Project #2 Sample Research Report

To make a good argument about a particular issue, you always need of courseto fully understand that issue, and you must be very familiar with all of the claims and grounds typically made on behalf of your position. However, it’s equally important to be informed about, and to fully understand, the claims and grounds made by those of any opposing position. You can’t present a fair, even-handed, and credible case for something if you don’t know what your opponents think; if you don’t know the possible reasons for holding other positions. Failure to do so just makes you look uninformed, close-minded, unfair, and hasty in your decisions. You need to demonstrate that you understand your own as well as other positions, and then courteously explain what is strong about your own position and what is weak about others.

As you research the various positions taken on your Project #2 topic, you need to keep an ongoing list of claims and grounds (create a report).

It should look like this:

1.State your issue as a yes-no questions: “Can Tom Cruise really act?” (jokey sample)

3.Determine the different ways in which your question is generally answered, and then make a list of claims and grounds for each position—as many as you can find in your research, AND as many as you can anticipate or imagine!

  1. Make a list of fallacies found in each side’s argument (or integrate some notes about this into #2 above).
  2. Produce a draft of your Work Cited page to date.

Here’s a brief SAMPLE OUTLINE:

One side says “Yes” Because… / One side says “No” Because…
Ethos
Why spokespersons for this side are I’m in a position to know and why we you should trust their my judgment.
Logos
All of the logical appeals—facts, data, principles, examples, expert sources, first-hand experience, etc.—in support of this position.
Pathos
All of the emotional appeals which support this position. /
Ethos
Why spokespersons for this side are in a position to know and why we should trust their judgment.
Logos
All of the logical appeals—facts, data, principles, examples, expert sources, first-hand experience, etc.—in support of this position.
Pathos
All of the emotional appeals which support this position.Ethos
Logos
Pathos

Here’s a finished, detailed SAMPLE REPORT on the claims and grounds made by each side:

One side says “Yes” Because… / One side says “No” Because…
Ethos
I’m a long-time amateur movie buff and have researched what good acting is and how it is achieved.
Logical Appealsgos
  1. We can see in specific films exactly how good he is:
  2. Jerry McGuire
i.Example
ii.Example
  1. ExampleScene
  2. Scene
  3. Scene
  1. Mission Impossible
i.Example
  1. ExampleScene
ii.Scene
  1. Example
  1. Far and Away
i.Example
  1. ExampleScene
iii.Example
  1. Eyes Wide Shut
i.Example
ii.Example
  1. ExampleScene
  1. He has made a huge number of highly successful movies. Movies aren’t that hugely successful if the actors in them can’t act!
  2. Amount of $$ Money made by each film.
  3. Number of fans worldwide.
  4. Number of studios which are continually seeking him as a lead.
  5. He has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Actor category.
  6. Information about the Academy of World Pictures.
  7. Information about his nomination.
b.Information about the Academy of World Pictures.
  1. He has always worked with the best of the best in the acting world. If great actors are willing to work with him, he must be good.
  2. Example
  3. Example
  4. Example
  5. He fulfills the criteria developed by the Actor’s Studio, and the definition of “outstanding professional actor”:
  6. Example
b.Example
c.Example
  1. Statements made by well-known movie critics suggest that Cruise is a great actor.
a.Example
  1. ExampleQuote
  2. Quote
  3. ExampleSurveys of fans show that he is a great actor by common consensus.
PathosEmotional Appeals
An actor this established and hard-working deserves great respect and love.
Fans worldwide are often avid.
Series of photos and film clips showing him in a cross-section of his great films, from when he was a pink-cheeked newbie actor to present.
Ethos
I’m a long-time amateur movie buff and have researched what good acting is and how it is achieved. I’m open-minded and enjoy lots of films and actors. / Ethos
I have taken a number of university courses in film and acting, and I know what good acting is and how it is achieved.
Logos Logical Appeals
  1. We can see in specific films exactly how bad he is:
  2. Mission Impossible II
i.Example
ii.Example
  1. ExampleScene
  2. Scene
  1. Vanilla Sky
i.Example
ii.Example
  1. ExampleScene
  2. Scene
  3. Scene
  1. The Last SamuriSamurai
i.Example
ii.Example
  1. ExampleScene
  1. Top Gun
i.Example
ii.Example
  1. ExampleScene
  2. Scene
  1. Just because an actor is in successful movies doesn’t mean that he/she is a good actor. In some cases, it can actually suggest the reverse!
  2. Many movies make boatloads of money even though their actors are mediocre.
3.The number of fans doesn’t necessarily indicate that the person is a good actor; he/she may simply have celebrity appeal or be highly charismatic. Having charisma is not the same as having acting talent.
  1. The Academy of Motion Pictures is a bogus organization and makes flawed judgments. Even if you think it’s a GOOD organization, there’s still no reason to feel that somehow confirms Cruise as a good actor.
  2. A comparison of Cruise’s performances with those by superior actors reveals his shortcomings.
  3. Example
  4. Example
c.Example
  1. Statements made by veteran directors and the most respected stage performers in the world suggest that Cruise is a poor actor.
  2. Quote
  3. Quote
7.Quote
  1. Surveys of fans show that he is a lousy actor by common consensus.
Emotional AppealsPathos
After watching some of his overblown and histrionic performances, a viewer wants to barf or take a shower.throw up a teensy bit.
Ethos
I have taken a number of university courses in film and acting, and I know what good acting is and how it is achieved. I’m open-minded and enjoy lots of films and actors.

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