Keith King- School Uniforms Essay Example

easily determined by the bold heading “The Case Against Uniforms,” where King studies the negative side of school uniforms. According to King, “[Though] most parents and teachers seek to ensure the safety and security of their school children, some believe adopting a mandatory school uniform policy is not the appropriate method for ensuring such safety”.This is one example of the author’s use of smooth transitions, successfully redirecting the reader’s attention from one topic to the next.

Nearing the end of the essay, readers come upon “Implications for Research,” which clearly conveys that King will go on to discuss that “there is not much empirical data to support a cause-and-effect relationship between school uniforms and violence,” and continue to yield more ideas for research. Organization is clearly one of the essay’s strongest characteristics.With King’s use of bold headings and smooth transitions, the success of his essay increases because his ideas are easy to follow. Statistics are another important attribute when writing an essay. Statistics are persuasive pieces of evidence and can effectively strengthen an essay.

Nonetheless, this same power can also make them intimidating: we too often acknowledge them as fact without ever questioning their authenticity or aptness. Throughout his essay, King generally uses actual numbers, not percents, which aids in strengthening his arguments. In a section of “Should School Uniforms be Mandated in Elementary School? King states “… of the 5,500 principals surveyed …in February 1996, more that 70% believed that requiring students to wear uniforms to school would reduce violent incidents and discipline problems”. This example shows King’s strength when using not only numbers but also eye-catching statistics.

Despite this fact, later on in

his essay, King does resort to using percentages. Because percentages are consequent of a specific foundation, they are insignificant until associated with it. In the opening of his essay, King states that “after a year of implementing school uniforms, school crime decreased by 36%”.This leaves the reader questioning if anything else took place that would be a factor in this decline. He adds that there may be other factors that were introduced along with the uniform policy that may also have contributed to the decrease in violence and crime, which solves the percentage problem by admission (King).

King does an excellent job of supplying supportive evidence and statistics for both sides of the argument, providing readers with valid information so that they can pursue his perspective on the issue. King cites a variety of sources in his essay, including references to the American Psychological Association, The U.S. Department of Education’s Manual on School Uniforms, quotes from the United Teachers of Dade County, Long Beach Unified School district, several principals involved in the National Association of Secondary School Principals, Long Beach Press telegram readers, the director of the ACLU Public Education Department, and adolescents who were directly affected by the school uniform policy. Even if some of King’s sources argue against his ideas, the variety and authenticity of sources support his essay.

All of the sources King uses are relevant, strong, and reliable. Also, King uses minimal Internet sources.Even a powerful Internet source is suspect among readers, merely because it shows that the author researched from the relative ease of his or her computer rather than at the library. Because the information is typically coming from

an expert on the subject, data from a primary source such as a .

gov or . edu site is more likely dependable than that from a . com site. Unlike some persuasive essays, “Should School Uniforms be Mandated in Elementary School? ” presents accurate interpretation of its sources. Not once in his essay does King manipulate evidence he has cited.

King relies predominately on primary sources, which favors the success of his essay. Ultimately, a strong conclusion is imperative to the quality of an essay. Leaving readers with recommendations is one successful way to conclude an essay with a stance like King’s. He does not merely insist that more study be done; he offers suggestions for researchers to pursue when exploring the issue of school uniforms. By providing these ideas and offering questions to be answered, such as: “Was parental involvement a crucial factor in the reduction of violence? King offers a sense of closure for his readers along with a sense of reason for reading the essay.

A strong conclusion should reinforce the essay’s main points and present some additional insight into the author’s claims. King’s conclusion does precisely that. King’s strategy gives the reader a sense of unity and a feeling that he has addressed the topic completely. In coming full-circle, the essay leaves the reader with a feeling of satisfaction and with new perspectives to consider. The idea of implementing uniforms in public schools in the U.S.

has been a major debate for the past few years. Because of this debate, many essays have been published arguing the pros and cons of school uniforms: for example, “Should School Uniforms be Mandated in

Elementary School? ” by Keith King. When assembling a persuasive essay, four important qualities include the variety and authenticity of sources, the author’s organization, strong statistics, and the conclusion of ideas. It is apparent that King has researched his topic thoroughly as seen through the numerous valid sources included in his essay.King develops his ideas in an organized pattern, increasing the reader’s ease and understanding of his argument. Additionally, he ends his essay well by following up with recommendations and questions that the reader can contemplate after perusing the essay.

King is clearly successful in persuading readers to consider his point of view and obtain new knowledge on the issue of school uniforms. King’s essay is a great introduction to the concern of school uniforms for those looking to investigate the debate further.