TPO 30 Integrated Writing Task

Ancient methods in wars were always a crucial thing among researchers. There are rumors of an object called "burning mirror" that were used to defence and fire up enemy's ships. More specifically the writer puts forth the idea that the story of the burning mirror is just a myth and the Greeks of Syracuse never really built such a device. How ever, the professor points out that there are some serious flaws in the writer's claim. To be exact the professor believes that burning mirror was a real thing. She more or less addresses the problem with each point made in the reading.

First of all, the writer claims that the ancient Greeks were not technologically advanced enough to make such a device. He thinks the technology for manufacturing a large sheet of copper with such specifications did not exist in the ancient world. But the professor refutes with this point and says that Greeks could made the mirror with dozens of small piece of polished coppers and put them together to a big curved mirror.

Secondly, the reading states that burning mirror would have taken a long time to set the ships on fire, and there were not enough time for Greeks to set the ships on fire with the mirror. The professor, not surprisingly though, believes that it's the wood that take so much time to get on fire, but Greeks put pitch part of the ships on fire, the sticky layer that made ships resists the water.

Finally, the author wraps up the topic by claiming that the burning mirror does not seem like an improvement on a weapon that the Greeks already had: flaming arrows. Then again, the professor stays on the other side of the argument and says that since Romans soldiers knows how to put off flaming arrows to prevent ship from burning, burning mirror was a good weapon to attack them and set ships on fire.

In conclusion, the author and the professor obviously hold opposing views about burning mirrors.