ACR paragraph. Marta Pasiuk

Personalism should be defined as a philosophical school. 

Personalism exists in many different versions, and this makes it difficult to define it as a philosophical school. We feel it necessary to declare it as a specific school of European philosophy. One reason is that Personalism was a widespread movement in such European countries as France, Germany, and Poland. However it is concerned that Personalism is a more diffused and eclectic movement and has no such universal reference point. But Personalism maintains a higher reality and value of the individual - a person; it emphasizes the importance, uniqueness and inviolability of the person, as well as the person's private and social dimension. The other reason is that Personalism has a close connection with other philosophical schools. It should be admitted that because of the emphasis on the subjectivity of the person Personalism is often associated with Phenomenology and Existentialism as a part of these schools but not as unique one. Therefore Personalism a broader worldview and represents more than one school or one doctrine while at the same time the most important forms of Personalism do display such central and essential commonalities as the general affirmation of the centrality of the person for philosophical thought.

Argument	Counterargument	Rebuttal
was a widespread movement	has no universal reference point	emphasizes the importance, uniqueness and inviolability of the person
has a close connection with other philosophical schools	often associated with Phenomenology and Existentialism as a part of these schools	display such central and essential commonalities as the general affirmation of the centrality of the person for philosophical thought

ACR Paragraph. Maria Pozniakova

Ancient Greek dramas can be a valuable source for political history of ancient polices and especially Athens – home of the most of the authors. Foremost, dramas (and especially tragedies) are very broad and relatively well preserved texts. When dealing with ancient history one can find such big sources quite rarely. That is why dramas can't be ignored in case of historical investigation. Of course, one can object by stating that most of the dramas described mythical events, or great deeds of the past, with no link to the modern times of the authors, thus, being of non use in deconstruction of the historical reality. Yet, that's only the first sight. Deeper textual analysis shows, that dramas contained multiple allusions to real events which took place at that time. They did reflect inner political tendencies, social changes or international events, though not in the form of direct narration, but camouflaged into mythological characters or ancient heroes. Therefore, knowing that fact and possessing methodology to uncover those hidden links to actual history, makes ancient dramas irreplaceable historical source for scholars researching history of ancient polices.

ACR Paragraph. Ivanna Voitsekhovych

Argument	Counterargument	Rebuttal
contradicts real historical events	conveys the spirit of the age	criticizes Catholicism that appeared 500 years after “Velesova knyha” was written

“Velesova knyha” that is considered to be Old Ukrainian monument to the cultural history is fake. One reason is that its content contradicts real historical events, modern theories of Slavs’ ethnical development. It should be admitted that it conveys the spirit of the age, in particular, paganism and other beliefs. However, its author criticizes Catholicism although the text had been created 500 years before the dissidence of the Christianity. Therefore, “Velesova knyha” should not be studied as original monument to that age.

Source: В. Лучик. До питання про автентичність т.зв. «Велесової книги» // Новітні міфи та фальшивки про походження українців [збірник статей]

ACR Paragraph. Iryna Nikolaichuk

Literary phenomena of modernism should be revaluated in postmodernism

Argument	Counterargument	Rebuttal
Revaluation of modernistic outlook, art systems, and style features in the categories of postmodernism can give brand new image of literary modernism for research purposes.	There is wide variety of different researches which pay attention to modernistic phenomena, and they explicate so many points of view that there is no need to refer to modernistic categories again.	Modernistic phenomena should be revaluated in the terms of postmodernism in order to clarify terms and concepts referring to literary modernism, provide re-analysis of existing points of view, and systematize all the information in this area of literary science.

In a new literary criticism there is a tendency of earning scientific interest to phenomena of modernism, which are noticeably distanced in time from their todays` researchers, in order to revaluate them according to the categories of postmodern way of thinking, and this direction of literary science seems to be very effective. One reason is that these processes of revaluation of modernistic concepts can provide completely new image of modernistic art system in general and modern literature in particular. Stylistic and ideological inventions of modernism make very bright example of specifically organized system whose influence on next art generations remains to be appreciable. But it should be admitted that attention which was paid by different researchers to modernistic phenomena during the last century was so considerable that now for literary science it makes a real problem to deal with such a variety of different points of view about some concepts of modernism. Modernism as cultural phenomenon was analyzed so deeply in all the possible aspects that it makes no sense for postmodern researchers to refer to such over-analyzed problems instead of drawing their attention to something undiscovered yet. However, existing knowledge about some modernistic concepts needs re-systematization and re-analysis in highly distanced in time from modernistic way of thinking postmodern outlook because modernism as cultural and literal phenomenon still is under non-scientific and non-objective stereotypes which are to be destroyed by new researches. Modernistic categories, therefore, can be clarified in new cultural and ideological space and can still be the points of interest for a literary criticism.
Source: bachelor paper "Narrative technique of 'stream of concsiousness' in British literature of modernism: James Joyce, Virginia Woolf" by Iryna Nikolaichuk; tutor - Rostyslav Semkiv. - Kyiv, 2012. - 100 p.

