Ch. 12 Notes and Exercises

Chapter 12 Notes: Argument by Definition

What is Argument by Definition?

·      Writing an essay that depends on your definition of a key term

·      Argue that something fits/doesn’t fit your definition

·      Examples:

o   Do minorities receive quality health care? DEFINE quality

o   Should the rich pay more taxes than others? DEFINE rich

o   Is cheerleading really a sport? DEFINE sport

Developing Definitions

·      Success of argument = ability to define term so readers can see its validity

·      Dictionary Definitions (Formal Definitions)

o   Term to be defined, general class to which term belongs, qualities of term that differentiate the term from other terms in class

·      Extended Definitions

o   Formal definitions not enough to define complex/abstract terms

o   Give example of research sources that fit definition.

o   Effective examples= relevant to argument

·      Operational Definitions

o   Defines some by telling how it acts or works

o   Abstract concept into concrete concept

·      Structuring an Argument by Definition

o   Introduction: establish context for argument; explains need for defining term; presents thesis

o   Evidence (first point in support of thesis): provide short definition of term, and extended definition

o   Evidence (second point) Shows how term does/doesn’t fit definition

o   Refutation of opposing arguments: Addresses questions about or objections to definition, considers other possible definitions

o   Conclusion: Reinforce main point of argument; strong concluding statement

Exercise 12.1 Identifying the Elements of an Argument by Definition

·      In your own words summarize the essay’s thesis

o   The writer’s thesis is that the term “wife beater “for a style of shirt is a strange name for an undershirt; despite the fact that negative stereotypes behind the term are disturbing, it is now ok to say the term without offending anyone.

·      According to Smith. What three problems are associated with defining the term wife-beater?

o   The name, supposedly, refers to popular culture figures not to spousal abuse

o   The  trend toward wearing wife beaters could promote male dominance, which is associated with spousal abuse.

o   Wife-beaters for men and women are considered sexy…there should be a better term that “connotes sexy” rather than violence

·      Why does Smith include dictionary definitions of “wife-beater?” How is her definition different from these dictionary definitions?

o   Smith includes dictionary definitions so that she can counter argue the definitions using her definition.  The oxford dictionary definition for the term wife beater has two different definitions: 1) A man who physically abuses his wife and 2) Tank-style underwear shirts. Origin: based on the stereotype that physically abusive husbands wear that particular type of shirt.

o   She believes that the definition of  the term wife-beater is an inappropriate definition for an undergarment that is trending in today’s pop-culture because it promotes male dominance and violent.

·      Where does Smith introduce possible objections to her definition of wife-beater? Does she refute them convincingly?

o   In paragraphs 9 and 10 Smith introduces objections to her definition of  wife beater.

She does refute the objections convincingly.  In paragraphs 11 through 14 she provides startling evidence regarding spousal abuse that contradicts the common belief that it

Project X Trailer

In this trailer of the film Project X, we see the negative effects that binge drinking has on minors and their decision making abilities.

Final Toulmin Essay: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18

Allie Cuccoli

ENGL 102-039

Toulmin Argument Essay

8 May 2013

“Cheers!”:

Lowering the Drinking Age to Eighteen

Recently, a film that has become popular among teenagers and young adults is Project X (2012).  The movie revolves around three teens, Thomas, J.B., and Costa.  J.B. and Costa are planning to throw a “rage” at Thomas’s house, in honor of his birthday.  The friends advertise the party at school and on the extremely popular website, “Craig’s List,” to ensure that people actually attend the party. Surprisingly, people show up to the party, bringing with them immense amounts of alcohol and other drugs.  Events at the party get wildly out of hand; the alcohol overtook the party-goers’ consciousness and inhibited their abilities to make logical, smart, and safe choices.  This movie aggrandized the all too familiar practice of binge drinking, an activity that has become a major health and social issue among minors. Currently, a great debate among lawmakers is whether the drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18.  However, lawmakers are hesitant of making the significant change because they are wary of the impact a lower drinking age would have on young adults’ behavior. Lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18 will prevent underage binge drinking, as well as serious injuries or deaths that result from such behavior.

