1* Putman establishes his credibility by citing where he gets his information from, such as from Time Researches John Robinson & Geoffrey Godbey. His credibility is also made believable because he is a professor at Harvard.

2* Cited in selection

* Constock: Evolution of American Television
* Robinson & Godbey: Time For Life
* Needham: Where Does The Time Go?
* Kunstler: Geography Of Nowhere

3* The information in footnote 13, gives us stronger evidence that this piece of information is reliable.

4* The information in footnote 14 is necessary because it provides proof to reader & it makes the writing more reliable.

5* Putman uses the information in footnote 15 to support the idea that the percentage of people spending more time at home were watching TV & that it rose about 10% in 24 years. By giving us this statement, “TV is my primary form of entertainment,” Putman gives us the information we need so we can conclude that more hours of the day are being spent watching television than anything else.

6* By citing Kunstler’s view, it puts Putman in more of a neutral position because his point of view doesn’t appear as “extreme” as Kunslter’s. It’s his own safe way to support his argument because he himself isn’t making the statement.

7* The notes & sources that Putman gives us, shows that he has done a lot of research on this topic & has a lot of knowledge about it. It also helps his article to be more believable.