Description
This week we are starting our unit for the research paper. One of the options, you have to pick from is on Monsters and how Monsters (real and imaginary) function in .our society. Please watch the TED Talk by Karen Thompson Walker entitled "What Fear Can Teach Us."
While you are watching or writing about the TED Talk consider using it as one of your outside sources for Essay 4.
Click here for the transcript of Walker's speech. 
"What Fear Can Teach Us" | Karen Thompson Walker.
Questions
What is the speaker's main argument? Or what is her thesis?
Name at least 3 specific examples/pieces of evidence she uses to support her argument?
What was the biggest takeaway that you had from this video? What interested you the most?
What kind of evidence/stories is Walker telling her audience in the speech?
How does Walker organize her speech? In connection with Question 4, when does this evidence show up in her speech? When does she give that evidence? Is the placement of the evidence successful? Is there any pattern you can discern or figure out from where she places those pieces of specific evidence?
What is Walker's purpose? What does she want from his audience?
What is Walker's tone? Is her tone successful in connecting with her audience?
What examples of ethos, pathos, or logos does Walker use in her speech? Are they effective or not?
Explanation & Answer
Attached.
[Last Name] 1
[Your Name]
[Instructor Name]
[Course Number]
[Date]
[Title]: [Subtitle]
1. What is the speaker's main argument? Or what is her thesis? The speaker’s main
argument is about fear, and what it could teach us about the decisions we make in life.
2. Name at least 3 specific examples/pieces of evidence she uses to support her argument?
American sailors whose ship sank, were it not for their fear of cannibals, they would have
sailed to Tahiti and survived but they chose the longer way, which made them die from
starvation.
Her fear of earthquakes, since she grew up in California and the frequent tremors
which made her fear of their building probably collapsing. Childhood fears led to
incredible imaginations like "The Origin of Species," "Jane Eyre" and "The Remembrance of
Things Past”
The productive paranoia employed by entrepreneurs, which makes them put their fear
into action, so that their businesses are always ready.
3. What was the biggest takeaway that you had from this video? What interested you the
most? The fact that our fears can actually predict the future.
4. What kind of evidence/stories is Walker telling her audience in the speech? She uses
stories that explain her point about what fears can teach us about life. E.g. the story about
the American sailors how were it not for their fear of cannibals they would have survived
but instead they chose starvation. She uses the evidence of a study she read about how
[Last Name] 2
successful entrepreneurs incorporate “Productive Paranoia” to prepare their businesses
for the worst case scenario.
5. How does Walker organize her speech? In connection with Quest...
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