Strong Arguments In Dispute Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Strong Arguments In Dispute - Essay Example It is these evidence which is very effective and helps strengthen the argument put forward in this book. In America, there is a serious problem of illiteracy where religion is concerned. Prothero aims to highlight this fact and he does it not only by introducing arguments. Any normal argument may not satisfy the reader and keep ho engrossed. So using his style of writing he injects into the argument numerous facts to support it. These are well-chosen facts properly structured. Prothero uses an extreme amount facts, statistics, quotes, and he even uses murder trial to help him prove this point. These are all great pieces of evidence, but the strongest piece of evidence was the â€Å"Religious Literacy Quiz† and its results. Prothero gave this literacy quiz to his students at Boston University, and he learned that almost every student knows nothing about religion. He included simple questions like: â€Å"Name a sacred text of Hinduism†, and the student’s answers showed â€Å"†¦ only one in four could name a single Hindu scripture† (Prothero 196-197). He adds further that one in three United States Christians can give the names of the gospels. This piece of evidence was a very successful strategy for persuading his audience. Unlike the facts and quotes he uses, this quiz engages the reader, makes them participate in the text, and has them test their own knowledge against his acquisitions. Once the reader finishes this quiz, it brings the text down to their reality and makes the reader pay attention to how bad the problem actually is. He does this in a two-step process. First, he mentions the question encouraging the reader to participate. This creates a link between the reader and the matter. The reader gets engrossed in the book as he aligns such evidence one after the other in various places.