Analyzing an Argument

1. What is the claim?
1. What is the main point the writer is trying to make
1. The point that she is trying to make is that spaying and neutering your pets is a very good and beneficial thing to do.
2. The thesis is very clear, that we should spay and neuter our pets.
2. What support does the writer offer for the claim?
1. What Reasons are given?
1. It helps with overpopulation of homeless animal shelters
2. It’s the only 100% effective birth control for pets
3. It is good for their health (females don’t have to go through heat, males are made more calm and less horny)
4. Cost of spaying or neutering is less than the cost of raising a litter
2. Evidence
1. She uses facts and statistics from credible sources to back up these points
3. Are the reasons plausible?
1. The reasons fit well with the thesis, and point she is trying to prove. The sources are credible.
3. How evenhandedly does the writer present the issues?
1. Mention of counterarguments?
1. The “counterargument” she mentions is the option of not spaying and neutering your pets. This means the females have menstruation, and the males are more hyper and hump things
2. Refute?
1. She refutes them with facts and statistics that point to the idea that spaying and neutering is much cheaper and easier than dealing with a pet that doesn’t get the surgery
3. Respect?
1. The writer treats the other arguments respectfully, while swiftly refuting them
4. Qualified argument?
1. The only sweeping generalization that is made is made with raw facts about spaying and neutering
4. What Sources does the author Use?
1. How is each one used?
1. she used each source to back up a specific point about the benefits of this surgery.
2. How credible?
1. The sources are very credible, coming from highly supported and well-known organizations
3. Are they current?
1. Yes.
5. How does the writer address you?
1. Does she assume we know the subject?
1. The paper provides adequate background information so that everyone can grasp what she is talking about.
2. Include or exclude?
1. This paper includes me because I am a pet owner.
3. Do we share beliefs?
1. I think that me and the author share beliefs because this stuff is important.

Paper 3 Rough Draft

Bento Williamson

English 101

Position Paper

11/23/15

The Problem With Dress Codes

Feminism: “The theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes” (Merriam-Webster). For many decades, women have been tirelessly fighting for their rights; across many different areas of life. Although many will argue that women in America have it very good compared to other countries, that is no reason to dismiss the injustices that they still face here every day. One issue that has been at the forefront of young women’s rights (middle school to college) is the unfair and sexist enforcement of dress codes in schools. Dress codes were made constitutional after the Supreme Court case of Tinker vs. Des Moines School District in 1965. Two students, John and Mary Tinker wore black armbands to protest the US involvement in Vietnam. They were quickly suspended by the school, and a court case ensued. Ultimately, the courts ruled that the schools “upheld the constitutionality” of their authority over the students, and they acted to “prevent disturbance of school discipline” (D’Anastasio). This case was the major footing that in the future allowed schools to suppress students’ right to free speech and expression. The sexually biased manner in which many schools across the country make girls’ dress codes shows the misogyny that is deeply ingrained in our society today.  

One of the largest problems with dress codes is that they inadvertently promote rape culture. Rape culture is the “normalization of rape. It teaches that it is the victim’s fault rather than the rapist’s fault” (Nxilbiter). Many people think that if a girl is wearing a crop top or short shorts, she is “asking” for the sexual harassment that could follow. This is not only morally wrong, but logically. No matter what someone is wearing, any harassment they receive is not their fault. They are not “asking for it.” If a man is lying on the beach with his shirt off, is he “asking” for sexual harassment? No. Is a high school wrestler walking around in his spandex “asking” for sexual harassment? No. Why are male and female bodies viewed so differently? Marion Mayer, Junior at Lakeland High School writes a passionate article against dress codes; she pronounces, “My body is not a sinful temptation that needs to be hidden… My body is not any more sexual than a man’s body.” Dress codes further emphasize the feeling for women that they are a sinful temptation, and their bodies are inherently more sexual than a man’s. Additionally, when a girl does wear revealing clothing, society tells the man that he is entitled to her, and has every right to pursue her. This is why a shocking one in five women is sexually assaulted while in college. This is why one in nine teens are forced to have sex, and why one in ten women are purposefully hurt by someone they are dating. Because society condones it (1 Is 2 Many). Furthermore, many girls who report their harassments are told “he just likes you,” or “boys will be boys” (Bates). Yet again, words like these make the horrible actions seem okay, even socially appropriate. Marion Mayer writes: “Being a boy refers to your gender. That’s all.” Society has created this stereotype that Marion describes as “constantly sexually aroused and animalistic.” It removes all morality from all males; if we stopped overlooking sexual harassment, we could in turn overlook this stereotype.