First, it is important to consider how society deems individuals to be adults at the young age of 18. From this age continuing throughout individuals’ lives, young adults are held legally responsible for their decisions because society believes that people at this age are capable of making rational, qualified decisions that will impact their lives positively or negatively in the short term and the long term. Society also believes that eighteen year olds can be held responsible for any events that result from their decisions. The Washoe County Bar Association from Nevada created a website to inform eighteen year old individuals about their new legal rights.  According to the Washoe County Bar Association’s “ Now That You Are 18: A Survival Guide,” individaulas eighteen and older can: get married without parental consent, move out and have an apartment under lease, sign binding contracts, be charged with a felony, a gross misdemeanor, or misdemeanor, join the military, vote in state and federal government elections, acquire a gun license, purchase cigarettes, purchase lottery tickets, and become a bar tender and serve alcohol (“You are 18”).  Despite all of these rights and responsibilities, society does not believe 18 year olds are capable of making the decision regarding how much alcohol they wish to consume because it will negatively impact them, both physically and mentally. 

Keeping the drinking age at such a high age is leading to more cases of binge drinking because it has become a social norm among adolescents, however by lowering the drinking age to 18, binge drinking would be greatly reduced because moderate drinking would become a normal social activity. Binge drinking is when a person consumes alcohol with the intention of becoming intoxicated as a result of heavy, quick drinking.  According to an article published by the American Medical Association, roughly 11 million American young adults and youths consume alcohol, and around half of them binge drink, “consuming five or more drinks in a row, one or more times in a two-week period” (“Minimum Legal Drinking Age”).    A shocking number of young members of society participate in this form of drinking because they believe it to be socially acceptable among their friends, and do not see drinking casually often in their lives because it is illegal for adolescents. According to Amy Ackleh et al, in an article from the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, college presidents launched the Amethyst Initiative because they see first hand how college students feel a sense of freedom upon arriving at a university and begin binge drinking.  College presidents and faculty members also witness how   students believe that binge drinking is a social norm because they see it frequently, all around them on campus (“Episodic Drinking”).  As a result of binge drinking, minors encounter social, academic, and health issues.  On college campuses, students are sent to the hospital as a result of binge drinking. Furthermore, if and when this form of drinking becomes a habit, students’ grades begin to slip because they focus their attention on the next party, rather than centering their focus on schoolwork.   In Bill Schorr’s cartoon about binge drinking on campus, the students’ parents thought the report of his 3.0 was his GPA, but to their shock it was his blood alcohol count (See Fig. 1.).

Fig. 1. In, Bill Schorr’s cartoon, he is depicting how college students are participating in binge drinking rather than participating in class (“Binge Drinking”).

Therefore, many colleges joined the Amethyst Initiative to advocate that the MDLA21 be lowered to 18 because they found that it would curb the students’ desire to rebel against the strict law and would make drinking among eighteen to twenty year olds a normal social event. Drinking would become a normalized occurrence for 18 year olds, and thus the frequency of episodes of binge drinking would be greatly reduced because 18 year olds would no longer feel the need to over use and abuse alcohol in such a manner. 

However, keeping the drinking age at 21 has brought about an insignificant amount of improvement in regards to injuries and fatalities as a result of excessive drinking, specifically in regards to drunk driving fatalities.  When lawmakers raised the drinking age to 21 in 1984, they thought they were saving lives and preventing future deaths caused by drunk driving.  According to Minor and Tetalbaum, there was never a significant life-saving affect as was originally intended (“Dangers of Drinking Age”).  In Minor and Tetelbaum’s article, “The Dangers of the Drinking Age” they discuss how  “virtually all the life-saving impact of the MLDA21 comes from the few early-adopting states, not from the larger number that resulted from federal pressure.” The government and federal states believed that by raising the legal drinking age to 21, they would have a positive impact on the overwhelming amount of traffic deaths related to alcohol consumption.  In actuality, there has been no significant change. According to Will Wilkinson, a journalist for Forbes Magazine, research has shown that there has been no statistically significant decrease in traffic fatalities due to alcohol consumption for 18-to-21 year olds; rather, the steady decline in traffic fatalities is better attributed to “safer cars, improved driver education and better medical technology” (“Bottoms Up!”).  The preventative measures taken by the government in raising the drinking age to 21 in 1984 have been somewhat fruitless in avoiding fatalities due to drunk driving.

 In fact, according to alcoholalert.com, in the article, “2009 Drunk Driving Statistics,” the legal drinking age cannot and should not be correlated to the number of drunk driving fatalities. In the report, it was determined that of the fatal crashes in 2011, “the highest percentage of drivers with a BAC level of .08 or higher was for drivers ages 21-24” (“Drunk Driving Statistics”).  There has been little research that directly correlates raising the legal drinking age to 21 to decreasing amounts of alcohol related traffic fatalities.   To add to this, the non profit organization, Choose Responsibility, published the article, “FAQs”on their web site.  The article answers questions about the comparison between countries where the legal age is 18 versus the United States and its imposed drinking age.  When the number of alcohol related traffic fatalities in America was compared to the number in twelve other reporting European countries, America had the highest proportion of traffic fatalities that were related to excessive alcohol consumption (“Choose Responsibility).  Despite the government’s attempt to curb the number of drunk driving deaths, raising the legal drinking age to 21 had little to no impact on reducing the number of fatalities.