ACR paragraph. Nedoboi Sergii

Investment in Brand

Thesis: A company should invest in its brand

Argument	Counterargument	Rebuttal
Brand investment is important for business	Investment in quality of goods is more important than in brand	People choose goods by famous brand more often than by quality of a product
Positive image of company helps to sell products	A new high quality product does not need much of an advertisement	A company cannot sell any product without explanation of its advantages

A company should invest in its brand. One reason is that brand investment is important for successful business. On the other hand, there is a position that investment in quality of goods is more important than investment in brand. However, people choose goods by famous brand more often than by quality of a product. The other reason to invest in brand is that positive image of company helps to sell products. It should be admitted that a new high quality product does not need much of an advertisement. Still, a modern company cannot sell any product without explanation of its advantages and building a strong positive image of its brand. Therefore, a modern company should invest in its brand to build a profitable business.  

ACR paragraph. Mogilnyy Roman

Argument	Counterargument	Rebuttal
First a  theoretical science	Knowledge is gained during working	To work properly you should be theoretically prepared
PR is very important for business	Advertising is enough	Two-way communication gives more advantages than one-way one

There are several prejudices connected with Public Relations. It is obvious that every science is to be learned first on the theoretical level. Indeed, much knowledge is gained during working in this sphere. But still to work properly you should be theoretically prepared and it prevents you from making basic mistakes. It is necessary to say that PR is very important for business. Although it is thought that advertising is just enough to be successful. But there is a common knowledge that two-way communication gives more advantages than one-way one because in that case consumer feels more satisfied. Therefore, the PR science is facing problems caused by prejudices and so something has to be done with it.

Olena Bychkovska

A-C-R Pragraph

 The World Should Help Africa to Combat HIV/AIDS

Argument	Counterargument	Rebuttal
A large number of people are infected in Africa	Too little recourses to help	World’s most effective program is in Africa
HIV/AIDS has a significant negative impact	Other own problems to solve	Is a world problem + globalization

The world’s community should help Africa to combat HIV/AIDS. One reason is that the HIV epidemics dominate in Africa, especially in the sub-Saharan region, where approximately 22.9 million people are infected, which constitutes two thirds of the global population infected. Moreover, in Africa HIV/AIDS has a significant negative impact on various sides of the peoples’ life such as life expectancy and productivity, households’ prosperity; evolvement of healthcare, education and economy [1]. Opinions vary, but some scientist state that there is too little recourses available in order to provide treatment for a large number of people in Africa. Moreover, other countries have limited resources and own problems to solve, therefore, it might seem that those countries do not have well-grounded reasons to spend their resources on solving Africa’s problems. Nevertheless, HIV/AIDS can be effectively treated and prevented not only in other regions of the world, but also in Africa. Actually, the “Africa Dream Project”may serve as an example. It is being implemented in few African countries and provides treatment to numerous HIV-positive Africans [2]. In addition, nowadays the globalization is taking place; consequently, the problems as well become more and more globalized. It has been widely recognized by the leading scientists that the changes in one region greatly contribute to the changes in other regions, as a result, African HIV/AIDS epidemics is not only an African concern, but it should be addressed by the world in general. On the basis of considerations provided, the world’s community should provide various types of aid to Africa more consistently in order to help it to combat HIV/AIDS.

List of References:

1. HIV and AIDS in Africa - Official web-site of AVERT. - Available from: <http://www.avert.org/hiv-aids-africa.htm> - Title from the screen.   
2. Official web-site of Africa Dream Project - Available from: <http://www.africadreamproject.org/> - Title from the screen.

An Editorial on Class Sizes in School. Critical Response.

