PLEASE READ INSTRUCTIONS ON ASSIGNMENT THANK YOU Errors in Reasoning….you SPEAK BACK to Newspaper Bias! Here is your chance to get even with the editorial

Errors in Reasoning….you SPEAK BACK to Newspaper Bias!

Here is your chance to get even with the editorial writers! Examine a recent editorial from your newspaper of choice. You can use such newspapers,
but are not limited to:

· Atlanta Journal-Constitution

· Gainesville Times

· Wall Street Journal

· New York Times

· Washington Post

· Etc.

Or whatever relevant and “real” newspaper you feel has an appropriate editorial page (but you cannot use papers like “The Penny Pincher” or the “Auto Trader” etc.) You must use a reputable real newspaper,
one that is in circulation somewhere.  Again,
it must be a “real” newspaper, not a “blog type news source” where everything by anyone gets published.

An “editorial” is a newspaper employee’s view of a topic. The editorial staff writes these columns and the article appears on the Editoral Page. Often they are biased and full of some of the errors you have been reading about in the text. Often these editors hold themselves out to be “experts” in politics, the economy, religion, societal issues, etc. And yet, they often not only present controversial opinions, but in error too. Opposite of the Editorial page (the “OpEd” page) are readers’ views back to the editor.

I want you to choose an editorial that interests you written by one of these “editorial experts.” It should be an article about something that is worth commenting about. Choose one that you see is full of Critical Thinking Errors. Read the author’s editorial and then using what you learned in the Ruggiero text about “The Pitfalls” (Chapters 8-13) write an editorial
back to the author that is worthy to be published in that very same newspaper. Point out to the author his/her “errors in reasoning” and then offer your perspective on what is a better way to view the issue being discussed. Make sure you specifically use some (many?) of the definitions about “errors in reasoning” found in your text and why the author’s editorial might contain such errors.

Remember, you are to write your rebuttal back to the author of the article, not to me (the professor).

Again, do not write this as you are writing a formal paper to the professor…write this as a letter back to the editor of the newspaper!

Again, it is important and necessary that you point out using the vocabulary of the Ruggiero text the errors in reasoning you see in that Editorial. Failure to use that vocabulary will result in a weak assignment.  The students who get the highest grades in this assignment are the ones who integrate many of the errors in reasoning that Ruggiero mentions in the text.  So, choose your editorial article wisely…one that has many errors in it!

Don’t worry about the length of the assignment. I am more concerned about making sur