Paper 2.1: Pre- Synthesis Essay
Your goal for this paper is to take two sources and properly utilize them to create and support an argumentative thesis of your choice. You may choose to write about education or sports, and you must use at least one of the essays we read in class. Your second source may be any article or essay of your own choosing that helps to support your thesis. You may also select any of the rhetorical modes that you feel would help strengthen your argument. Using multiple modes correctly can effectively support your overall goal or thesis for the paper (Exemplification, Comparison/Contrast, Classification, Cause-Effect, Extended Definition). You may use the prompts below to formulate your paper or you may come up with your own topic and have it approved by your teacher.
Prompts
1.)The prominence of participating in athletics in educational institutions (middle school, high school, and university) has grown exponentially in recent decades. Athletics often seem to compete with the academic purpose in terms of budget, priority, and prestige. In a well-formed essay, evaluate the effects of the increasing role of athletics in educational institutions.
2.)In terms of entertainment options, watching sports and attending sporting events has proven to be an extremely popular pastime in our society. Many industries in our society have very clear values and benefits to offer mankind. In a well-formed essay, evaluate the value that big time college and professional sports have on our country and whether or not the emphasis that is put on sports is justified.
3.)Within the world of participating in sports, the positives are clear: encouraging sportsmanship and teamwork, valuing exercise and competition, and establishing and achieving goals. These positives of playing sports can sometimes overshadow the grim reality of the effect that injuries have on the lives of athletes. In a well-formed essay, evaluate the risk of injury in athletic competition and determine what, if anything, needs to be done to maintain the sanctity of the game while still enhancing safety.
4.)It is evident that our current state of education is nowhere near perfect. There are clear problems in our educational system and in order to change them, we need to identify the major problem and possible remedies to start to fix the issues. In a well-formed essay, identify and evaluate what you believe to be the major problem in education and potential ways to eliminate this major problem.
5.)Identifying the priorities and goals of education is important in order to obtain a roadmap for the future of the industry. Different policy makers, administrators, teachers, and parents all have an invested interest in education and opinions of the goals of education. In a well-formed essay, consider what you believe the major goals of education should be,evaluate the major goal or goals for education, and create a plan including the specific ways we can reach these goals.
6.)Within any industry, there are things that work and things that fall short. Education is no different. Teachers are constantly given professional development opportunities to educate them on the best practice strategies in the classroom. In a well-formed essay, describe and analyze effective and ineffective strategies commonly used in American classrooms as well as a plan to effectively implement or change these.