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I chose a got milk? advertisement featuring Meredith Vieira, a news anchor from National Broadcasting Company's (NBC) Today Show.

Some of the words on the advertisement may be fuzzy to read so I put the words down below:

Top Right Corner:
Recent studies suggest that including 24 ounces of lowfat or fat free milk a day in a reduced calorie diet may help you turn more fat and lose more weight than cutting calories alone.

Bottom Left-Middle:

"Something to watch."

"Your weight, that is. Between taping a live show and keeping an eye on my kids, it’s hard to find time to do anything else. But I always make time for milk. So drink to your health. And to your waistline."

Print Below American Heart Association line:

Products displaying the heart-check mark meet American Heart Association food criteria for saturated fat and cholesterol for healthy people over age 2.

The American Heart Association's "mission is to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke." The American Heart Association is a very well-known and knowledgeable source when it comes to maintaining a healthy heart. One of the main reasons I accept the claim that drinking milk will contribute to a healthy heart is that the association is a "reputable authority" in which I can trust "as an expert on this kind of claim and who has no motive to mislead." (Epstein 87).

Also, based on personal experiences, drinking milk has made me feel livelier and helps maintain my weight. The only part of this advertisement that I found vague, was the excerpt "Recent studies suggest that including 24 ounces of lowfat or fat free milk a day in a reduced calorie diet may help you turn more fat and lose more weight than cutting calories alone." I am not sure where the recent studies originated from, but according to the American Heart Association recognizing that milk as meeting their food criteria, they could be a plausible source for making such a study.

Epstein Concept: Information Through Personal Experience

As I was reading the Personal Section of B. Criteria for Accepting or Rejecting Claims, I agreed on how "our most reliable source of information about the world is our own experience." Most of the decisions that I make and my friend's make are based on what we hear from our peers, teachers, the teachings of any religions we believe in, the news, media, and/or books. These experiences and sources is ultimately how I decided whether I should accept or reject a claim. However, I also agree with the fact that the experiences I encounter can sometimes end up being blurry in detail and too vague to come up with a verdict of agreement or rejection for a claim. In these cases, I would suspend a judgment.

Here are some examples I came up with on whether I would accept, reject, or suspend judgment.

1) Jenny only likes eating mushrooms pizza.

I accept this judgment because it's based on what she told me through personal experience.

2) College students always drink alcohol at parties.

This is a stereotypical judgment is not true because I know college students, including myself, that don't drink alcohol when attending parties. Therefore, I reject this judgment.

3) The most poisonous snake on Earth is the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake.

When I was in Louisiana during the summer of 2010, a friend told me about the how poisonous the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake is, but even then I am not positive if it is the most venomous snake on Earth. So, I'm going to suspend judgment.

Content Fallacy: Appeal to Authority

A fallacy is a type of argument that is persuasively misleading and is ultimately the cause of weakening an argument.

A content fallacy I choose to discuss is appeal to authority, also known as an argumentum or verecundiam fallacy. An appeal to authority is a fallacious argument when a person justifies their argument with an authority figure or well-known person as their persuasive mechanism. Even though it is impressive and pleasing to use a celebrity or prospective person in an argument, they most likely are not experts relating to the topic of the argument, thus creating an appeal to authority. This type of fallacies are commonly seen throughout the media with the participation of celebrities to encourage the promotion of a cause or to help sell a product.

For instance, an example would be involving the legalization or acceptance of marijuana:
Everyone should be smoking marijuana and promote its legalization. Jack Black, a well-known American actor, is an advocate for marijuana and pushing to legalizing it. He is even on the advisory board of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP).

Structure of Arguments Exercise

2. I'm on my way to school. 1 I left 5 minutes late. 2 Traffic is heavy. 3 Therefore, I'll be late for class. 4 So I might as well stop and get breakfast. 5

Argument? If an argument, number each part that might be a claim.
Yes

Conclusion:
I'm going to be late for class, so I might as well stop and get breakfast.

Additional Premises Needed?
I left 5 minutes late on my way to school and traffic is heavy, so I'll be late for class. It would have been more specific if the person explained their reason for leaving 5 minutes later than their usual time, whichever time that may be.