If the minimum legal drinking age was lowered to 21, binge drinking episodes would be reduced, and therefore, as would the injuries and deaths that result from being in risky, life-endangering environments during a case of binge drinking.  Choose Responsibility reported in the “FAQs” article, that there is no association between MDLA 21 and the decline in the number of alcohol related deaths from alcohol suicides, cases of drowning, accidents, murders and alcohol poisonings (“Frequently Asked Questions”). An excess amount of alcohol is poisonous to the human body; when adolescents take part in binge drinking, they are deliberately poisoning their bodies.  As a result of the sudden poisoning, people are more susceptible to risky behavior, as well as minor and major alcohol related injuries.  Such behavior could be seen in the popular 2012 film, Project X; minors were engaging in sexual activities, jumping from rooftops; driving cars into pools, and setting things on fire.  Teenagers across the country were amused by the popular movie about a “raging” house party, and minors strived to throw parties that could possibly result in the out of control events similar to those that unfolded in the movie (See fig. 2.).

Fig. 2.  This promotional picture for the movie, Project X, shows a teenager who fell from a house because of his impaired judgment and physical abilities as a result of binge drinking during a massive house party (ProjectXthemovie.com).

Binge drinking usually takes place in dangerous situations because it is an underground activity due to the fact that it is illegal for individuals under the age of 21.  As a result, serious injures or deaths occur because of poor judgment, risky behavior and the inability to seek medical care with out being prosecuted for illegal possession of alcohol.  According to Carla T. Main, if the drinking age was lowered to 18, “Youth drinking would come out into the open and binge drinking would be largely reduced or eliminated” (“Underage Drinking”).  Bringing the drinking age to down to 18 would be beneficial to young adults because it would prevent alcohol related deaths or injuries that result from binge drinking.

            On the other hand, part of the population supports the MDLA 21.  Advocates for MDLA 21 argue that the drinking age should be kept at 21 because the brain is still developing at 18, and does not stop until the mid twenties (“FAQs”).  Thus, if eighteen-year-old individuals consumed alcohol, they would interfere with their brain development.  Also, they argue that eighteen year olds are incapable of making the decision to drink at 18 due to the theory that the decision making part of the brain is not fully developed (“FAQs”).  However, according to the founder of Choose Responsiblyity, John McCardell, teens should be allowed to drink regardless of their brain development.  In his article, “Let Them Drink at 18,” he says that the law acknowledges that at age 18, young adults possess the proper maturity and judgment to operate a motor vehicle, serve in the military, perform jury duty, sign contracts, yet they are denied the right to purchase or consume alcohol” (McCardell).  Despite the fact that the law agrees that adolescent brains are not fully developed, the law still deems eighteen year olds physically and mentally competent to make significant decisions.  Therefore, the law must accept that eighteen year olds are also capable of making the decision to pick up an alcoholic beverage. 

            Taking all of these points into consideration, the drinking age should be lowered to 18 years old in all fifty states because it will prevent a greater amount of cases of binge drinking and most cases of alcohol related injuries or deaths that result from excessive drinking.  Keeping the drinking age at 21 is unintentionally inflicting more harm among minors. Despite the government’s efforts at reducing traffic fatalities, raising the drinking age to 21 has shown no significant decline in alcohol related traffic fatalities.  Also, MDLA 21 has made no significant impact on preventing other alcohol related injuries and deaths such as suicides, poisonings and accidents.  In fact, MDLA 21 has lead to more cases of binge drinking which is the leading cause in drunk driving incidents and fatalities as well as the other injuries and deaths due to alcohol consumption.  By lowering the drinking age to 18, drinking moderately will become a social norm among the young adult age group, which would bring about less cases of binge drinking and the traffic accidents and deaths and other injuries or fatalities that result from heavy drinking.  Thus, a minimum legal drinking age of 18 would help young adults to stay safe and healthy.

Works Cited

"2011 Drunk Driving Statistics." Drunk Driving Statistics. AlcoholAlert.com, n.d. Web.   20 Apr. 2013.

Ackleh, Azmy S., et al. "Heavy episodic drinking on college campuses: does changing        the legal drinking age make a difference?" Journal of Studies on Alcohol and     Drugs Jan. 2011: 15+. Academic OneFile. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.

"Frequently Asked Questions." Choose Responsibility: Balance, Maturity, Common          Sense. Choose Responsibility, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2013.

