Types of Supporting Materials Answers

Citing expert ______________ can lend credibility to your arguments.

_______________ should be used when you want to make abstract ideas more concrete, and can be both real and hypothetical. Be sure they are credible and relevant to your topic.

Read the passage and answer the question below.Childhood Obesity Obesity has been called the new American epidemic by many doctors. It is estimated that fifty eight million Americans living in the United States are obese, and that eight out of ten people who are over twenty-five are overweight. Obesity is, easily, America's fastest growing health concern. This condition, though, is not limited to American adults. Doctors have recently found that nearly thirteen percent of all American children suffer from this problem and that statistic seems to go up each year.Understanding the jump in childhood obesity rates is directly linked to understanding obesity itself. The American Academy of Pediatricians defines childhood obesity as occurring in kids who have a BMI of more than 30. Other institutions, though, suggest that a child whose body weight is at least 20% higher than a child of a similar height is obese. No matter what the exact definition, obesity is, simply, excess body fat. Why, though, is obesity such a concern? I mean, hey, an extra twinkie or two can't really harm a kid, can it? Actually, yes, it can. Obesity cannot only increase the risk of psychological problems in kids, like eating disorders, depression, and anxiety problems, it can also put them at risk for all sorts of physiological problems including heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. In fact, forty-five percent of all new cases of juvenile type-II diabetes are obesity linked. Childhood obesity increases the risk of orthopedic problems. Because kids are forced to carry extra weight that their bone structures simply cannot handle, bowed legs and arthritis are increasingly present. Obese kids also have more skin disorders than children of a healthy weight. Obesity increases the skin area subject to folds, which, in turn, increases problems like heat rash and dermatitis. All of this can create serious problems for the child and for our health care system. In 1979, hospital costs associated with childhood obesity were $35 million. At the end of the decade, they had risen to $127 million. Some may suggest that the rise in childhood obesity rates are due to naturally occurring medical conditions like hypothyroidism and Cushing's Syndrome. Each child who demonstrates symptoms of obesity should be carefully evaluated by a medical professional for these conditions, although most doctors suggest that the occurrence of these problems in children is quite low, and the obesity epidemic is linked to more serious societal problems like low physical activity levels and poor eating habits. There is little doubt that childhood obesity rates are on the rise, and treatments for the problem may be simpler than you think. The best treatment for the problem, on a societal level, is prevention. This can be accomplished by increasing the number of mothers who breast feed their babies, thereby delaying the introduction of solid foods to six months of age, limiting the television and video game intake of toddlers and older kids alike, providing healthy, low-fat nutritious snacks and meals for kids of all ages, and creating family exercise plans. If obesity has already occurred, treatment should include a manageable weight loss plan, behavior modification therapies, nutrition counseling, and an exercise plan. Childhood obesity is on the rise, and clearly, everyone is at risk from the effects of this devastating condition. This "unknown" problem in America needs attention. The children are our future, and thus, it is unacceptable to put them at risk for obesity and the health problems associated with being overweight. By advocating healthy diets, exercise, and education, the fast increase in childhood obesity throughout the country can be ended.

______________ lend expert support to your arguments and provide additional witnesses to give credibility to your speech.

Which of the following is the most effective use of statistics?a.“A total of 820,151 legal induced abortions were reported in 2005, the abortion ratio (number of abortions per 1,000 live births) was 233, and the abortion rate was 15 per 1,000 women aged 15--44 years.” - (www.cdc.gov)b.Of all the girls I surveyed at this school, only 13.7% said they would consider having an abortion if they were to become pregnant.c.“According to the CDC, there were 306 abortions for every 1,000 live births in 1997.” - (http://www.nrlc.org/Factsheets/FS03_AbortionintheUS.pdf)d.According to Lisa M. Koonin, M.N., M.P.H. and Jack C. Smith, M.S., “Legal induced abortion is one of the most frequently performed surgical procedures in the United States. Abortion rates for teenagers are much higher in the United States than in most Western European countries and in some Eastern European countries.”

__________________ are numerical data; facts and figures used to analyze problems.

All of the following are examples of supporting materials, except:

Read the passage and answer the question below.Should Children Be Allowed to Own and Use Cell phones?It is difficult to imagine a time when we did not have cell phones. Many of us rely on our phone throughout the day in order to stay in contact with our business, friends and families. Whether we like the cell phone or not, it has become an essential part of our society and there is little chance of its use being curtailed in the near future. Even children have begun to carry their own cell phones, not only for emergency and family use but to stay in touch with their friends through the use of text messaging. What are the positive and negative points of allowing a child to carry a cell phone?There's no doubt that when it's necessary, a cell phone becomes an important tool for a child to use in the event of an emergency. We live in a very difficult and sometimes dangerous world. Having a means of contact with your child at all times through the use of a cell phone could be a matter of their personal safety. Children have used cell phones to contact their parents or officials in the event of a threatening situation and have even used the photo ability of the cell phone to ward off or identify predators. As children grow older, it is also often a good idea to give them a certain degree of relative freedom. Responsible cell phone ownership could provide this for your child.On the other hand, owning a cell phone can have a lot of negative impact on a child as well. These phones can be a large distraction to them, both within the walls of the school system and outside. It becomes very easy for the child to receive text messages and pictures that the parents may not approve of. Along with that, there are also some health concerns, although unconfirmed, about the dangers of having concentrated cellular waves so close to a developing body on a regular basis.One option that may meld the two together is to have a cell phone for the child that is limited in its capability to send and receive calls. It would only be able to call out to emergency numbers and can only send and receive two pre-established numbers. This would give the parents some peace of mind, knowing that their child has a means to contact them in case of an emergency.There are several lines of reasoning that may help you to come to a decision of your own. First of all, if you have children this needs to be a personal issue, one that you will decide for the benefit of your children and yourself. You will also have to make sure that the cell phones are used within the guidelines that are established for them in the school system. That's part of being a parent, the responsibility of making decisions for your child within certain guidelines.

__________________ add concrete data to support your arguments, lend credibility to your speech, and help show the significance of the points you are trying to make.

________________ should be used when you want to illustrate a point and connect to the audience, and can be explanatory, exemplary, or persuasive. Be sure they are short and few, in logical and chronological order, and that you always draw clear connections to your topic.