In the Ted Talk – How to gain control of your free time by Laura Vanderkam the speaker presents a persuasive thesis on a debatable issue. Your purpose in this assignment is to analyze and evaluate the speaker's argument, not to simply summarize or to argue for your own position on the speaker's topic. Your overall judgement of the argument will be stated in your thesis, which will be supported by your analytical explanation of the evidence you gather while answering the questions outlined below.
How to gain control of your free time | Laura Vanderkam - YouTube
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3kNlFMXslo
In a two- to three-page evaluation, address the following questions in a Question-and-Answer format or in an essay:
• Topic/Angle/Purpose
o What is the topic of the presentation?
o What is the angle or argument that the speaker presents?
o What is the purpose of the presentation? What does the speaker want the audience to do with the information they are presented with?
• Rhetorical Situations
o Who is the target audience for the presentation? Why does this matter?
o What is the context of the presentation? What historical or current event information does the audience need to understand the argument?
o What rhetorical appeals - ethos (credibility), pathos (emotional hook), and logos (reasoning) - does the speaker use to help strengthen the argument?
o How does the speaker use opposing viewpoints to influence the argument?
o Can you find any logical fallacies in the argument? How do the fallacies impact the speaker's credibility?
• Evidence
o What types of evidence are used?
o Does the evidence seem credible? Why or why not?
o What additional information do you want to know about the topic?
• Style
o How does the speaker introduce the topic? Is it compelling?
o How does the speaker conclude the talk? What methods does the speaker use to finalize the talk?