It is often difficult to get students comfortable with discussing difficult topics. In some cases it is a matter of knowing what is a good reason or a bad reason for accepting an argument for or against a topic. Shauna Morimoto, Vice-Chair and Director of Graduate Studies for Sociology, has developed an activity for evaluating arguments. In this activity students are presented with and argument for or against a view.  Students are then asked to evaluate whether the evidence was based on “facts,” “values,” or “rhetoric.” This gets students thinking about arguments in terms of their evidence and allows them to recognize when our emotions are being elicited.