Stance essay
Stance Essay Draft
For your next assignment, you will combine these writing techniques to write a stance essay. A stance essay takes a position on a topic and argues and supports that position with evidence. Consider your topic:
What possible positions/arguments are there?
What position resonates with you? (Which position do you believe is correct?)
What are your main points?
What are the counterpoints? Are you ready to dispute them?
Do you have enough evidence to effectively support your argument?
For the stance essay, your personal voice (your perspective) should come through. This is just like assignment 1, except you should maintain a formal tone.For this essay And just like assignment 2, you will need to support your points with credible sources. Youre ready to take a position on the topic you have been writing about!
1
2
Assignment #3: Surviving Teenagers
Student X
English 115
Dr. Ron Davis
February 26
, 2018
Forty-one percent of youth attribute running away to poor relationships with adults
(Family Conflict and Violence, 1
). The immediate purpose of learning effective ways to raise children is to prevent broken homes. Dr. Pickhardt suggests that there should be a mixture of instruction, encouragement, and correction to teach teenagers how to live according to family values and abide by the family rules (Pickhardt, 2). Learning effective ways of surviving teenagers can enhance parenting/communication skills, reduce the amount of conflicts within homes
, and encourage more positive interactions amongst families.
As children continue to grow; it may become more challenging to find ways to communicate
with them. Experts explain howcertain experiments have shown that communication with teenagers can be hard because the teenager may not really understand the content of the conversation. A very interesting article described an experiment that was performed on a few teenager and adult brains. The results of the experiment showed that the teenagers prefrontal cortex is way less developed as compared to adults. This helps identify
asignificant developmental growth gap between teenagers and adults. The prefrontal cortex is located at the front of a humans brain. Its functionality includes decision-making, planning, social interaction, understanding, and self-awareness (Blakemore, 3).
It is safe to say; this part of the brain plays a vital role in ones demeanor. Research also shows that people recall experiencing the same challenges with their parents as teenagers. An example shows how adults remember feeling as if their parents did not understand or respect their feelings. Some parents take on an under-parenting abandoning role and just allow the teenager to do as they wish. Others take on an over-managing, over-controlling role and make all the decisions without considering the teenagers thoughts. Unfortunately; neither one has been proven to be more effective than the other. It is advised that parents try to adapt to a healthy medium with a mixture of both tactics (Pickhardt, 2).
Subsequently, arguments tend to erupt when there is no clear understanding amongst the
parties involved. Research shows frustration tends to turn into yelling and arguing. (Family Conflict and Violence, 1) Teenagers may want to discuss certain situations that happened and already be frustrated. Without fully understanding how to deal with the situation; the teenager may be seeking guidance but unsure how to ask. Parents should try to find ways to minimize these occurrences as much as possible or find ways to turn arguments into more positive interactions. Escalated arguments are not always helpful and can lead to hurt feelings. There are more constructive ways to deal with conflicts and have more positive outcomes. According to the Family Conflict and Violence parenting article; too many conflicts and disruptive arguments can negatively impact relationships. Positive interactions include encouragement, motivation, and patience. Providing more effective methods and reinforcing positive behaviors should help mold adolescents (Family Conflict and Violence, 1).
Simply stated, there are ways to encourage more positive interactions. Teenagers should be
encouraged to express themselves. Blakemores article discusses teenager interactions and provides ways to implement some strategies at home. Persistence and positive attitudes will attribute to more positive interactions with teenagers (Blakemore, 3). Case studies infer situations when parents have found it challenging to communicate with teenagers. One example pointed out how a parent tried to explain the consequences and the teenager became very offensive (Pickhardt, 2). Effective parenting and communication skills can be very beneficial to a healthy relationship. Naturally, there really is no blueprint on how to raise children. However; there are certain skills that adults can learn to help build stronger relationships with teenagers.
In summary; teenagers need to grow up in a nurturing and loving home. It is important to be able to have conversations with them without ending in explosive arguments. It is imperative to be able to encourage communication with teenagers. Learning effective communication skills should be very beneficial to the overall well- being of adolescents. There are several resources available to assist parents and teenagers with enhancing communication skills, reducing the amount of conflicts within homes, and encouraging more positive interactions
.
Sources
1. Family Conflict and Violence. (2015). http://youth.gov/youth-topics/runaway-and-homeless-youth/family-conflict-and-violence
2. Pickhardt, C. E. (2011). Ten Practices of Effective Discipline with Your Adolescent. Retrieved February 1, 2017, from Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/surviving-your-childs-adolescence/201109/ten-practices-effective-discipline-your-adolescent
3. Blakemore, S. J. (2012). The Mysterious Workings of the Adolescent Brain. https://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_jayne_blakemore_the_mysterious_workings_of_the_adolescent_brain/transcript?language=en
The format of this paper is in SWS.
Replace this with your name.
Replace with the actual date.
The first paragraph is your introductory paragraph. It houses your thesis statement.
Citations receive a number based on order of appearance in the essay.
This is your thesis statement. It is one-sentence long. It consists of a main idea + 3 supporting points. Each point will eventually become its own supporting paragraph.
Notice the different color codes for each supporting point.
This is your first, supporting paragraph. It is red, in color, just like your first, supporting point. Make sure that you have, at least, 1-citations per each supporting paragraph.
Remember, when writing a Stance Essay, your job is to convince your reader of your position. You do this by infusing a citation and/or actual, quoted words from a published source to support the point youre making.
This is the second supporting paragraph. Notice how it is the same color as the second supporting point, in your thesis statement.
This is your third, supporting paragraph. Notice the color? It is the same color as the third, supporting point, in your thesis.
Repeated thesis statement must be written in your conclusion paragraph.
Your references page follows a specific format. You may click on the SWS link in Blackboard. Know that your essay will be automatically formatted when uploaded in Soomo/Webtext. It will not be formatted any other way, unless you do it yourself.
