Argument Essay

The future(a) transition comes from The Common Life, a 1994 essay by the Ameri notify source Scott Russell Sanders. Read the enactment cargonfully and then write an essay that defends, ch all in allenges, or qualifies Sanders ideas ab emerge the relationship between the individual and guild in the get together States. Use specific evidence to support your position.A woman who deep moved from Los Angeles to Bloomington Indiana told me that she would non be able to pillow here long, because she was already beginning to recognize population in the grocery stores, on the sidewalks, in the library. Being surrounded by familiar faces made her nervous, after age in a city where she could range more or less anonymously. Every traveller knows the sense of liberation that comes from journeying to a place where nobody stick outs whateverthing of you. Everyone who has departed to college knows the exhilaration of slipping away from the watchful eyes of Mom and Dad. We all need s easons of withdrawal from responsibility. But if we birth a career of be unaccountable, we make up lost something essential to our humanity, and we may well beseem a burden or a threat to those around us. A residential district can support a sum up of plenty who are comely passing through, or who care about no ones needs however their own the greater the proportion of such nation, however, the much threatened the community, until eventually it breaks down.Taking part in the common disembodied spirit means dwelling in a web of relationships, the many thread tugging at you while excessively holding you upright.PITFALL ONE not under concentrateing the task or the makeionsMake sure that you read the pass correctly and understand your task. Dont get caught up in tangential issues. Figure out what Sanderss central thesis is. This educatee had trouble understanding the issueFor example, when people get caught doing something wrong and they take int want to admit to their strays, they sometimes think of a lie, which is a defense mechanism people use when in trouble. Who hasnt be at some time in their lives? The guilt go out fixture the lady in the passage who moved to Bloomington, tearing up everything in her life from inside then out.The example about the woman from Bloomington is not the central issue in this promptit is an example Sanders is giving to make his point. An EXAMPLE WILL NOT BE THE CLAIM, it get out illustrate the claim. So, to nail down the claim think about what point the example supports.PITFALL twain merely paraphrasing the passageIf your livelong essay consists of explaining what Sanders is saying in this passage, you will not score above a five out of nine. disagree the temptation to tell what the entire passage is saying. The readers know what the passage says. This mistake seems especially common when the argument prompt is longer. Refer to the claim of the passage in as few words as possible. Unlike the rhetorica l analysis, you do not need to quote long sections of the passagethis eat up time and accomplishes very little. Your gambol here is to figure out and clarify what the central issue is and then to defend, challenge, or qualify that issue.In this passage, Sanders writes about the relationship between the individual and society. He talks about a lady that moved from Los Angeles to Bloomington, Indiana. She says she would not be able to stay long because she was already beginning to recognize people. Sanders writes that the lady gets nervous when she is recognized. She like not being known and not having to get involved in that society. Sanders says that a couple of people like this help society run, and if there were too many, society would collapse. Society depends on some people to interact so that it can keep going. If this were only the introduction, and the student followed up with an assertion that defended, challenged, or qualified Sanderss assertion, this paragraph would be acceptable, although its not necessary to paraphrase this much. But when a paraphrase is your whole essay, youre looking at a low score.PITFALL triple not taking a definite standThis is one of the intimately common errors students make. You must have a definite opinion and province that opinion unequivocally, even if you are qualifying. And even if you dont very have that opinion in real life.Sanders describes the relationship between the individual and society as a contrast. The individual is nervous around a too-familiar society. A society feels threatened by a great number of individuals that are unfamiliar. In a big city, most people become accustomed to occult people because of the large population. However, in a downcast town where everybody knows everybody else, a newcomer might be seen as a threat to their way of life. In a small community, most people have their familiar routines. For the traveler, though, it is still a new opportunity for the community. The unknown traveler may be thought of as an alteration to their general routine.The essay above discusses the workings of a small town and a big city and makes some interesting observations about the contrast. The writer, however, never takes a definite stand on whether or not it is healthy to suppress oneself completely from society.On the other hand, this writer takes a definite stand and backs it up with appropriate evidenceSanders says that we all need seasons of withdrawal from responsibility. there are times when people need to forget about what others expect from them and do only what they feel is needed. (concession) While Sanderss statements are true, people cannot live a responsibility-dodging life forever. He feels that if people are to do so, We will have lost something essential to our humanity. If everyone were to give up their responsibilities and do only what was best for themselves, then society would not function. Organizations would fall aside because people would no long er be able to work together. ultimately our entire government would break down and the nation would erupt into tot chaos. The more careless people a community has, the more vulnerable the community becomes. Thus, people must learn to take responsibility for themselves kind of than dodge it. (assertion)PITFALL FOUR using inappropriate or vulnerable evidence to support your positionThe strength of your essay is in direct correlation to the strength of your evidence. Weak or inappropriate evidence will produce a weak paper and a low score. The readers are looking for writers who can write logically and tenablenessably, who can evaluate and die someone elses argument, and who can find the best evidence to move someone of their position. This students evidence has to do with umbrage rateA small town culture is often seen as tiresome and old-fashioned, but it is just as important to our nation as any of the modern big cities. In New York City people have that opportunity to w ander the city anonymously. Perhaps that is the reason why crime rates are so much higher in bigger cities. People are far less likely to behave earnestly if people they know are watching them. This constant concern of others legal opinion you is perhaps more beneficial than some may have you believe. It can get quite nerve-wracking to always be under watch, but those that watch you also come to your aid in times of need. For example, when you go out of town you can ask your ever-watchful neighbors to keep an eye on your house for peace of mind. If everyone went around with a total disregard for others, society would break down and the world would become a terrible near primal place.This student effectively supports his position by reasoning that well-read someone is watching you may deter crime. He concedes ( other way to reason logically) that it is bothersome to always be under watch, but those who watch you also watch over you.PITFALL FIVE writing aN analysis of the passage instead of aN ARGUMENTYour job is not to analyze the way Sanders writes. Your job is to write an argument. Read the prompt. Sanderss use of diction reveals his negative military strength toward wanderers. Sanders uses a word with negative connotations when describing the twisting threads. Sanders was accurate when he said the many threads tug, yet hold one another upright. His metaphor identified individual lives as threads. The metaphor makes the reader glisten to a special blanket or person that brought them comfort, evoking emotional reactions.