Another major argument that school’s use to justify their strict codes is that they are working to create a “distraction-free learning zone” (Zhou). Without doubt, when a girl is sent home for wearing a tank top, or shorts that go above her knees, it shows how much more we value the male’s education over the female’s. Men’s education is NOT more important than the women’s. This excuse further shows the deeply ingrained misogyny in our society. It tells us that the boys are not at fault for staying on task and controlling their behavior. That is again the girls’ fault. It gives the impression that boys are entitled to look at them, and that it is the girl’s responsibility to ensure no one gets distracted by her body. However, it seems at this point that to avoid distraction, schools must restrict clothing to Puritan style (not an inch of skin showing) or they can educate the boys of our society about respect and what it means to sexually harass someone. These dress codes are just put in place to blanket this larger issue: the lack of effort in teaching boys how to act around their female counterparts. Simply put, “boys being boys” is not a good enough excuse anymore. Boys are not “sexually uncontrollable… they don’t have a genetic, animalistic, violent nature” (Mayer). So let’s educate boys to not be distracted by the females and to “not engage in misogyny and objectification of women’s bodies” (Sindil). Teach them how to behave around girls, when they’re dressed revealingly or not. Teach them how to approach a girl, and properly ask her out. Teach them how to handle these situations so they are not driven to harassment. Teach them the most important message of all: that “no means no.” Additionally, show them that a girl is not always capable of saying no; show them that they need to be active in getting 100% sure consent when they are doing anything from hugging to having sex. If teachers focus their energy on this, then shaming girls about their clothing will not be necessary.

Finally, many people have asked what the dress code enforcement is like for boys. In reality, many schools hardly discipline boys for wearing inappropriate clothing. Just because they aren’t showing a lot of skin doesn’t mean the clothes are politically correct. One example shows a boy wearing a t-shirt that reads: “Bad Girls suck, Good girls swallow” (My Virtual Life). The author reveals that the boy was not stopped once by any faculty. Coincidentally, on the same day, she was sent to the office for wearing shorts that sat mid-thigh on a hot summer day. There is no logical reason why a sexaully aggressive and offensive shirt would be less offending to students and staff than a girl wearing shorts. Aside from the obvious bias, publicly shaming girls for their clothing choices is extremely detrimental to their emotional state, and their education. The girl below was sent home from school for wearing clothing that was too revealing. Can you see it? Can you justify sending her home, and interrupting her education? Her mother, Stacie Dunn explains that she was sent home because her collar bones were showing, and it was distracting to the male students in her class. Since when were collar bones considered sexual? To avoid showing her collar bones, she might as well have worn a turtleneck sweater. An event like this for any student could yield many different emotional responses. The ridicule from a student’s peers would be embarrassing; Amelie Meltzer, blogger for the Moral Communities Project recalls being “ashamed and confused” on her first day of sixth grade when she was sent to the office for wearing a tank top with straps “less than three finger lengths apart.” On her way to the office, her peers gave the usual “Oooh you’re in trouble” response to her leaving, which is humiliating for anyone (Meltzer). Aside from the embarrassment, being restricted of expressing yourself, and feeling comfortable in your own skin can ruin self confidence. A post written on tumblr.com by an anonymous author explains how she feels insecure about her shoulders and legs; and that the school’s banning of shorts and tank tops makes her so uncomfortable that she rarely wears either artical of clothing anywhere. Amelie Meltzer also recalls the profound effect it had on her sense of self and worth. She says, “when you control a girl’s body… You take away her agency. You tell her that her body is not her own.” This is a crippling predicament that can have a lasting effect on any girl’s self esteem.  

In the world of feminism, there is a call to action concerning dress codes. They are enforced during a girl’s most impressionable years, and the opinions about themselves, and others that they form at that time could be the ones they carry through adulthood. Imagine being shamed for wearing a pair of shorts on a hot day, or for wearing a pair of comfortable leggings. Imagine what that could do to your mental state; how it could change your self-image. Dress codes need to change, or disappear. They are a poorly laid cover for a much bigger issue: the rape culture that is prominent in our society, and that men are not held responsible for their perverse actions. Dress codes are a warning to girls that they shouldn’t love their bodies too much, and they should change who they are to avoid distracting boys, and being harassed by them. Most importantly, teachers need to inform boys about how to be more respectful and sexually aware instead of spending so much energy shaming and ridiculing girls. If this is done, perhaps misogyny will fall, and new generations of strong, self-loving women, and educated, respectful men will rise.

Works Cited

Bates, Laura. "How School Dress Codes Shame Girls and Perpetuate Rape Culture." Time. Time, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

Boboltz, Sara. "These Quotes From Students Nail Everything That's Wrong With School Dress Codes." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

D'Anastasio, Cecilia. "Girls Speak Out Against Sexist School Dress Codes." The Nation. N.p., 27 Aug. 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

Mayer, Marion. "Why I'm Taking a Stand Against My School's 'Dress Code'" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

Meltzer, Amelie. "School Dress Codes and the Sexual Objectification of Girls | The MCP Blog." The Moral Communities Project. N.p., 20 Apr. 2015. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

"My Virtual Life." Tumblr. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

"Nxilbiter." Hi'mølly. N.p., 6 Sept. 2015. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

"1 Is 2 Many." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

"Ridiculous and Unfair Dress Codes." Quixotic. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

Sindil, Riddhi. "Does Slut-shaming Start with School Dress Codes?" Does Slut-shaming Start with School Dress Codes? N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

Zhou, Li. "The Sexism of School Dress Codes." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 20 Oct. 2015. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

Third paper quotes

Quotation from an online source with no page number:

In an interview with the Huffington Post about the issue of dress codes in schools, a female student from Haven Middle School states, "Too distracting for boys' is giving us the impression we should be guilty for what guys do."

