In-class Exercise: Looking at Arguments

Article:
Elsea, Zachary. “Facing Genocide”. Harvard International Review 26 (2004): 11-2.

Subject and approach:
The author analyses the humanitarian crisis in Sudan.

Thesis statement:
The global community’s sluggish response to the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan was due to the intricacies of international laws designed to preserve peace and human life.

Argument:
The slow response by the international community is not due to a lack of media exposure or investigation. (Elsea, p. 11)

1. What is the stated premise? Is it completely accurate?
The stated premise is that even with all the media around the Darfur crisis, the response by the international community is still slow. The stated premise is accurate because it answers to the thesis statement.

2. What is the hidden premise?
The hidden premise is that it is still not understandable that the international community is not helping rapidly.

3. Is the statement completely accurate?
Yes and it is proven with the rest of the article.

4. Do the premises inescapably lead to the conclusion?
The premises lead to the conclusion.