Toulmin Analysis

Claim:  

We should get out of other countries for oil, and invest in renewable energy sources on our own land.

Reasons:

- To stop the war over oil in foreign countries
-  To improve our economy by making this an American operation.
-To limit the pollution by using safer forms of energy.

Evidence:

"To stop the war over oil in foreign countries" - Too many lives are being taken for the sake of oil, these lives can be prevented by producing our own energy, and limit our dependency on other countries.

"To improve our economy by making this an American operation" - Producing our own energy will create jobs, build a new industry, lower energy prices, and ultimately improve the economy.

"To limit the pollution by using safer forms of energy"- Moving towards sustainable energy like solar or wind energy will improve our environment, using much cleaner sources.



Warrants:

"To stop the war over oil in foreign countries"
         A.    Oil causes wars and controversy
         B.  Foreign countries are our source of oil

"To improve our economy by making this an American operation"
        A.  America needs to produce it's own energy.
        B.  We should stop outsourcing jobs.

"To limit the pollution by using safer forms of energy"
        A.  Oil usage pollutes our environment
        B.  Energy can be produced in a cleaner form.

Backing

"Oil causes wars and controversy" - Since oil equals power, because of it's high demand, it would be safer to move to other forms of energy that can be shared easier.

"Foreign countries are our source of oil" - We depend on other countries too much, we need to become more independent and self-sustainable.

"We should stop outsourcing jobs."  - Our economy can be improved if we stop sending jobs over seas and employ more Americans with jobs regarding energy production.

"Energy can be produced in a cleaner form."  - Oil usage pollutes our environment and we can prevent this by using cleaner energy sources like wind, or solar energy.

Analysis

I think that the two most effective reasons were "to improve our economy by making this an American operation" and "to stop the war over oil in foreign countries" because these the first one refers to the American economy which most people would agree that is needs improvement and that it's an important issue to cover, so it appeals to the general public strongly.  The other reason mentions the end of war which also appeals to the general public because, lets face it, who really wants to be in war?  The last reason about pollution is not necessary  but it does supply more backup.  I think that "energy can be produced in a cleaner form"has the most backup and is the most factual of the evidence, making it very important to this piece, however the other two are also important.  I think that the warrant "we should stop outsourcing jobs" requires backing because there are some people who believe that outsourcing is an advantage for America and support it.  I also think that "energy can be produced in a cleaner form" requires backing because some people are simply uneducated on the subject and need to know, in fact, which sources of energy can be produced cleanly.  I think that this argument uses a good amount of pathos, logos, however it lacks ethos.  I also think that a better use of diction could have been done.  Overall, this was an excellent piece. :D