1 The development of carbon-embedded plastics, otherwise called composits, is an

The following arguments were abstracted from newspaper articles, editorials, and letters to the editor. Use the method presented in this section to construct argument patterns. If a statement is redundant or plays no role in the argument, do not include it in the pattern. 1 The conditions under which many food animals are raised are unhealthy for humans. 2 To keep these animals alive, large quantities of drugs must be administered. 3 These drugs remain in the animals’ flesh and are passed on to the humans who eat it.

1 The development of carbon-embedded plastics, otherwise called composits, is an important new technology because 2 it holds the key for new aircraft and spacecraft designs. This is so because 3 these composits are not only stronger than steel but lighter than aluminum.

1 Homework stifles the thrill of learning in the mind of the student. 2 It instills an oppressive learn-or-else discipline. 3 It quenches the desire for knowledge and the love of truth. For these reasons 4 homework should never be assigned.

1 When parents become old and destitute, the obligation of caring for them should be imposed on their children. 2 Clearly, children owe a debt to their parents. 3 Their parents brought them into the world and cared for them when they were unable to care for themselves. 4 This debt could be appropriately discharged by having grown children care for their parents.

1 Defending the war on drugs may not be fashionable, but the fact remains that 2 hardcore drugs should remain illegal. 3 As long as hardcore drugs are illegal, they are harder to get, and 4 the social stigma of being arrested deters many users.

1 The rain forest of Brazil produces oxygen for the whole world, yet 2 it yields no monetary return to that country. Given that 3 the industrialized nations consume the most oxygen, 4 those nations ought to pay Brazil an annual fee for the use of its rain forest.

1 It appears that animals may be able to predict earthquakes. 2 Prior to a major quake in China, hundreds of snakes suddenly appeared from hibernation and froze to death in the snow, 3 fish were seen leaping from rivers and lakes, and 4 cows and horses refused to enter barns. Also, 5 prior to a quake in Fremont, California, a flood of callers reported strange behavior from their pets and domestic animals.

1 Contributions to relief organizations are often wasted. 2 Food sent to wartorn countries rarely reaches its destination, because 3 food distribution is controlled by the warring groups, and 4 these groups sell the food to buy weapons and ammunition.

1 Research leading to the development of a scramjet engine is worthwhile. 2 Commercial aircraft incorporating such an engine could cross the Pacific in as little as two hours. 3 This would relieve the fatigue of flights from New York 1 to Tokyo. Also, 4 such an engine could power future orbiting spacecraft.

1 There is a lot of pressure on untenured college teachers to dumb down their courses. 2 Administrators tend to rehire teachers who bring in more money, and 3 teachers who dumb down their classes do precisely this. Why? Because 4 easier classes attract more students, and 5 more students means more money for the school.

1 The use of ethanol as an additive in gasoline is really a bad idea. 2 Ethanol is produced from corn, and 3 when 40 percent of the annual corn crop is burned up in car engines, that obviously raises the price of corn for food. 4 Also, adding ethanol to gasoline is highly inefficient. 5 Ethanol yields about 30 percent less energy than gasoline, and 6 its more expensive to transport and handle than gasoline

1 Unscrupulous for-profit colleges are not only cheating their students but 2 they are also ripping off the American taxpayer to the tune of billions of dollars. 3 Ninety-six percent of the students who attend these colleges are forced to take out loans. 4 Most of these students leave without degrees. 5 And the students then default on their loans, leaving a 32 billion dollar annual debt to the taxpayer.

1 Numerous cancer patients on chemotherapy suffer from constant nausea, loss of appetite, and inability to sleep. 2 For many of these patients, inhaled marijuana is the only medicine that provides relief. 3 Also, it causes no harmful side effects. 4 For these reasons, medical marijuana should be legalized and made available to these patients. 5 This is not a law and order issue; it is a medical and human-rights issue.

1 The United States is currently experiencing the greatest economic inequality since the 1920s, and 2 this inequality is depressing the economy. 3 The true sustainers of the economy are the bottom 99 percent of households, but 4 the top 1 percent takes in 93 percent of the growth in income. Also, 5 economic inequality is undercutting tax receipts, which are vital for infrastructure, education and research. This is because 6 income earned by the rich is taxed at a far lower rate than income earned by the middle class.

1 Programs to develop clean energy have seen some early notable successes. 2 The price of solar and wind power have both fallen sharply in recent years. 3 The nations largest wind farm, sprawling across eastern Oregon, is now open and running, and 4 there is even good news from the natural gas front. 5 The use of natural gas, which is far cleaner than coal, to generate electricity has jumped substantially in the last few years, and 6 thanks to government-sponsored research, energy companies are now able to extract much more gas from a tract of land than once seemed possible.