Rough Draft of First Two Pages

Obesity
Go to a mall and look around. You should see an overweight or obese teen or child effortlessly. If a person has a BMI higher than 30 they are considered obese. (cdc) “In the last 30 years the number of children who are overweight has tripled to 15%. When you add the overweight and obese statistics together, the problem becomes crystal clear. One-third of the nation's children are carrying too much weight.”(hcco) But what caused these huge numbers of obese children and teens in our population in the richest and most successful nation on earth? Doctors claim that the main reasons for it are poor diets and lack of exercise (hcco). Our mothers and fathers have the most influence on our lives. And one of the best ways to teach is by example. Parents should act as a role model for their children in the things they eat and the ways they exercise.

With peer pressures all around, teens and children are always worried about their image. They make choices with what the crowd does. Sometimes these pressures lead to anorexia or on the opposite spectrum obesity. But, the best diet a child or teen can be on is the non-fad diet. “The no-fad diet is one that relies on good food choices that provide the nutrients needed to accommodate changing bodies”(hcco) Diet doesn’t necessarily mean not eating, it means eating the healthy food, in correct proportions.

If parents teach their children to have a well-balanced diet, all these pressures will subside. With healthy bodies, children and teens won’t be sent in the direction of not eating of overeating. Avoiding fatty, high sugared, greasy food is simple. The parents, by not buying these unhealthy products, can teach their children to eat healthy food like fruits and vegetables instead. Always having grapes or nuts or jello available to snack on in the pantry is very important.

Fast food restaurants have begun to offer healthy alternatives on their menus. Their advertisements target young children and teens to come to their restaurants. Those thousands of dollars and millions of man hours put into commercials and advertisements are no match for children. Parents should make it clear that it is okay to go to them sometimes though. When they do go out to eat get a small drink and fries and not the biggest size. Or even better, milk should be suggested instead of pop, and apples or carrots instead of fries. These simple choices can have a huge impact. Parents, order the salad and take out the mayo dressing to set an example too.

Technology has taken over today’s world. ”People don’t have to walk a mile to see their closest neighbor. They can just sit on their couch and text them burning about 10 calories.”(nick) TV, computers and video games make for much more sedentary lifestyles in most children’s lives now a day.

Schools have also contributed to increased childhood obesity. ” Daily participation in school physical education among adolescents dropped 14 percentage points over the last 13 years, from 42% in 1991 to 28% in 2003.” Sitting in school for seven hours a day is not teaching children healthy habits.

Generating Ideas for Persuasive Research Essay

In your journal make a quick list of issues that have provoked disagreement between groups of people in your hometown or local community.

Cheerleading is a sport

What to do with the 2 million dollar surplus in our city

Hats in school

I-pods and phones in school

Easy to get into honors courses

Keeping our town ‘small’

Overcrowded High School

Switching from 7 hour days to 6 hour days

School dance policy

Make a quick list of issues that have provoked disagreements on your college campus, and between groups of people in your home state.

Memorial for the 35 bridge collapse

Drinking age

Future of parking at NCC

Tuition costs

Smoking Indoors

New stadium for the Vikings

Think about issues—local, statewide, regional, national—that have touched your life or could affect you in some way in the following areas:  environmental, health care, civil rights, business, education, crime or sports.  Make a quick list of questions within these areas you wonder about.  For example, Will I be able to afford to send my children to college in twelve years?

Will I collect social security when I am older?

Is our earth going to use up all its resources?

How expensive will gas prices become?

Will new technology be created to suppress them?

Is our nation headed towards socialism?

Will the NFL play next year?

Will the unions get disbanded for teachers?

Will crime rates continue to grow?

Can cancer be cured?

What is more important…freedom of speech or the right to privacy?

Jot down a list of classes you are taking this semester.  Then make a quick list of topics that prompt disagreements among the people in the field you are studying or plan to study.  For instance, in political science, people continue to debate whether the electoral college is useful anymore or not.

Spanish 2200

Should people who immigrate have to learn English?

How can we embrace other cultures?

AP BC Calculus

Nothing really.. Maybe over whether or not it is useful in life

Economics

How should our economy run?

How much government should be involved?

Humanities

What is considered art?

Do things like dance count as art?

Are people born artists?

Can anything be called art?

Revising the Review Essay

Name Background:
“Corn Snakes belong to the species, Elaphe Guttata.” (Kaplan)  The latin translations of species names describe the animal. Elaphe means deerskin and guttata means speckled of spotted. The corn snakes skin is spotted pattern and feels like “tanned deer skin.” (Kaplan) All snakes that I have held seem to have this “tanned deer skin” texture and it was this that got me hooked on them and wildlife in general. I love looking at and feeling the snakes.   

I am going to use this in my final draft as my opening paragraph. I had written about the texture of the snake before so I think this will be good to tie into the topic of snakes and me owning one, thus reviewing having one as a pet.

Holding a snake:
In holding my snake I realize how jerky and fragile it is. Although he is tamed these sudden movements from him could scare someone not experienced with handling a snake. My teacher Mr. Volm told me, “All it takes is one drop and the snake could be injured or worse, it could get away and hide in an unreachable spot.” Unlike my brothers ball python, which wraps around my arms and is slow moving, my corn snake “tends to pick a direction and go for it.” (Kaplan) Little kids or people afraid of snakes should not handle for these reasons.

I can use this as one of the downfalls of owning a snake as a pet. Although I have no trouble handling my snake, many people would.