Rodriguez 1

Diego Rodriguez

Professor Powers

ENGL1302

28 March 2023

Short response paper chapter 19

Lanier's Toulmin model of argument consists of three basic elements such as calm, evidence, and

a warrant. The Toulmin is used by Lanier in order to showcase multiple elements that can contribute to an

individual's arguments and claims. Lanier believes it's essential to provide proof of one's claims by using

factual evidence and supportive text. His argument comes off as a deductive argument and is later

reinforced with a general claim and, in addition, provides the reader with factual evidence. Moreover, his

argument is perceived as linear due to the fact he builds a logical sequence toward his conclusion. Lanier's

approach to the Toulmin can be classified as a casual argument due to the fact he argues about the

democratization of authorship and the proliferation of low quality. In addition, he supports his argument

with an example, such as a content farm, and explains that it's when writers are paid to write low-quality

articles. He goes more into depth about democratization using the logical connection between his claim

and evidence by describing his personal experience, such as being a professional writer and computer

scientist. However, Lanier's argument is not without its limitations, such as not addressing the potential

pros of the democratization of authorship, such as the increased voices, diversity, and perspectives.

Finally, Lanier's argument heavily relies on his personal experiences and work; in return, Lanier's

argument is comprehensive and transparent.

Lanier uses a variety of ways and strategies to showcase his argument against the democratization

of authorship. The strategies Lanier uses in his argument include analogies, cause and effect, descriptions,

examples, classifications, and reiteration. Lanier often uses analogies throughout his writing in order to

elaborate his points about the devaluation of authorship. He compares publishing on the internet to the

proliferation of fast-food restaurants in order to show that both go hand in hand and have contributed to a
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culture of cheapness. In addition, he also goes into depth about the democratization of music production

and argues that low-quality music has made it harder for talented musicians to make a living only off of

music. Lanier's analogies make his argument very effective because they make the ideas more relatable

and accessible to the reader. Lanier's use of cause and effect is in order to support his argument about the

democratization of authorship and low-quality content. He uses cause and effect by explaining the use of

a content farm and how writers use the content farm in order to get paid for producing low-quality

articles. This is a straightforward use of cause and effect and can be perceived by the audience as a way to

use cause and effect. In addition, the use of classifications are used by Lanier to explain to the reader the

differences between a blog and a professional article and argues that both have different classifications

and are totally different in each way. Moreover, this strategy of classifications helps the audience

understand the various factors contributing to the problem. In the end, Lanier uses reiteration to better

back his argument. He often emphasizes the negative consequences of the democratization of authorship

and the proliferation of low-quality content. He believes this strategy is effective due to the fact it can

help the reader remember the important and main points of the argument and strengthen the issues at

hand.