Respond Question Series

Social Impact of Popular Culture

 

Complete the following questions for our selected reading, offering full responses to these questions. (You can copy and paste these questions into your word processor and type your responses and print them out, or you can hand-write your responses on separate paper.)

 

1. What kind of impact does popular culture have on society, according to the author?

(Further explanation: The author might offer one, two, or more ways that popular culture affects society: by providing poor role models, or by providing poor role models and undermining parental values, for instance.)

 

 

2. What sub-claims (reasons) does the author offer in support of his or her main claim (your response to #1)? Create a working thesis statement for the author's argument.

(Further explanation: A working thesis statement lists the author's main claim and sub-claims (reasons) as a "because statement." For instance, after reading the essay, you might discover that the author's working thesis claim might read: "Popular culture, as expressed through film, is beneficial to society because films offer realistic representations of society's ills, because films can show a better world than the one we live in now, and because younger generations in society are persuaded by the visual images of film more than what they read." You may locate a "because statement" in the essays you're reading, but it's more likely that you'll have to assemble it yourself after reading the author's argument.)

 

 

3. Identify one piece of evidence that you found persuasive and one piece that didn't persuade you and explain why.

 

 

4. Look under the essay title and note the original audience for the essay. How effective is the author in using audience-based reasoning, of tailoring the argument to his or her readers? Offer one example to support your response.

 

 

5. How might you refute the author's argument?

(Further explanation: Consider the main claim, the sub-claims (reasons), the warrant (underlying assumptions, beliefs and values of the main claim), and the evidence presented: How could you play "devil's advocate" and refute one or more of these areas of the argument?)

 

 

 

 

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