1. (1) Many people believe that the crime of bribery cannot extend to campaign contributions. (2) From a legal standpoint, however, countless campaign contributions are in fact bribes. (3) A bribe is anything of value or advantage given with the intent to unlawfully influence the person to whom it is given in his official capacity. (4) A campaign contribution is certainly something of value or advantage. Furthermore, (5) every contribution from a lobbyist or special interest group is given with the intent to influence voting, and (6) thousands of such contributions are made in every important election.

2. (1) America's farm policy desperately needs revamping. (2) Seventy-three cents of every farm-program dollar ends up in the pockets of the nation's superfarmers. As a result, (3) the mid-sized family farms are being squeezed out of existence. Also, (4) our farm policy courts environmental disaster. (5) Federal subsidies encourage farmers to use enormous amounts of fertilizer and pesticides. (6) These chemicals percolate down through the soil and pollute limited groundwater.

3. (1) Society values white lives more than black lives. This is clear from the fact that (2) killers of whites are much more likely to be sentenced to death than killers of blacks. (3) Of the 1,788 people currently on death row, 1,713 were convicted of killing a white person. Yet (4) blacks are six times more likely to be murder victims than whites are. (5) In Florida, no one has ever been executed for murdering a black person, but (6) dozens have been executed for murdering white people.

The following arguments gradually increase in difficulty. Use the method presented in this section to construct argument patterns. If a statement is redundant or plays no role in the argument, do not include it in the pattern.