Jackie Robinson: Baseball Hero man.

Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919. When Jackie was in school, he played many sports. He ran track and played football, baseball, and basketball. But Jackie had a difficult time because he was black. Most of the people in Jackie’s school were white. Most of his teammates were white. Even though Jackie was a star player, people did not want him on the team. They called him terrible names. Sometimes they threw garbage at him.

After he finished school, Jackie became a pro baseball player. But he could not play in Major League Baseball. Major League was only for white players. Instead, Jackie played in the Negro League. This was a league just for black players. He played on a team called the Kansas City Monarchs.

Soon, people in Major League Baseball heard about what a great player Jackie Robinson was. A man named Branch Rickey went to talk to Jackie. Branch was the general manager for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Branch wanted Jackie to play for his team.

On April 15, 1947, Jackie joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. He became the first African American to play Major League Baseball. This made many racist people furious. Once again, Jackie had to deal with people swearing at him and treating him badly. Some people even threatened to kill Jackie because they did not want him playing. But through all of this, Jackie stayed strong. He never lost his temper. He never quit playing. Instead, he stayed focused on the game. That year, Jackie helped the Dodgers win the pennant. Jackie was even named Rookie of the Year.

Jackie went on to become a very successful baseball player. He hit 137 home runs and had 197 stolen bases. He played in the All-Star game six times and was named the League MVP in 1949. In 1962, he was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame. But more importantly, he served as a role model for people of all races. Jackie Robinson was brave, strong, and determined. He was a great player and a great man.

Herman, Gail. Who was Jackie Robinson? New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 2010.

QUESTIONS
1 2 3 4 5
Challenge Question What's this?
The author apparently thinks that

A. Jackie Robinson was a hero
B. Jackie Robinson was the greatest athlete of all time
C. racist people should go to jail
D. Major League Baseball should only be for white players

formal arguments

in written, formal arguments, the best way to build credibility with readers is to provide them with evidence. no matter what your argument might be and which side you agree with, citing strong evidence to back up your claim leaves the opposition with little to argue.

emotional appeal is often used in oral arguments. written arguments, however, rely on four main types of evidence. as you read further, you will see that some types are more credible than others and "hold more water" so to speak.

statistical evidence

the strongest type of evidence in formal writing is statistical evidence. this ranges from true, hard data presented as a percentage or number, to survey-type data. for example, statistical evidence could be:

4 out of 5 experts claim

85% of women in the united

7 members were present

statistical evidence can be proven as fact. you can actually go out and find hard information to prove your particular claim.

testimonial evidence

the use of celebrities as credibility evidence can be considered testimonial in nature. many people look up to celebrities as role models in their lives. good or bad, when a person chooses a life-path that takes them into public light, there will be many others out there who want to emulate the celebrity. these celebrity endorsements provide the second-strongest type of evidence found in formal arguments.

testimonial evidence can also be collected from experts and authorities in a given field. doctors, dentists, lawyers often provide expert testimonials. their authority is not often questions. they are expected to "know their stuff."

anecdotal evidence

when storytelling is involved as evidence, anecdotal evidence is being used. due to its less objective nature, anecdotal evidence is not extremely strong. when coupled with statistical or testimonial evidence, anecdotal evidence can be highly effective in determining credibility or proof.

storytelling, although based on fact, can include quite a bit of opinion, thus making it less objective. usually, eyewitnesses are used as providers of anecdotal evidence. they saw or experienced the phenomenon at hand are telling their version or side of the story.

analogical evidence

when information is scarce about something and little is known, analogical evidence is often used in a formal argument to increase credibility of the proof. if the phenomenon in question is new and little is known about it, analogical evidence that pulls in known factors about a similar phenomenon to show parallels can be an effective way to provide proof.

due to limited knowledge about the phenomenon, in this situation, analogical evidence can be regarded as the weakest type of evidence used in formal arguments. one can only imagine and hope that the comparison-phenomenon is close enough that the results can be applied to the new phenomenon.

in the

all that really matters in a formal argument is whether or not the writer has credible evidence to back up what they want to say or what they are thinking. so often, we hear people say, "prove it! " to one another.

one last little formal arguments not only provide credible evidence to support claims, don't forget that acknowledgment of the opposing point of view in an argument also strengthens the entire product.

the answer is not

i need the experts to you or i cant really compaire