Legal Writing: Critical Evaluation Thesis and Outline
Thesis
“Why the Gasoline Engine Isn't Going Away Any Time Soon?” article by J. White (2008) is a failure because the author fails to apply the rhetorical devices correctly, and the rationale of his claims is inconsistent, which depreciates the persuasiveness of the article.
Body
J. White appeals to the unpredictability of future events to underpin his claim about the continuation of petroleum-powered car usage, but he fails to use this rhetorical device consistently.
In the first passage, he argues that electric car trend emerged due to high prices on oil, but the prices may decay again after a while and make autos with internal combustion engines desired again (White, 2008).
Moreover, White states that the usage of the traditional car will not degrade again, and even in twenty years, one “will find that most cars for sale in the U.S. will still run on regular gas” (2008, para. 1).
However, one can easily assume that oil market may disrupt again, and the consequences of this decline may be more crucial that one who was experienced by the author.
The inconsistency of rhetoric makes White’s argument doubtful from the early beginning.
The overall inconsistency of the underlying rationale effect author’s claims in the opposite way from expected.
In “Integral to Modern Life” section (White, 2008, para. 3), White argues that petroleum-powered cars cannot be substituted in some cultures and areas.
However, within the same paragraph, he discusses the cultural changes which affected the lifestyle of Americans, which allows concluding that indispensability of traditional automobiles may be a temporary trend too.
The author also claims that high oil prices stimulate manufacturers of combustion engines to invest in the improvement and optimization of the technology (White, 2008, para. 4).
However, later in the article, he states that development of the electrical engines is likely to increase the cost of the eco-friendly cars (White, 2008, para. 5).
As White assumes that development of the technology increases the cost of the petroleum-alternative products, that should also be true for traditional cars, but the author states quite the opposite.
J. White tries to underpin his claims with sound evidence, but the adequacy of assumptions and references is compromised.
The author analyses economic, social, and technological aspects of the problem. At the same time, the article reveals that White is a senior editor of the journal (White, 2008).
While one cannot deny that editorial work may broaden the horizons of the person, it is hardly enough to forecast particular trends in twenty years continuum.
Moreover, he refers to an employee of the car manufacturer to substantiate his claim about the sustainability of combustion-engine-based automobiles (White, 2008, para. 4).
While this person may know the industry much better than the author, he is the stakeholder of the situation, so is biased and unfair because he represents the brand and …
