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https://studentshare.org/sociology/1395043-drug-addiction-emotional-or-social.
Full Drug Addiction: Emotional or Social? Writing a strong argument is not always easy even for professionals who have intensive trainings and studies that they feel are important factors for papers to be read and their thoughts to be reconsidered and agreed upon. There are a lot of requirements readers usually look into for them to believe and accept details written in an article or book and they do not have the same requirements to look into for them to be satisfied with the information they read.
However, there are certain general points that somehow make readers come together to find, read and agree that a paper is worth reading. The first thing that usually captures a person’s eye when reading a material is the relevance of an article to contemporary issues affecting people locally or globally. In the case of the essays Addiction in Free Markets by Bruce Alexander and Stefan Shaler and Embraced by the Needle by Gabor Mate, the theme is not only relevant in Canada but is a global issue that really needs to be considered not only by individuals but by the government as well, and this makes their essays pretty eye catching.
Nevertheless, no matter how strong an argument an individual has, there are still other factors that would qualify a writing to be accepted as reasonably readable. For instance, the tone of the writer/s widely affects the interest of readers because it somehow brings a sense of trust to the source, knowing that the information was not just overheard somewhere rather has been intensively researched, reflecting a well thought information. Addiction in Free Markets could be given this credit. The way it informs the reader sounds very professional and the authors’ thoughts are versed like they are really very observant of the world around them.
However, the information they gave are very general and as mentioned earlier, involve a wide scope. This affected the essay on a large scale which made their arguments weak because they touched on issues that are generally true but failed to mention other important matters that need to be considered. For instance, they mention the cause of addiction in free markets particularly concentrating on mass dislocation however, they did not delve into other factors that cause addiction in the society.
Taking on a wide scope of an issue usually gives this problem because although it could be true that the subject matter could be universal, there would be more branches to consider. However, probably with the lack of space, many writers fail to consider all the angles that need to be taken for the paper to be reliable. Where Alexander and Shaler missed out, Mate made his essay a little strong by being concentrated on one area of the subject matter. He is very specific as to the examples he gave however, he took it to the extreme of how Alexander and Shaler approached their writing, making his arguments take some minuses.
It is a good thing that the information Mate provided were experienced first hand with him as a physician but he failed to note information that would make his observations strong, like studies supporting his claims especially when he takes note of his observations about his patients, their pains expressed through their words and their facial expressions. Although he is a noted source of information regarding the subject matter, his observations could be perceived as purely subjective without additional information from other physicians or researches that prove his arguments.
In addition, Mate’s terms “all” and “always” make his statements unreliable and sometimes unbelievable, making readers give a frown as they read, if not put the paper down. “All” and “always” suggest an idea to be applied without exceptions, and the suggestion usually reaches the reader like he has no choice but to accept the information as a fact, leaving no room for other possibilities and considerations. While Alexander and Shaler failed to account other important information, Mate committed a greater offense because he seemed to have closed all doors of possibilities with his aforementioned statements, suggesting that all addictions are emotional in nature.
With the plus and minuses of the essays mentioned, it could be said that Addiction in Free Markets has a more fair and just view of the subject matter because it is not solely confined in closed box rather takes on the global issue on drugs. Embraced by the Needle could be more realistic when it comes to solutions because it involves a smaller group which is the family where love and care, hugs and embraces could be given without any expenses, financially speaking. Addiction in Free Markets on the other hand requires a larger group and large financial support which could make it difficult however, the solution is not far from attainable.
One might just look into other important roots of drug addiction and the information from Alexander and Shaler’s essay would be complete information.
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