Argumentation

Grade 11

Directions: Look at the poster below; then answer the following questions.

Meat is attractive if you're a fly. But for the rest of us, meat is a public health threat which
kills thousands of people each year and sickens millions more. Meat also destroys the
environment and creates lifelong misery for animals. How attractive can that be?

1. What is the issue addressed?

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2. What is the author's claim?

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3. Provide a thesis statement that clearly reveals the author's standpoint.

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4. Provide an appropriate introduction on the issue presented.

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 5. Identify the following statements as Argument (A) or Counterargument (C).

a. The main reason to be a vegetarian is to reduce animal suffering. . Eating meat does not need
to mean cruelty to animals.

b. The fact that we humans have succeeded in exploiting our natural

environment means that we have a natural right over lower species.

c. The fact that human beings are omnivores (and are rational agents with free will)
means that they can choose whether to eat meat, vegetables, or both.

d. Becoming a vegetarian is an environmentally friendly thing to do.

e. We were made to eat both meat and vegetables - cutting out half of this diet will
inevitably mean we lose that natural balance.

f. There are significant health benefits to ‘going veggi’; a vegetarian diet contains high
quantities of fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and it is low in fat.

g. Going vegetarian or vegan means massively reducing the risk of contracting food
borne diseases.

h. The key to good health is a balanced diet, not a meat- and fish-free diet.

6. Choose one of the counterarguments, acknowledge it, and refute it.

Counterargument
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Concession
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Refutation
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