An Argument of Reason and Passion: Jacqueline Howard’s Essay Sample

Standardized testing. every pupil should be familiar with it. but is it nonsensical? Does it really assist schools and their pupils progress in academic competency. or does it impede their ability by adding more anxiousness and emphasis to pupils? Jacequeline Howard. a 20 twelvemonth old pupil helps us unwrap on these scrutinies by giving us a student’s position on how standardised testing is non merely altering the manner authorities looks at support. but besides discouraging pupils and altering the manner people look at pupils. Through Howards ethos. poignancy. Son. and manner in her essay. we can truly see her passion for other pupils and her ground to advance a alteration.

Howard begins her essay by giving us an overview of herself and how. even though she was a place schooled pupil. she was still drastically affected by standardised testing. In her adolescence she witnessed many of her friends as they underwent different standardised trials in public school and saw the affect that these trials had on them. She tells us about how they were greatly discouraged because of trials. and how these trials merely increase anxiousness. She besides enlightens us on the topic of schools funding. and the direct correlativity to how good its pupils do on the trials. This leads to schools handling pupils as merely Numberss on a signifier. Finally she gives us some penetration on how a more originative attack has helped in students’ tonss. Ultimately. she’s composing the essay as tool for future pupils to maybe acquire people believing about the effects of standardised trials. This is a message to all parents. decision makers and politicians ; this might be something that is really worthwhile for you to read.

In Howard ethos we can see that she has a typical position of her subject. For most of her address Howard is decidedly austere on her position of standardize testing and lets us cognize about it in many different parts of the essay. from the beginning to the terminal. Almost instantly. you see grounds of ethos when Howard describes what the issue meant to her ; “a really of import issue that affected my learning procedure and will go on to impact those of the young person in the hereafter. ” A intimation of understanding is portrayed in the essay when Howard talks about her friends and fellow pupils. who weren’t every bit fortunate as her. seen in the 3rd paragraph. As the essay progresses. a deeper tone of concern for the hereafter of pupils is seen all the manner through the essay. to a flood tide in the shutting paragraph saying. “Think of your kids. nephews. nieces. and even the kids of your friends. Surely you don’t see them as holding tattooed Numberss on their caputs or categorise them as passing or weakness. ”

In many Cases throughout her essay Howard uses her ain experiences as logical grounds. or logos. on the issue at manus. as seen in paragraph five and eight. She has besides done some research on the topic herself. For illustration. in paragraph nine. she explains to the audience about a Michigan State University research survey in which every bit much as 50 per centum of the stuff on standardised trials was non taught in the schoolroom. “Fairtest. org” tells us about how provinces that opt in a more originative standardised trial has pupils that do better. than in schools that don’t. This straight correlates with one of Howard’s chief points. that there should be more originative trials used alternatively of bland multiple pick trials. The logical groundss that we see spawn from the “No Child Left Behind Act” and its policy on standardised testing. If your school does non hold adequate money to afford the proper resources to learn the pupils. so that they are able to go through. the school loses support. doing it even harder. sometimes impossible to assist those pupils gain an instruction.

“Not merely is the construct of failure a to a great extent influential hindrance for many pupils but handling us all similar cogs in a machine adds an kernel of impersonality that affects pupils on an wholly new degree. ” This is merely one illustration of Howard’s poignancy. and how she uses nonliteral linguistic communication to demo an ebullient sum of emotion throughout the essay. She explains to us how dying she felt about the result of the trial. no affair how good she knew the capable affair. allowing us see her true emotions. Her emotions continue up until the really last paragraph. as she reinforces her thesis statement stating. “help leave the cognition that every pupil is more than a figure by forcing for a alteration in our system. ”

The manner Howard uses her ain voice and experiences. all through the essay. truly has an impact on the manner of the piece. In about every paragraph of the essay. Howard puts at least some of her ain ideas in. which greatly enhances the reader’s ability to be tuned into the essay. Overall. she uses really powerful sentences and sentence construction.

Parents. decision makers. and politicians better be ready to be persuaded to execute some type of action. after reading this paper. Through the word picks and sentence construction. Howard decidedly has written a really effectual paper. The manner she puts a batch of her ain experiences into the essay. besides plays a cardinal function in the effectivity and greatly helps accomplish conveying the reader into the statement. as a pupil. As you read the essay. you will falter upon a few different logical false beliefs. most of them affecting Howard speaking about the pupil population as a whole. Even though you see these false beliefs. the effectivity of this persuasive article is non skewed at all.

Think back to your high school yearss ; did standardised testing impede your ability to execute good in school? Did these trials discourage you or did you merely flux along the academic river. paying no attending to the trials? In any instance. after reading this paper. we can all hold that Howard non merely showed us an unbelievable students’ position on the issue. but besides heighten our consciousness about how bad standardised trials really are. One must inquire if we can all sit back and ticker as our country’s position of pupils is changed by these trials or can we make something about it. After all. our ain kids are the new coevals of pupils.

Plants Cited

Howard. Jacqueline. “Persuasive Essay – More than a Number. ” Howard’s LA 101H Blog. 21 Apr. 2011. Web. 27 Jan. 2012