Essay 2 Workshop: Ryan Cary's "A Case For Glass"

Thesis:
1. Restate the thesis in your own words. If the thesis is a question and not an assertion, make it an assertion. Make sure the words “although” and "because" are in it.

Although Fairbanks has good recycling programs, it needs to build a glass recycling program because large amounts of glass are going to the landfill, littering is increasing, and glass can be easily recycled with the right resources.

2. Does the thesis state the author's position on a controversial topic? Is it at the end of the first paragraph?

Yes, the thesis states his position on the topic of recycling glass, and it is at the end of the first paragraph.

Reasons:
List below the author's reasons for holding his or her position. Are they listed in the thesis, or in the body of the paper? They should be listed in the thesis, and expanded upon in the body of the paper.

1. “there is a large amount of glass that is going straight into landfills”
His first reason is listed in the thesis, and is expanded upon in the first paragraph in the body of the paper.

2. “littering is increased due to a lack of places to recycle”
The second reason is listed in the thesis, and expanded upon in the second paragraph in the body.


3. “and because glass is a material that is easily recycled given the correct resources.”
This third reason is in the thesis also, and is expanded upon in the final paragraph of the body.

Audience:
Who is the author's audience? Do they already agree with the author, or is the author writing to the opposition? How can you tell? Give specific examples.

The audience for this essay would primarily be people living in Fairbanks, and people who are interested in recycling within the community. I would imagine that some people reading this essay would agree, and some would probably disagree, depending on their views on recycling. The essay is highly informational, and could be used as an argumentative tool against those apposed to a recycling program. For example he gives an example of the UAF recycling program being canceled after one year, and defends against an argument the opposition might have.

Counterargument:
List the counterarguments (arguments of the author’s oppositions) used in the paper (there should be at least three). Does the author adequately address these arguments? Do you think there are other arguments that could be addressed? Do you see any logical fallacies?

1. The only counterargument I found in the paper was the one about the UAF program, and not starting it back up because it failed once. He defends the argument by saying that there is no proof, and that the statement is a logical fallacy.

Even though there is only one example, I don’t really understand why there would need to be three counterarguments for this paper. Counterarguments would be important in position papers such as our first one, but I think too much energy would be used coming up with counterarguments instead of coming up with a problem and a good solution.

Title:
Does the paper have an interesting title? If not, help author come up with one.
I think the title, “A Case for Glass” is a pretty good title, the only thing I would worry about is the fact that a reader wouldn’t know what the paper is about, and someone who would enjoy a recycling article might skip over it. When I first read the title, I wasn’t sure what the paper was going to be about.

Introduction:
Is there a catchy lead sentence? What is it? If there isn't one, what would you suggest?

The lead sentence is good, with a “shock and awe” effect. The lead sentence is, “The landfills are filling up and soon the earth will be one large garbage heap.”

Conclusion:
How does the author conclude the paper? What do you think of it?

The conclusion is very good also. It leaves the reader, especially Fairbanks residents, thinking about their environment, and their responsibility to maintain it.

Flow/Transitions:
Does each paragraph expand upon the thesis? Do the paragraphs flow? Which paragraphs have bumpy transitions?

He did a good job of making the paper flow. All of the thesis supporting topics came in order through the paper, and the paragraphs flowed together fairly well. The transition between the second and third paragraph might need a little changing. The sentences go from the landfill problem to littering without much of a transition. I might suggest something along the lines of, “unfortunately, glass that doesn’t end up in the landfill is ending up as litter in the streets.” ….just a suggestion! The rest of the paper looks good. Good luck on the final draft!