Critical Thinking Assignment (710 words)

This critical thinking assignment is designed to provide you with experience in identifying and analyzing rhetorical devices used for persuasion. The topic is overseas outsourcing.

While you may cite other rhetorical devices for your paper, the three YouTube presentations on the topic are provided to get you started. Each of the following presentations makes various claims about workers outside of the United States.

YouTube videos:
- Nike sweatshops- try not to cry
- Myth: outsourcing is bad
- Disadvantages of outsourcing

Analyze the effectiveness of the rhetorical devices used to either challenge or support the use of overseas outsourcing by corporations. The goal is to connect these to what you may see, hear and read on this topic.   

Each essay must include and demonstrate your ability to:

- Identify the rhetorical device(s)
- Explain how and whether it is effective in persuasion
- State why or why not it is a valid argument
- Analyze in detail the presentation for validity, logic, accuracy, misleading statements, credibility, etc.
- State your position on the topic of outsourcing
- Use additional citation, if necessary, to support your reasoning

Remember that critical thinking is based on objective information and premises (claims), not on opinions.

Your paper should be 2-3 pages in length, well written, and formatted according to APA Style.

This material may consist of step-by-step explanations on how to solve a problem or examples of proper writing, including the use of citations, references, bibliographies, and formatting. This material is made available for the sole purpose of studying and learning - misuse is strictly forbidden.

The subject of the first video given is a certain protest against Nike Corporation and its outsourcing outside the US. The rhetorical devices used here are trying to convince the audience to do something about using of labor in poor countries by Nike Corporation. Here, the main rhetorical devices used are inductive reasoning and Pathos. At the first glance, this video seems quite persuasive. But, let focus on the techniques used argumentation...