Sample Essay On Argument 1:

The article selected covers the adoption of recycling programs in institutions in the United States. There are a number of approaches towards recycling. According to the article, numerous factors influence the ability of an institution to adopt recycling programs.

a. Paraphrase
The first argument presented in the article is that a school’s status groups will directly influence whether the school adopts a recycling program. According to the article, differences in school status significantly influences the ease with which an institution adopts environmental programs. The author argues that elite schools will adopt programs faster as compared to non-elite schools due to their status (Lounsbury, 2001). There are no unstated propositions in the argument presented in the article.
b.
This argument is inductive since the author uses a premise to support the argument that makes it improbable for the conclusion to be false. There is a high probability that the conclusion reached by argument is true.
d.
The premise of the argument states that highly selective schools have better student bodies as compared to schools that are less selective. This in turn leads to increase environmental activism. This premise is questionable since it cannot be supported by facts.

Argument 2:

a
The second argument presented in the article is that public colleges and universities have higher rates of adopting recycling programs staffed with full time recycling coordinators. This is mainly because public schools have a direct link to the government as well as energy and environmental regulators and agencies. This makes it easier for such institutions to have and adopt policies aimed at improving recycling as well as the environment around the school. Furthermore, as opposed to private institutions, public institutions have the support of the government when it comes to the adoption and maintenance of the recycling and environmental programs (Lounsbury, 2001). There are no unstated propositions in the argument presented in the article.
b.
This argument is deductive since the author uses a premise to support the argument that makes it impossible for the conclusion to be false. This argument is valid since it is supported by facts.
c
d.
The premise for this argument is that public schools are linked to the government. This is not questionable since it is a fact.

Argument 3:

a.
The third argument in the article is that schools and institutions that offer environmental majors will have a higher tendency of having recycling programs adopted. The reason for this observation is that student groups within institutions can easily influence the adoption of programs aimed at conserving the environment. Furthermore, such students are more likely to be involved in environmental activism and hence can influence the institution. This is mainly attributable to the fact that in such institutions environmental work is part of the course and project work for students (Lounsbury, 2001).
b.
This argument is implicit since the author uses a premise to support the argument that makes it impossible for the conclusion to be false.
c.
The premise of the argument states that schools offering environmental majors have more environmentally active students. This in turn leads to increase environmental activism. This premise is not questionable since it can be supported by facts.
The informal fallacy identified is the premise that highly selective schools have better student bodies as compared to schools that are less selective. The type of informal fallacy identifies is a circular reasoning since the author has assumed the conclusion. This has been identified since it is evident that this premise cannot be able to support wholly the conclusion being reached by the author. The reasoning the author provides is not sufficient to reach a general conclusion for the entire population. This is mainly because it is possible to have less selective schools that have excellent environmental and recycling programs adopted.

Primary strengths:

The article relies on information collected using questionnaires and interviews for its argument
The content of the article is organized and easy to read
Primary weakness:

References

Lounsbury, M. (2001). Institutional sources of practice variation: Staffing college and university recycling programs. Administrative Science Quarterly, 46(1), 29-56.