Paraphrase from an online magazine with no page numbers:

In an interview with Huffington Post, Anna Angrick says that the girl's are at fault for the guys harassing them.

Paired quotations: 

In the article "Girls Speak Out Against Sexist School Dress Codes," an eighth grade student, Frankie, prepares a notecard to read in a meeting that reads, "This school's policy is one of the reasons why the US has the 6th highest rate of rape in the world." In their interview with The Nation magazine, Lindsey, another student, says that "the way that the administration pushed the issue in mass e-mails to their parents and over the loundspeaker during morning announcements made them very uncomfortable."

Works Cited

Bates, Laura. "How School Dress Codes Shame Girls and Perpetuate Rape Culture." Time. Time, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

Boboltz, Sara. "These Quotes From Students Nail Everything That's Wrong With School Dress Codes." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

D'Anastasio, Cecilia. "Girls Speak Out Against Sexist School Dress Codes." The Nation. N.p., 27 Aug. 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

Spriggs Vs. The world

Similarities between texts:

• All took a stance/position on something
• Articles used facts and statistics to illustrate their point

• Facts cannot be argued with

• All acknowledge the opposition
• All texts provide crucial background information

• Most refute the counter arguments (show why they are wrong)
• All illustrate the main points in a very clear and direct manner
• Writings appeal to readers through Ethos, Pathos, Logos
• Most have quotes from a reputable source/person
• All use an authoritative tone

Differences between texts:

• Some have first person language, others do not
• Some have pictures/illustrations, others do not

• Pictures have captions

• Some have quotes directly from people, others quote sources or other persons writing

Spriggs reading

1. It is quite obvious that she cares about this subject. She makes it sound so important by pointing out the many benefits to buying locally, and the issues that our massive food industry has today. A big soft spot for many readers is global warming and environmental issues. She points out that our current way of growing and shipping food is horrible for the environment, and that buying locally would take away a lot of the shipping cost, and oil cost. She establishes using facts and statistics: for example she states that by 2030, as a result of global warming, there will be no more ice glaciers in Glacier National Park. Facts like these are staggering, and bring about a sense of cause in the reader. It sure made me want to buy local more.
2. She considers many counter arguments to this topic. She shows how many people argued that local growing is worse for the environment, but she shut that down with facts and statistics proving otherwise. She also used a personal account of a farmer who worked on their land. He talked about how the growth of monoculture farms, and how they are ruining the business of small sized farms polyculture farms.
3. On the end of the first page, she writes about the global warming issue, and how the U.S. is one of the leading contributors to this problem. She doesn’t propose much opposition to this, because in the science community, global warming is undeniably a large problem. She gives us statistics about the U.S.’s fuel emissions, as well as our large amount of waste. She made it clear that global warming matters because it could likely be the fate of our world. Her evidence was strong and clear, using scholarly predictions and statistics. She didn’t pay much attention to the opposition, because rightfully there shouldn't be one.
4. The photos contribute to the argument by creating context to her words. The descriptions below them are helpful in the reader’s understanding of the topic. She compares photos of a monoculture and polyculture farm, and how they are noticeably very different. She also gives an example of what it looks like to shop at a local farmer’s market.

Responses to Videos

One of us wrote about about the drunk driving, and two of us watched the texting while driving video. Both of our summaries were quite similar in that they both featured a personal account of a tragic accident that resulted of these two types of mistakes. They both had dramatic slow piano music, teary eyed interviewees, and dramatic texts. Both stories follow several stories, both talking about the victims, and the effects that this accident had on the families. For example, in the drinking and driving video, the parents of the deceased had a hard time after, but they worked to create an organization to help intoxicated kids. They both use pathos (emotion) as the most effective piece in each video. The sad music, and stories from victims is really sad, and is a strong persuasive tool for the viewer. It also uses ethos (ethics) to show logically what could happen to you if you drink and drive, or if you text and drive. The videos still have a big shock value showing real videos and pictures from the accidents, while avoiding any gory scenes. Even without the gore, the messages are very persuasive.

Drinking and Driving story

This short video tells the tragic story of the death of two teenage sisters. It tells how the two sisters had been present at a party where alcohol was involved, and they spent much of the night partying. The soul survivor of the crash, and friend of theirs recalls the driver not being noticeably drunk, not tripping or stumbling around. Much of the video features a conversation with the parents of the deceased, talking about the impact it had on their lives, as well as how they bounced back from it. The parent's started an organization where intoxicated kids could call a number and get a ride home no questions asked. The parents of the two girls are trying to make a change in the lives of others out of their tragic story. The video pulls you in using the sad, slow, dramatic piano music. That along with the heartfelt, teary interviews shows the producer of the video's use of pathos to draw in the audience. He uses technology to his advantage, combining spoken word, text, music, and videos from the scene first hand to make us empathize with the kids and their parents. It also uses ethos to convince people not to drink and drive. These are words spoken by people who have experienced the possible tragedies that result because of drunk driving. There is no better source to listen to about drunk driving than a family member, or person whom experienced it first hand.