Which passage provides the more effective argument, and why?
Which statement best explains why the evidence provided in the text is a fallacy?
Read the excerpt from "The Role of Social Media in the Arab Uprisings" by Heather Brown, Emily Guskin, and Amy Mitchell. This passage is about Egypt. Almost immediately after the Arab uprisings began, there was debate over the role and influence of social media in the ouster of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and the imminent overthrow of [Egyptian president Hosni] Mubarak. In covering what some deemed the Facebook or Twitter revolutions, the media focused heavily on young protesters mobilizing in the streets in political opposition, smartphones in hand. And since then, the violent and sectarian unrest in Syria has brought increased attention to the role of citizen journalism. Social media indeed played a part in the Arab uprisings. Networks formed online were crucial in organizing a core group of activists, specifically in Egypt. Civil society leaders in Arab countries emphasized the role of "the internet, mobile phones, and social media" in the protests. Additionally, digital media has been used by Arabs to exercise freedom of speech and as a space for civic engagement. What kind of evidence could the authors add to this text to strengthen their claim and make their argument even more effective?
Read the excerpt from "The Role of Social Media in the Arab Uprisings" by Heather Brown, Emily Guskin, and Amy Mitchell. Social media indeed played a part in the Arab uprisings. Networks formed online were crucial in organizing a core group of activists, specifically in Egypt. Civil society leaders in Arab countries emphasized the role of "the internet, mobile phones, and social media" in the protests. Additionally, digital media has been used by Arabs to exercise freedom of speech and as a space for civic engagement. Now, research is emerging that reexamines in a more detailed way the role that social media played in the Arab uprisings. In July 2012 a report was published by the United States Institute of Peace based on an extensive content analysis of bit.ly links from the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Bahrain. Bit.ly links, or short URLs, are predominantly used in social media such as Twitter. The authors came to some conclusions that countered the initial assumption that social media was a causal mechanism in the uprisings. Which statement best evaluates the effectiveness of the evidence in the text?
Read the excerpt from "The Role of Social Media in the Arab Uprisings" by Heather Brown, Emily Guskin, and Amy Mitchell. Twitter, Facebook and other new media offer ways for the Arab-American news media to reach audiences, but also pose a threat to smaller outlets. In addition to keeping up with the online presence of larger news organizations, Arab-American media are forced to compete with user-generated content that is rapidly available to audiences. The utility of social media in accessing information became clear during the Arab uprisings and events such as Egypt’s parliamentary and presidential elections. However, [Suzanne] Manneh of New America Media points out that the credibility of this information is difficult to verify "depending on where it’s from, to whom it’s attributed, [and] especially when various events are happening very quickly." Arab-American news outlets find they must compete with this abundance of online content in order to evolve alongside readers who are increasingly turning to the internet for information. Newspapers have made the greatest inroads here so far, with most offering at least some form of digital content, while still maintaining print versions for older generations and those who prefer a physical newspaper. Radio programs, in light of the continuing challenge to find advertising sponsorship, are beginning to shift online. Arab-American television, on the other hand, has yet to even really find a place amid the satellite programming available from Arab countries. Which statement best evaluates the evidence in the text?
Read the excerpt from "The Role of Social Media in the Arab Uprisings" by Heather Brown, Emily Guskin, and Amy Mitchell. Now, research is emerging that reexamines in a more detailed way the role that social media played in the Arab uprisings. In July 2012 a report was published by the United States Institute of Peace. . . . The authors came to some conclusions that countered the initial assumption that social media was a causal mechanism in the uprisings. Instead, the study suggests that the importance of social media was in communicating to the rest of the world what was happening on the ground during the uprisings. . . . Data from the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project at least somewhat supports this conclusion with its findings that the majority of Egyptians are not online. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of the total population do not use the internet. When looking specifically at those with a college education, use of social media for obtaining political information is more prevalent than in other segments of the population. Though most of the country is disconnected from the internet, 84% of those who are online say they visit social networking sites for news about Egypt’s political situation. These findings point to social media’s important role in spreading information, but do not necessarily indicate that social media was a mobilizing force in the uprisings. Read the excerpt from "The Truth about Twitter, Facebook and the Uprisings in the Arab World" by Peter Beaumont. As commentators have tried to imagine the nature of the uprisings, they have attempted to cast them as many things: as an Arab version of the eastern European revolutions of 1989 or something akin to the Iranian revolution that toppled the Shah in 1979. Most often, though, they have tried to conceive them through the media that informed them—as the result of WikiLeaks, as "Twitter revolutions" or inspired by Facebook. All of which, as American media commentator Jay Rosen has written, has generated an equally controversialist class of article in reply, most often written far from the revolutions. These stories are not simply sceptical about the contribution of social media, but determined to deny it has played any part. Those at the vanguard of this argument include Malcolm Gladwell in the New Yorker (Does Egypt Need Twitter?), the New Statesman's Laurie Penny (Revolts Don't Have to be Tweeted) and even David Kravets of Wired.co.uk (What's Fuelling Mideast protests? It's More Than Twitter). All have argued one way or another that since there were revolutions before social media, and it is people who make revolutions, how could it be important? Except social media has played a role. For those of us who have covered these events, it has been unavoidable. Precisely how we communicate in these moments of historic crisis and transformation is important. The medium that carries the message shapes and defines as well as the message itself. The instantaneous nature of how social media communicate self-broadcast ideas, unlimited by publication deadlines and broadcast news slots, explains in part the speed at which these revolutions have unravelled, their almost viral spread across a region. It explains, too, the often loose and non-hierarchical organisation of the protest movements unconsciously modelled on the networks of the web. Which passage provides more effective evidence, and why?
Which source would be most appropriate for researching the question "How does social media affect personal relationships?”
Which image is the best choice for convincing high school students to plant a tree on Earth Day?
Read this prompt. Create a multimedia presentation for the claim that virtual reality technology is a useful tool in the study of medicine. Use research and evidence to support your opinion. Use persuasive techniques and a variety of visual aids in your presentation. Which multimedia aid provides the best support for this claim?
Angeline is preparing an oral presentation about the need for an alternative to the town landfill. What is the best technique or strategy she can use to motivate and inspire her audience to take action?
Examine the page from a public service campaign website. Expand Image Which words from this campaign best indicate the target audience?
Read this prompt. Create a presentation to convince school board members that district 16 should add a week-long October break to next year’s school calendar, like other districts in the state. Which reason best supports the claim in this prompt?
Read this prompt. Create a multimedia presentation claiming that teaching children more than one language is beneficial to their brain development. Use research and evidence to support your opinion. Use persuasive techniques and a variety of visual aids in your presentation. Which statement provides the best support for this claim?
How does the writer best use evidence to support the claim? Choose three correct answers.
The author is thinking of adding one of these sentences to the end of the passage. Which sentence contains a fallacy?
How does this ad transmit a cultural value?
How do these two advertisements demonstrate that public service campaigns have changed over time?
Which statements best describe this advertisement? Choose three correct answers.
How are these ads similar?
Which type of appeal is used in this public service ad?
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