Guide to spelling, punctuation and grammar

particular ecological axe to grind? The scientific evidence for
global warming is, at best, contradictory. There have been many
dissenting voices in the scientific community who doubt the very
basis of the ecologist argument. Professor Otis Jones of Duke
University, Illinois, for example, has claimed that the panic over
global warming has been politically motivated. Yes, other scientists
say, there may well be a process of global warming taking place,
but the extent of it is much less dramatic that has been described
hitherto. Perhaps some ice caps are melting, these scientists argue,
but at such a slow rate that the planet is in no real danger. Yes,
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WRITING IN RESPONSE TO A CRITICAL THINKING TASK

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industry and cars are sources of carbon emissions, but no more
than trees, which most ecologist activists would seek to protect.
The picture is confused and the problem is that one side of the
argument seems to have a vested interest in keeping it that way by
supplying half-truths and relying on half-baked scientific evidence.
There has been an attempt to stampede the major industrial nations,
especially the United States, into taking drastic action to cut
emissions, an action that could seriously harm the country’s
economy and as a result, the world’s. What is needed is a plain,
common sense policy, not hysterical arguments. The available
evidence, unless it is tainted by special interest groups, must be
examined scientifically and unemotionally to find out exactly what
the situation is. It may well be that the planet is warming and that
that will have an effect on how we inhabit this earth. However, let
us deal with facts, not fantasy, and apply our intelligence to the
problem, if problem it be, and not our prejudices.
1. In the first paragraph, two intermediate
conclusions are made: that the case for global
warming has been exaggerated and that the
situation is more confused than is often represented
by the proponents of urgent action being taken on
the issue. The counter-assertion is made that the
earth has always undergone climate change,
implying that there is nothing new about the
current situation. The last sentence of the second
paragraph concludes that recent forecasts about the
impact of global warming have been inaccurate.
The reasons that this conclusion is based on are that
those scientists who made those predictions have had
to water down their warnings because the disasters
have not happened. In the third paragraph, the
conclusion is made that the earth may well be
warming, but the impact of this is less severe than
has been claimed. Having admitted global warming
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may be happening, the writer gives some specific
examples of the impact on the environment that help
back up this conclusion. The final sentence of the
article draws the conclusion that facts, and not
fantasy, must be the basis for discussion of this issue.
This conclusion is based on the opinions expressed in
the preceding sentences of the paragraph that stress
the emotional, irrational nature of the arguments
used to force action on global warming. 
2. The main flaws are that there is lack of hard
evidence to back up the argument and that it
depends on rather empty assertions of the very kind
that he/she accuses the other side of indulging in.
In essence, the writer has provided little or no
evidence for the opinions expressed. The arguments
of those advocating urgent action are presented as
born out of prejudice. The use of terms such as
‘sacred cause’, ‘zealots’, ‘apocalyptic forecasts’ and
‘dire prognostications’ are intended to create the
impression that these people have allowed the
intensity of their feelings to cloud their judgement,
which leads them into presenting, at best, very