Identify any subargument:
Claims 2, 3 and 4 are independent and support the conclusion.

Good Argument?
No, this is not a good argument because the person merely assumes he's late for class. Leaving 5 minutes later than their usual time and encountering heavy traffic does not prove that the person will actually be late to class. In fact, they may barely make it to class. Therefore, the person's situation does not justify their reason of getting breakfast just because they think they are late. The premises are also vague, they should have mentioned where they left from. Did they leave for school from their home? A friend's house? Their grandparent's or relative's house? They should also been more specific there reason for leaving five minutes late.

Was this exercise useful or not?
This exercise was very beneficial for me to better identify an argument; its claims, conclusions, and subarguments. The exercise also improved my ability to fix premises to make them more effective and/or plausible in an argument in order to justify if an argument can be deemed good or not. Overall, this exercise was a great way to improve my skills in analyzing arguments.

"Group Communication" Concept: Mentor

In the Group Communication text, I found the concept of PRACTICE MENTORING to be the most interesting and relatable to my life.

I have always been a recreation kid. Every summer until I was age 13, I would attend summer camps held by the City of Santa Clara Parks and Recreation Department. Although the book says a mentor acts as a role model for a less-experienced employee, I was actually participant of the summer camp when I found my mentor, who is now my boss when I work for summer camps. (O'Hair, Wiemann 66). Since we have known each other for so long he acknowledges himself as my mentor, not my boss. I met Jon, my mentor, when I was 9 years old and when he was a recreation leader and not yet a supervisor. I looked up to him. I wanted to be a recreation leader just like him one day. Just as the book states, Jon is the mentor I am "receiving support, recognition, and friendship" from. (O'Hair, Wiemann 66).

As an employee under Jon, he is able to model for me what a good recreation leader does so that I can better the programs in the summer camps. We understand each other and have achieved a mentor-protégé relationship by establishing a "mutual understanding of the roles and characteristics" of each other. (O'Hair, Wiemann 66). Even though Jon is highly experienced and knowledgable in the Parks and Recreation field, as his protégé, I must be determine to learn and have an open-mind when I carry out the new skills I see demonstrated. However, what makes me a willing protege to learn is the fact Jon acquires all the attributes listed in the book. He is "approachable, confident, and secure," and this is what motivates me to learn from him and be a better performer in my job. (O'Hair, Wiemann 67). As I became adapted to my job, I still ask Jon for guidance when I have concerns on certain situations, but otherwise I can handle the job and tasks on my own.

What I found useful after reading about this concept was the tips the book gave on finding a mentor. They suggest individuals find a mentor that shares the same interest and career path as them. Once the person finds a potential mentor, they must take the initiative in introducing themselves to the mentor and asking the mentor any questions or advice to show that they are interested in learning from the mentor. Ultimately, the individual needs to form a positive bond with their potential mentor so that they can prove to the mentor that they have the qualifications to be a worthwhile and promising protégé.

Tests Identifying Good Arguments

According to Epstein, an argument has to pass three tests in order for it to be graded as good. First, "the premises are plausible," even more so than the conclusion following it. (Epstein 42). Finally, "the argument is valid or strong." (Epstein 42).

Example of an argument:

Michael Phelps is a fast competitive swimmer.
He is the only Olympian to ever win 14 gold metals.
So at the 2012 summer Olympics in London, Michael Phelps will be the winner of the most gold metals.

The premises in this argument are true and plausible because Phelps is a fast swimmer and really did win 14 gold metals. The premises are even more plausible than the conclusion because it cannot be determined whether Phelps will win the most gold metals at the 2012 Olympics. He may not even compete in the 2012 Olympics. Each Olympian has the same chance at getting the most gold metals as Michael Phelps does. Thus, this argument is strong because the conclusion may be false, and invalid because another Olympian besides Michael Phelps may win the most metals at the 2012 summer Olympics.

Strong Arguments VS. Valid Arguments

When the premises of a statement is true, there is no way the conclusion can be false, thus this statement is classified as valid argument. For instance, if the premises are true statements, then the conclusion must be true too in order to make such a statement a valid argument.

