Padilla 1

Antonio Padilla
Kubler
ENGL 114B
23 January 2014
Exercise 1.1: Critical Response to Text Chapter
In the first chapter of Everythings an Argument, the author explains that there are
different types of arguments for different types of reasons. Either to convince, persuade, inform,
explore, to make decisions, or to help meditate and pray. I agreed with somethings and
somethings didnt seem like they made sense to me before. I agreed when the author explained
the differences between arguments to convince and persuade, but not when it came to arguments
to pray to or to make decisions.
I never thought of convincing and persuading as being different things but very similar.
The author used a picture depicting Michael Moore as a greedy man sitting on top of a stack of
money calling the wall street business man evil when trying to explain arguments to convince
(8). Later on when the author explains arguments to persuade the author differentiates
persuasion and convincing he explains, [] writers want not only to convince audiences but to
move them into action, wether that involves buying a product, voting for a candidate, or
supporting a policy (9). While the picture was just to get the audience to think a certain way
about a certain subject but persuading someone to call someone to action to actually change or
follow through with what they are arguing for. Ive seen this before because when someone
persuades another to do something they will do an action, not just to think a certain way. When a
Padilla 2
teacher or professor before asked us to write a persuasive essay we always had to have a solution
to our argument and it finally made sense.
When it came to arguments to make decisions and to meditate or pray. I feel like they go
hand in hand because it seems like they both require some sort of rationale thought. The author
mentioned exploring pros and cons (11) to come up with a decision that would make most
sense. But from my personal experience, lots of people dont make deacons by weighing pros
and cons but based on emotion. People lack rationale thought. This directly connects to
arguments to pray because no evidence has been given to say praying helps in the first place
(rationalism). The author asks the reader to think for a moment of what it argues for and how
it uses quiet meditation to accomplish that goal (13). Nobody ever became successful sitting
and asking an omnipotent person to give them everything they want. Speaking from experience
because I grew up catholic and as I grew older and learned rational thought I began to leave most
emotions out of decision making and I completely left any praying because I felt like it wasnt
going to help me to ask for things but to actually work for them and to accomplish goals.