If the following passage contains an argument, write a well-crafted version of it; if the passage is not an argument, classify it as a report, illustration, explanation, or single conditional statement. Selective harvesting of timber is less damaging to the environment and healthier for local economies than clear-cutting. . . . Selective harvesting uses the natural rhythms of a forest's ecosystem instead of ignoring them. Selection harvesters carefully choose trees for timber, thinning a tree stand by cutting down the slow-growing trees that are likely to die within 15 or 20 years. They leave the healthier, faster-growing trees alone to reseed the forest. Above all, these foresters avoid cutting too many trees for a quick profit, and each decade they take a tree count to ensure that they

Question

are not over-cutting. (John Tibbetts, Utne Reader, Jan./Feb. 1992)

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

1. Selective harvesting uses the natural rhythms of a forest's ecosystem instead of ignoring them.
2. Selection harvesters carefully choose trees for timber, thinning a tree stand by cutting down the slow-growing trees that are likely to die within 15 or 20 years.
3. Selection harvesters leave the healthier, faster-growing trees alone to reseed the forest.
4. Selection harvesters avoid cutting too many trees for a quick profit.
5. Each decade, selection harvesters take a tree count to ensure that they are not overcutting.
So, 6. Selective harvesting of timber is less damaging to the environment and healthier for local economies than clear-cutting.