Axia College Material

Appendix E Critical Analysis Forms

Fill out one form for each source. Source 1 Title and Citation: Spanking Should Not Be Illegal
Saunders, Debra. "Spanking Should Not Be Illegal." Opposing Viewpoints: Child Abuse. Ed. Heidi Williams. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Apollo Library-Univ of Phoenix. 18 April. 2010 <http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&t abID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010115262&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=uphoen ix&version=1.0>.

Identify the principal issue presented by the source.

Identify any examples of bias presented by the author. If none exist, explain how you determined this. Identify any areas that are vague or ambiguous. If none exist, explain how you determined this.

The principal issue presented by this source is that corporal punishment or spanking of a child by a parent should not be illegal as a bill introduced in California proposed. There are numerous examples of bias presented by the author. The author makes comments about police should focus on adults who repeatedly abuse or even kill their children. The author states she is against spanking and there are more effective ways of disciplining children but does not offer any examples of what ways she believes to be more effective.

Do you find the source credible? Explain your reasoning.

I find the source to be credible. The author is aware of the issue being presented and has included examples of extreme cases of child abuse and comments from a retired police chief of a California city as well as Assemblywoman Sally Lieber. There is a remark made by Lieber to the newspaper about having a law that prohibits the beating of children. The author uses sarcasm by stating the problem is there are already a law prohibiting the abuse of children and this one is just an attempt for political do-gooders to pass laws expanding on the definition of current laws. The author uses a slippery slope fallacy by implying that if the bill introduced by Lieber were passed, such extreme measures as a prohibition against grabbing your child by the arm could be next.

Identify and name any rhetorical devices used by the author. If none exist, explain how you determined this.

Identify and name any fallacies used by the author. If none exist, explain how you determined this.

CRT 205

State one argument made by the author. Identify the premises and conclusion of the argument.

The author makes the argument that any type of spanking ban would be very difficult to enforce. The premises of the argument are that police should be more concerned about apprehending the people who severely abuse children, that such a ban would essentially require police officers to be present in every individuals home, a retired police chief would be horrified of enforcing such a ban, and the governor even wasnt sure of how to enforce the ban. The conclusion is that such a ban would not be able to be enforced and would ultimately do little to no good for the children who are suffering from severe abuse. The authors argument is valid. Enforcing a prohibition of spanking a child would be extremely difficult to enforce. The law itself would be difficult to enforce because of the times children would be in a situation where only one parent would be present. It is not a sound argument because such a law would not actually require a police officer to be present in every home to enforce the law. The author uses moral reasoning. She states that parents should be the ones to determine the discipline for their children because they know whether it is corporal punishment or physical abuse.

Is the authors argument valid or invalid, sound or unsound, strong or weak? Explain how you determined this.

10

Does the author use moral reasoning? If not, explain how you determined this.

Source 2 Title and Citation: Spanking Should Be Illegal

Alvy, Kerby. "Spanking Should Be Illegal." Opposing Viewpoints: Child Abuse. Ed. Heidi Williams. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Apollo Library-Univ of Phoenix. 18 April. 2010 <http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&t abID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010115261&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=uphoen ix&version=1.0>.

Identify the principal issue presented by the source.

Identify any examples of bias presented by the author. If none exist, explain how you determined this.

The principal issue presented by this source is that corporal punishment or spanking of a child by a parent should be illegal as a bill introduced in California proposed. There are numerous examples of bias presented by the author. The author makes comments about how not too long ago spousal abuse was considered acceptable for women who did not accomplish what they were supposed to have done. The author also makes comments about how corporal punishment escalates into physical abuse.

CRT 205

Identify any areas that are vague or ambiguous. If none exist, explain how you determined this.

The author states corporal punishment is considered to bring about positive results with some cultural groups but does not identify which cultural groups this is supposed to be identifying.

Do you find the source credible? Explain your reasoning.

I find the source to be credible. The author is a clinical child psychologist, founder and director of the Center for the Improvement of Child Caring in California and a founding member of the National Effective Parenting Initiative. The author uses sarcasm in this article. There are mentions of eye-catching headlines and clever articles written in newspaper editorials regarding corporal punishment as well as television shows using impish humor about something that isnt taken as being serious by the recipients of corporal punishment. The author uses scare tactics in this article. There are several mentions of how corporal punishment negatively effects children and causes them to experience increased problems. The article also mentions that corporal punishment leads to physical abuse because the punishment has an escalating effect and that the majority of children who receive corporal punishment grow up to abuse their own children and spouses. The author makes the argument that the use of corporal punishment results in negative behavior and outcomes and often leads to physical abuse. The author mentions research studies which indicate corporal punishment leads to negative behavior. It also states corporal punishment results in greater depressed, aggressive, and suicidal recipients of the punishment. There is also the mention of decreased performance in academics and an increase in antisocial tendencies. The author concludes that all of the above mentioned factors are a direct result of corporal punishment. The authors argument is valid. There are studies which indicate that corporal punishment leads to the mentioned problems in some children. The argument is not sound because this is not true in all cases. There are also mentions of corporal punishment having a positive effect on some children. The author uses moral reasoning in this article. The author states that any type of corporal punishment is not acceptable and since we as adults do not allow ourselves to be physically disciplined, we should not be physically disciplining our children.

Identify and name any rhetorical devices used by the author. If none exist, explain how you determined this.

Identify and name any fallacies used by the author. If none exist, explain how you determined this.

State one argument made by the author.

Identify the premises and conclusion of the argument.

Is the authors argument valid or invalid, sound or unsound, strong or weak? Explain how you determined this.

10

Does the author use moral reasoning? If not, explain how you determined this.

CRT 205

CRT 205