Main, Carla T. "Underage drinking and the drinking age." Policy Review 155 (2009):          

33+. Academic OneFile. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.

McCardell, John. "Let Them Drink at 18." Editorial. New York Times 29 May 2012: n.

pag. Choose Responsibility: Balance, Maturity, Common Sense. Choose

Responsibility, 29 May 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.

"Minimum Legal Drinking Age." Minimum Legal Drinking Age. American Medical

Association, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.

Minor, Jeffrey A., and Elina Tetelbaum. "The Dangers of the Drinking Age." Forbes.        Forbes Magazine, 15 Apr. 2009. Web. 01 Apr. 2013.

Project X. 2012. Photograph. Project X. Warner Bros., 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.

Schorr, Bill. "College Drinking." Cartoon. Political Cartoons. PoliticalCartoons.org, 28

Oct. 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.

Wilkinson, Will. "Bottoms Up!" Forbes Magazine 29 Sept. 2008: n. pag. Forbes.com. Forbes Magazine, 04 Sept. 2008. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.

Revised Rogerian Argument (Essay 2)

Allie Cuccoli

ENGL 102-039

Rogerian Argument Essay

20 March 2013

Standardized Test: The Useless Tool

Junior and senior year are the most stressful years of high school students’ careers.  Not only are students juggling college tours, sport activities, extra curricular all while maintain a collegiate-acceptable grade point average, students must also cope with the stress of taking numerous standardized tests, specifically the SAT and the ACT. The majority of American students have to take both the SAT and the ACT in in order to complete their college applications; with out those scores, many colleges will not accept applications. Admission councilors place a heavy emphasis on SATs and ACTs because they believe the tests will accurately predict how well a student will succeed in their college careers.  Recently, the debates regarding whether or not admission councilors should heavily depend on the tests to predict a student’s success at college have become more prevalent in today’s academic society. Increasing evidence that standardized testing inaccurately portrays a student’s academic ability is contradicting the traditionally held belief that standardized tests give valid insight into students future achievement.  Therefore, college admission offices should embrace the test-optional practice; students should be given the choice to submit or exclude their standardized test scores when completing their college applications.  If an applicant does decide to include his test scores in his application, admission councilors should only use the scores to further enhance the applicant’s high school transcripts because transcripts are more accurate in predicting future achievement than standardized tests.

Some people, such as college professors, admission councilors, test-makers and educators believe that standardized tests are useful for determining a student's intellectual and academic level.  These supporters of standardized testing advocate that colleges and schools should use these tests to evaluate their students.  Thus, these tests should be taken into great consideration when admission councilors are reviewing college applications.  According to Richard Phelps, Ph.D., standardized tests are reliable and good measures of student achievement; standardized tests avoid teacher bias as well as bias and subjectivity when the tests are graded (“Estimating the Costs”).  Therefore, it is understandable as to why standardized testing is still seen to be a great indicator of a student’s future academic success.

On the other hand, many people believe standardized tests are beginning to loose the credibility of being accurate predictors of achievement in college and in the future. The SAT and ACT misrepresent the intellectual and academic capabilities of men and women.  According to Phyllis Rosser, there is a considerable amount of evidence from studies documenting how women receive higher grade averages than men in every course they take in high school and college; however, women’s scores on the SAT have been 50 to 60 points lower than men’s scores since 1967 (“Standardized Testing”).  The SAT is supposed to predict how well all students will succeed in a university, regardless of a student’s gender. Forms of standardized testing are supposed to give college admission councilors a relatively accurate prediction of the grades an applicant would receive in a college course. Rosser continues in her article saying the Education Testing service conducted a study in 1991 that showed how the SAT “under predicts women’s college math grades at every level” (Standardized Testing”).  Due to the fact that the test does not give accurate insight into future success of students based on gender, admission councilors are receiving an inaccurate prediction of an applicant’s possible grades in college courses.  In addition to the misrepresentation of collegiate success of the men and women, standardized tests falsely predict the academic achievement of students with different ethnic backgrounds.  According to Rosser, students of varying ethnicities have lower test scores than Caucasians as a result or poor quality preparation and language barriers (“Standardized Testing”).  The SAT and ACT assess a student’s understanding of the English language.  If a foreign or ethnic student does not know English as extensively as a native speaker, that student is already at a severe disadvantage, and is more likely to receive a poor score as a result.  However, an English second-language student could be equally as intelligent and successful as a native speaker, yet admission councilors will only see a low score, indicating that the student will supposedly do poorly in college.

Academic transcripts serve as a better too to evaluate a student’s academic capabilities and to get an idea as to how well a student will do in their college career. 

