify her position, such as inappropriate nonverbal behaviors intended to establish dominance. Those nonverbal behaviors included male students putting arms around her shoulders and placing a hand on her knee. Condit (1996) points out, “I discovered that this mannerism was a routine way in which white Southern males exhibit their dominance over females” (Mayberry, 2009, p.252). In one incident, a male student chased a female professor down a hallway, yelling at her for a low grade. In yet another incident Condit was physically threatened by a student and required the ass...

... middle of paper ...

...hich a person could find himself in trouble.
I enjoyed this article because I agreed beforehand with the points that the author made. It was also important that the author began and ended the article with some of the positive points about using Facebook, so that a reader who might be a fan of the site does not regard the article as an attack on Facebook, but rather a guide to the safer use of social media.

References
Freeman, N. (2011). Credibility and the Professor: The Juxtaposition of Student Perceptions and Instructor Beliefs. Retrieved May 10, 2014 from http://centralspace.ucmo.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10768/13/NFreemanFINAL.pdf?sequence=1
Klein, B. (2012). Academic Source Credibility. Retrieved May 10, 2014 from http://www.comprofessor.com/2010/06/academic-source-credibility.html
Mayberry, K. (2009). Everyday Arguments. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.