The presented paragraph has a number of strong and weak points. As an example of an advantage of this paragraph may serve that the author tells it as a personal story, which makes the stated problem more interesting and realistic. The arguments provided are well-built and consider various issues. Nevertheless, some weak points have to be mentioned. First of all, an argumentative paragraph should be developed on a topic that is thought to be controversial. According to convictions, to reduce or not reduce the class size is not a controversial topic, because in pedagogy, psychology and sociology it has been decided that the smaller the number of people in class, the more effective is the educational process. The world’s leading educational institutions, like Oxford, are taking the approach of class reduction. Therefore, there is no problem to state and no opinion to argue against, because everything was agreed already. In addition, the opinion of the author has to be stated in the topic sentence. Moreover, the student provides his own opinion, thoughts and feeling, which are not well-grounded reasons for reducing the class size. No statistics, official academic conclusions, facts from educational institutions are discussed. In a serious matter like this it is not recommended to rely on somebody’s opinion. Furthermore, the rebuttal is introduced too quickly, not enough counterarguments are considered; consequently, the opposing opinion is not expressed fully. The arguments and counterarguments are not paired. Overall, while reading this paragraph it seems like there is no such problem, though the author tried to state it. Only one point of view is being considered mostly, and it gives an impression that to reduce the class size is the only acceptable option. It seems like the author tries not to mention the counterarguments because he does not know how to oppose them. That is why the overall message is weak and inconviencive. As it can be seen from this example, writing an argumentative paragraph might be a challenging task, which demands taking into consideration various recommendations.

ACR paragraph. Domashchenko Mariia

Ethical issues in a sociological research

Arguments	Counterarguments	Rebuttal
●     informed consent very often prevents people from taking part in a research	●     many unprotected categories of people may be “used” by a researcher	●     the rights of unprotected categories must be defended, but without exaggerated bureaucratism
●     positive impacts of a research for the common well being	●     some individuals may suffer from the research	●     a sociologist must always weigh possible positive and negative impacts

Ethical issues play an important role in any sociological research, but there is much evidence that strict regulations, such as present in the USA, can hurt the research in particular and further development of the sociological science as a whole. Many human rights protectors, for example Freedman and Cassel, claim that the informed consent is the only correct decision. Their concern can  be understood, because some vulnerable categories of people, such as homeless, elderly, drug-addicts, might suffer from an improper use of their personal data. However, human rights protectors ignore the fact that a lot of people become suspicious after they are asked to sign an informed consent. As a result, in many cases respondents refuse to take part in the research, which makes response rates even lower than usual. Therefore, sociologists have to balance between two extremes and find the way to defend vulnerable categories of people without making it another bureaucratic procedure. On the other hand, some studies influence people’s lives too much, and it is another concern of the informed consent proponents. Some studies undoubtedly make a big impact on the lives of individuals; but, what is even more important, some of these studies have positive results to the whole society. That is why, all researchers have to weigh possible positive and negative impacts of their studies. For instance, if a group of researchers found ways illegal immigrants get into a country, they might be faced with a choice: either to tell the authorities or not. They would choose between the prosperity of his country, and the individual fate. This situation is an illustration for the ethical issues every researcher has to face. It also shows that if the informed consent had been needed, this research team would have never come to their findings.

For more information refer to: Thorne, Barrie. "You Still Takin' Notes?" Fieldwork and Problems of Informed Consent Social Problems, Vol. 27, No. 3, Ethical Problems of Fieldwork (Feb., 1980), pp. 284-297.

ACR Paragraph. Musina Valentyna

ARGUMENT	COUNTERARGUMENT	REBUTTAL
Social networking allows to communicate with a person without the physical presence of both at the same place	A person loses an ability to build relations in the real life	Social networks create an opportunity to stay in touch with the people who do not reside in an accessible area

               

In our modern societies there has not been provided an unified vision towards social networks. Some people may assume that the creation of social messaging eliminates the real life connections and roots out the individual value of reality [1]. Nevertheless, evident expansion of the Internet in our daily life indicates the necessity to recognize social networks significance and to study such a phenomenon meticulously.  Principally, the vital advantage the social networking offers is an ability to communicate with the person in a required period of time immediately without physical presence in one particular place. Moreover, the communication is not limited by messaging exclusively; in fact, different social networks propose convenient sharing of files and information: simultaneous acquaintance with various media files, distant events organization, and virtual communities’ establishment. However, social networking overindulgence is a cause of the adequate reality comprehension deprivation; for example, a huge database of friends in a social network distorts the notion of friend in a real life. Therefore, instant messaging becomes an issue of self-control and real life perception when it touches people who you have an ability to communicate with without the Internet maintenance.   

1. Tardanico Susan (2012). "Is Social Media Sabotaging Real Communication?". Forbes.  http://www.forbes.com/sites/susantardanico/2012/04/30/is-social-media-sabotaging-real-communication/