President Monson's Gratitude Talk

1. Gratitude will help you to be happier.

2. Members of the LDS church plus all those throughout the world who lack happiness.

3. To bring happiness to those that need it and to remind about the importance of gratitude.

4. Pathos: President Monson uses some appeal to emotion as well by telling an old story. The story is about a family that gets electricity one year and many trials that same year. As the family complains about the hard times, the father turns off the lights and brings back the candle lights to show how great their lives really are compared to last year. He also speaks of death and of losing loved ones with regret because of never showing gratitude to them. These strories spark emotions in our hearts as we listen and learn and become a powerful motivator.

Ethos: President Monson makes several references to the scriptures as to the importance of gratitude. Many people of his audience regard the scriptures as authority from God, so referencing them will give his talk and purpose a lot more authority. He uses Luke 17 to show the story of the 10 lepers, Doctrine & Covenants 59:7 to show a more modern example as it is a revelation give to Joseph Smith.

Sufficient: President Monson covers scriptures, stories, and several examples of why gratitude is so important. No one could really argue against his points, so I believe he is quite sufficient.

Typical: He always speaks to his audience very well. His use of scriptures will appeal to those who are church goers while his use of personal stories and examples will appeal to those who do not know the scriptures. His audience will be able to relate and enjoy his talk.

5. Effective: His talk had Ethos, Pathos, it was sufficient and typical to his audience so I would deem it very effective. His arguments would be tough to counter and they are solid with authority from the scriptures.
   Words: 330

Paper A - Married with Games

1. Playing video games excessively damages the marriage relationship.

2. The spouse that plays video games.

3. To help the married video gamer to not play so excessively.

4. Ethos: This argument used many sources from scholarly research articles that hold a lot of authority. There were studies cited from BYU that had researched the effects of video games on relationships as well as an article that was published in The American Journal of Family Therapy. Quoting and citing from this articles gave the argument a lot more weight as to what was being said.

Logos: As well as authority, the paper took on a very logical stance. There was listed the types of situations where excessive gaming takes place, how it starts, and the consequences of playing too much. It talks about how a gamer that plays excessively will neglect his/her spouse and that will cause problems in the relationship, which logically, it would.

Sufficient: I think this argument just skimmed the surface. It made good points that were valid and for some people it might be enough. But there is more out there. More points could have been made. Narrower arguments could have been brought up to meet the needs of a narrower audience. These things would be more persuasive for the audience.

Typical: The writing is typical for the audience and brings up valid points. Both the gaming spouse and non-gaming spouse would be able to understand all of the terms and situations that the paper covers.

5. Effective: The paper was generally effective. The logic was clear and solid as well as the sources. The trick would just be to keep the gamer addict reading and keeping an open mind. The gamer might feel the argument doesn't quite relate to him/her specifically enough. Other than that, I think it was effective.

Words: 305

Paper A: Married with Games – Devon Dewey