Policy Argument Map (Essay Sample)

Policy Argument Map
In the article by BBC news, it can be seen that there is a claim which is made by the president of the United States of America. In this article Obama is seen to comment that smoking marijuana is just as dangerous as drinking alcohol. In this article, the claim being made is that Marijuana has the same effects as drinking alcohol both socially and health wise. This is a conclusion he made to a long lasting debate in which there has been arguments of whether the use of the drug should be made legal or not or whether the sentencing of the people using these drugs should be removed.
The president is seen to have a reason to support his statement, hence a warrant, as he is seen to claim that he had used it when he was a kid. The president also says that he has smoked cigarettes and he has seen no difference comparing it with marijuana. With this, it can be seen that the president is giving a warrant for his statements hence his point of reasoning and the reason as to how he came up with the conclusion. His backing is seen by the description he gives about his childhood experiences he had in the ghetto when he was using various drugs hence being in a position to compare.
The article cannot be said to be informative as it can be seen there is no direct or indirect evidence portrayed by the President himself but just his opinion concerning the drug. This means that this cannot be policy relevant information but just mere statement which needs to be supported by facts in order to making policy making information. The article also can’t be seen to be having a qualifier. This includes figures and statements from labs against various drugs so as to conclude that truly the drug can be compared with other substances such as alcohol and cigarettes. This implies that the article is mere opinion of a single with backing from his life experience. 
The strength of the argument is based upon the fact that his life experience has made him to make such a decision. Considering that he has used most of the drugs on the street and lived to tell of it, many people will identify with him as they also have used the same drug and still can perform their normal functions with ease. In the article, it can be seen that its strength is also its weakness, as it is his personal experiences, it can be claimed that not all people are the same hence different people react differently to different issues.
The second article by Forbes magazine has a claim that states that the number of legal cases of Apple and Samsung have effects on the share price in the stock markets. This claim has been supported by many facts and evidences hence having policy based information and as well as quantifiers to support this claim. The claim at first started with a warrant thereby gaining facts and father figures to support such a statement hence making it reliable as it possess all the traits of a trusted article.
As the article contains policy based information, there will be need for a person who wants to object or rebuttals the argument to possess special evidence and facts that are to counter attack the argument and displace it as a fact. This will seem a bit hard as the person who aired this argument provided enough evidence to make sure that his or her claim is firmly supported.
The article also can be seen to bear quantifiers as it has used figures, charts and graphs which have been distributed fairly over a period of years hence giving it the backing it needs. With the use of charts, there is a possibility that the information can be quantified hence making it more trusted by its readers.
The strengths of this article emerge from the use of the warranties in the article in the supporting of the claims by the author. These warranties have been further supported by the policy based information making it even more accurate and hard to object as there are clearly explained facts and figures that have clearly showed the evidence required to support the claim and make it a strong one. The use of all the information that could have been use has made the author to be in a position to make claims that are strong hence a strong argument with concrete bases.
With these two articles,the different ways of using the argument mapping procedures can be demonstrated by the authors as they introduce their claims and give concrete arguments to support their claims. It can be noted that the use of quantifiers, warranties and information in the supporting of one’s claim have different levels pros and cons with the use of information having the most pros as opposed to cons.
References
BBC News - Barack Obama: 'Marijuana no more dangerous than alcohol' [Video file]. (2014, January 20). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25805206
Jones, C. (2014, January 9). Apple And Samsung CEOs To Meet. Shouldn't Move The Stocks Long-term - Forbes [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2014/01/09/apple-and-samsung-ceos-to-meet-shouldnt-move-the-stocks-long-term/
Knoepfel, P. (2009). Public policy analysis. Bristol: Policy Press.