An example of a valid argument is:
When a person turns 18, they go buy a lottery ticket.
Jack turned 18 today.
So, Jack is going to buy a lottery ticket.

However, it is not to say that the premise of a valid argument cannot have a false premise, it's just that the claims in the argument may be deemed false and the argument can still be valid.


A strong argument is a conveyed with reason and logic. The premise needs to seem as a legitimate true statement and requires the conclusion to follow from the premise. (Epstein 49). In a sense, the argument needs to be convincing to the audience in order to persuade to them believe that it can truly happen. In contrast to a valid argument, a strong argument can have a true premise and a false conclusion simultaneously; essentially, the premise is the key to a powerful argument because it needs to "be more plausible than its conclusion." (Epstein 49).

An example of a strong argument is:
Carlyle is lactose intolerant and gets stomach aches every time he eats or drinks something with lactose. He ate an ice cream bar today. Now, he feels sick to his stomach.

"Group Communication" Concept: Leadership

I am quite positive that at least one person has engaged in leadership roles or carried out leadership duties without even acknowledging it. For instance, an student may have delegated the members of their group to complete a particular portion of their project assigned from their class.

In high school, I had my share of leadership roles that I had to carry out. I was President of a couple clubs and my responsibility was to delegate, direct, and be a positive influence to the officers and members of the specific club. I did my best to achieve the goals of the clubs I was leading with the consideration of the feelings of the members and officers that were apart of it.

Referring to the Group Communication text, I have distinguished myself as a participative leader. The way I lead has always been cooperative with the members of my group, which are usually high school volunteers. For instance, when I worked summer camps as a recreation leader for the City of Santa Clara, I liked to ask the volunteer(s) for their opinions or input about a certain activity we could play with the participants of that camp. I also try get them to share their ideas regarding new games because it may be beneficial to the level of fun the participants are having.

In addition to a participative leader, I know that a laissez-faire type leadership is when the leader chooses to be the least helpful to their group members, unless they ask the leader for help. They expect their group members to fend for themselves and carry out the duties they are assigned. I also know that an authoritarian leader is a person that has absolute control on making decisions for their group members and does not adhere to their ideas or opinions. Yet, I did not know what consultative leader entitled. I found out that it is a leader that bases their decisions on the suggestions of their group members. I find this technique beneficial to the leader if they cannot think of an idea at that particular moment, so it helps them narrow down their final decision on which ideas to carry out. However, I have dealt with leaders like this and it is very irritating sometimes because I put out my idea to the leader and in the end of making the decision, the leader just shuts my idea down without even referring to it. I just find it pointless for a leader to ask for a group member's opinion and not even consider it.

Overall, I enjoy the concept of being a participative leader the most because it allows the leader and their member to use their brains as one great force to solve a problem or build new ideas. As a participative leader, I am able to gain mutual respect amongst my group members and not worry having to make decisions on my own.

Discussing Epstein's Chapter 2 Concept: Definitions

As I was finishing up reading chapter 2 of Epstien's Critical Thinking with the concept of definitions, I thought to myself that there is more to the definition of the word definition. I always perceived the meaning of definition as only the meaning of a word. However, after reading more about definitions, I learned that it is a way for a person to convey their point to another individual or even a group. A definition is a person's guide on how to use a specific word properly; it is not a claim or a premise. It is always beneficial for me to know the meaning of the words I am using because it can help me prove my case or help me win a debate with the other person I am communicating with

In addition to definitions being a way to achieve clarity in person to person conversation, there is an imposter or arch nemesis of a definition known as the persuasive or self-serving definition because it acts as a claim to be perceived as a definition. An example of this type of definition would be, "individuals who drive or own a BMW are sure to be rich." This is not necessarily true and does not constitute a person's level of wealth. A person driving a luxury vehicle like BMW may possibly be rich or it can mean that this particular person enjoys spending money on these type of cars and has a decent salary off their job. It is not a proper definition to describe the word "rich."

In order for a definition to be a legitimate definition, it needs to be clear, precise, and not vague or ambiguous. Once this is achieved, a conversation can run smoothly without having question marks bounce on top of people's heads.