Q. Reasons/Analysis:

Q. Counterclaim is: 

Q. What is the definition of bias? 

Q. What is the definition of RELEVANT?

Q. According to the American Health Association, peanut butter is a great source of protein.

Q. Summer is the best season.

Q. Directions: Read the following excerpt from an essay. Evaluate the evidence that the writer uses to support the claim. Does the author provide evidence to support the claim?
Everyone wants to live in a clean environment. This is something that all humans and animals deserve. Therefore, everyone should recycle. All paper, plastic, and also bottles should be put into recycling bins. Anyone that does not do this should pay a fine.

Q. _{Claim: Drake is a talented musician}
^{What type of evidence is...}
Drake has sold over forty million albums worldwide.

Q. Which of the following is NOT a claim?

Q. Which of the following best defines a reason?

Q. A strong claim must have ____________. 

Q. The claim: video games are helpful. 
An example of a counterargument would be: 

Q. Saving Water is a Cinch!
 Water is the single most important natural resource on Earth. And though 72% of our planet is covered in water, we cannot take it for granted. Instead, we must be careful to use water only when necessary. The less water that we waste, the more clean water we will have in the future.
 There are a number of ways to save water. The best place to start is in the bathroom. Why? Because studies show that three-fourths of the water we use indoors is used in the bathroom. Therefore, it is in the bathroom where we should pay close attention to our habits.
 For example, what do you do when washing your hands? Many people turn the water on and then lather up with soap while the faucet is running. No big deal, right? After all, washing your hands takes only ten seconds or so.
 But then, imagine how many times in your life you will wash your hands. Now imagine how much water you will save by turning off the faucet while you lather up with soap. Talk about an easy way to save a huge quantity of water!
 In general, saving water involves changing only a few wasteful habits. Most people find that these habits are actually pretty easy to change. Give it a try yourself and you’ll agree: saving our most important natural resource is easy! What does the author include to convince the reader that he or she should try saving water in the bathroom?

Q. What sentence from the passage best supports the author's claim that we cannot take water for granted?

Q. Football is so much better than baseball. People always say that baseball is America's pastime. Those people are stupid! I don't know anyone who likes baseball. It is really boring to watch on TV, and you have to wear those funny looking pants. All the people on TV who play baseball are too fat and slow. They could never play football.
 Football is a real sport. It's really hard to throw that big ball all the way down the field, and really hard to catch it, when you know that you're about to get hit by some really big and fast person. BOOM! You're on the ground! Ouch! Any second, there is the danger of being tackled. That's a sport! Running around jumping on stupid squares and swinging a stick at a tiny white ball is not my idea of a sport. Football is America's pastime, if you ask me. Or maybe wrestling is America's pastime.
 I love watching wrestling, too. Those men and women are strong! They can pick each other up and throw them right out of the ring into the audience! HA! Take that! That's my idea of a sport. Baseball is for weaklings who are too weak for football and wrestling and too scared to get hit all the time. Wrestling is without a doubt a better sport than baseball.The writer of this passage is biased toward football and wrestling. How does this bias affect the argument made in the text?

Q. Home, Sweet Home? A zoo can be a fun place to visit, but would it be a fun place to live? Many zoos spend a lot of money to create homes that are like the animals' natural environments. The zoos also make a strong effort to provide good health care for the animals. However, no matter how hard a zoo works to give animals a good home, it can never give them the freedom of roaming in the wild. 
 Animals such as elephants need wide-open spaces to move around. In the wild, elephants travel more than 20 miles per day on average. When an elephant lacks movement, it can develop health problems like stiff joints.
 Another reason why animals do not belong in zoos is that they can develop a condition called zoochosis. Zoochosis is abnormal behavior caused by boredom and frustration. The symptoms of zoochosis include rocking back and forth, pacing, circling, and excessive chewing. The animals often have poor eating habits. Zookeepers give these animals drugs to keep them calm. In conclusion, a zoo is not the best place for animals to live. Animals belong in the wild where they can roam freely. The author believes that animals should be released from zoos.
Which sentence from the passage best supports this statement?

Q. Every argument begins with one of these.

Q. "Experts" are an authoritative source of information that can be used as what in an argument?

Q. Today’s Lesson: Hip-Hop by Anita Perry
Year after year, most literature classes cover the same authors and genres. It’s time that educators made a change. For teachers to keep current and engage students, we must allow students to read diverse texts from their own generation. As a first step, hip-hop should beincluded in the literature curriculum.This suggestion is not as odd as it may seem. After all, hip-hop is simply another formof poetry, as are all song lyrics. It contains rhyme scheme, rhythm, and meter. In addition,hip-hop lyrics deal with the same timeless themes as other forms of poetry, including heartache and the challenges of growing up. In many ways, today’s hip-hop artists are contemporary versions of Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson, only with a modern, fresh perspective.What is the author's argument or claim?