According the essay, “The Rise and Demise of the SAT:  The University of California Generates Change for College Admissions,” the University of California admissions office realized that an applicant’s high school curriculum and resulting grades are the best indicators of the student’s success in college.  For example, if a student excelled in A.P. courses and honors courses, then the student will most likely have great success at college because he or she is well prepared, mentally and academically; the student will know what work load to expect from a college-level course, and they have an adequate, or superior amount of knowledge and intelligence that will enable them to thrive in his or her academics.  Therefore, secondary education teachers should focus more attention on providing their students with the knowledge of the subjects so that they will be able to use it in their college education experience.  According to Diana Payne, standardized tests “may measure the academic strengths and weaknesses to some degree, but they won't serve as a remedy to all the instructional time lost preparing students just for those tests, nothing else” (“Too Much Emphasis”).  Due to the fact that academic transcripts are becoming the more accurate tool in calculating a student’s success, it is essential that educators spend quality time ensuring their students are achieving academic success in their course in high school, rather than wasting time preparing for an inaccurate test.

            Students, universities, and admission councilors would benefit if SATs and ACTs were no longer required on college applications.  First, the students themselves would avail because they would not be evaluated based on their test taking skills; instead, they would be evaluated solely on their knowledge of subjects as well as their extra-curricular activities that enhance their individuality.  Also, they would be relieved of stress and pressure knowing that their character is not being assessed by an inaccurate, complicated test. Also, they will not feel the pressure from parents and schools to receive high scores on the tests.  Colleges would also receive more applicants, because the applicants would feel more confident in their chances of getting into a school due to their academic knowledge, not due to basic test taking skills. Lastly, as a result of admission officers relying solely on an applicant’s academic achievement in high school and their extra-curricular activities, councilors will fill their school with worthy students who are willing and able to handle the college’s academic level and course load, rather than filling the school with students who are merely very skillful in the art of test taking. 

            However, it is unlikely that the SAT and ACT and other forms of standardized testing will be completely disregarded during the college application process.  Therefore, it would be more likely and ideal that all college admission councilors give applicants the option to include or exclude all of their standardized test scores; if the scores are provided, they should be looked at as to only support the grades on the high school transcripts and the other aspects of the application that make a student stand out among the rest of the applicants. Universities are beginning to place a higher emphasis on aspects that make students standout as exemplary individuals rather than their not-so unique skills of test taking. In fact, more than 800 colleges and universities no longer require the SAT and more applicants are being asked to write personalized essays (“More Schools”).  Many schools are test optional, meaning submitting standardized test scores is not required; Even if a school is test optional, an applicant may still submit their score if he believes it will only benefit him.  There are many examples of schools that are test optional such as the University of California; if an applicant does submit a score, it is only used to back-up the high school transcript (Berger).  If students believe that they would benefit from taking a standardized test and then submitting their test scores, then they should be allowed to have that option, as well as the option to decide against doing so.

            Standardized testing is becoming outdated and colleges are realizing that the tests give invalid predictions about the future success of applicants. However, no one will completely disregard the SAT and the ACT because college admission offices have relied on the tests for so long.  Although the ideal situation would be that standardized test scores would never be used to evaluate students’ academic abilities, it is more likely that colleges will become test-optional.  By embracing this new, trending practice, colleges would be assessing students via more accurate methods, such as analyzing high school transcripts, extra curricular activities, student essays, and teacher recommendations.  Thus, test-optional colleges would provide students with a better and more equal chance of college acceptance based on their academic and extra-curricular success, not on their ability to take tests.

Works Cited

Berger, Susan J. "The Rise and Demise of the SAT: the University of California Generates            

            Change for College Admissions." American Educational History Journal 39.1-2

(2012): 165+. Academic OneFile. Web. 6 Mar. 2013.

"More schools Add Essays by Applicants, Fewer Require Standardized SAT test." Women in          

            Higher Education Feb. 2013: 5. Educators Reference Complete. Web. 7 Mar. 2013.

Payne, Diana. "Schools Are Putting Too Much Emphasis on Standardized Tests." Christian           

            Science Monitor 11 May 1999: 14. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Mar. 2013.

Phelps, Richard, Ph.D. "Estimating the Costs and Benefits of Educational Testing Programs."       

            Estimating the Costs and Benefits of Educational Testing Programs. Education  Consumers 

            Foundation, Feb. 2002. Web. 11 Mar. 2013.

Rosser, Phyllis. "Standardized Testing." The Reader's Companion to U.S. Women's

History. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 1998. Academic OneFile. Web. 4 Mar. 2013.