INTRO
The purpose of this intro is to hook my readers into reading the rest of my paper, and to give them an idea about what the rest of my paper will be about. It will help me write the rest of my paper by giving me a structured first step that will dictate what is in the rest of my paper, and it will help others by letting them know what the article is about. It will differ from other sections of my paper in that it will only tell what the rest of the paper is about, and not necessarily provide data or interpretation of data.
My goal for this paper is to learn from it. I want to be able to write effective research papers, because I will need it in the rest of my college education and in my career. My target audience is high school students, teachers, and administrators. I will tailor my writing to my audience by writing in a way that will be effective for both high school aged students and adults.
Writing the intro helped me because it forced me to put the crazy ideas in my head down into print. It has let me know where I want to go next. It has helped people who will eventually read it by giving them and idea about what the paper will be about. I’m not sure how it is different from other papers that I wrote because this is the first one. With this first paper written, I feel like i have a far firmer grasp on where I would like to go with my next papers. I believe I tailored my paper to my audience by using language that is understandable to both students and teachers!
INTRO
High school is a time where teenagers are starting to learn about themselves and explore their identity. Students learn to express themselves, and develop socially. During this stage of a student’s learning career, it would be beneficial to be exposed to as many foreign ideas as possible. However, often times the public high school curriculum is governed by the strong Christian values that prevail in America.
Jeff Passe and Lara Willox write that without an understanding of other world religions and cultures students will not be able to fully grasp the content of social studies. Currently, students are being given no tools in their public high schools that will help them deal with a world that is constantly becoming more interconnected due to the quickened rate of globalization (Passe and Willox 102).
High school literature courses expose the influence of Christian values very well. Books may be removed from high school reading lists for being considered inappropriate for students based on Christian values. Or on the other hand, books may be selected due to their Christian merit. Either way, Christian values are dictating what is being taught in our high school literature classes.
Students and parents have to wonder about the effect of an education based on Christian influences. Parents and students should wonder about the types of subject matter that is exempt from public high school curriculums because it varies from the valued subject matter of Christian influence.
I maintain that living in a world that is becoming ever more interconnected, high school students should be exposed to all types of subject matter and not just subject matter that follows Christian tradition. High school students are at the perfect age to learn and take in new ideas. Denying students a perspective on life that is not a Christian perspective may possible hinder a students development and stunt them from growing and being competitive on a globally connected market. I believe that teaching students from a perspective that is not entirely influenced by Christianity, teachers could help students develop into more self-aware individuals who can compete more effectively on the more and more interconnected global market.
Works Cited
Passe, Jeff, and Lara Willox. “Teaching Religion in America’s Public Schools: A Necessary Disruption.” Social Studies 100.3 (2009): 102-06.
The purpose of this intro is to hook my readers and get them to want to read the rest of my paper, and to give my readers some idea of what the paper is about. It will help me by giving me more focus and structure to my assignment, and it will help my readers by letting them know what the paper is all about. The intro is different because it contains a hook that intrigues the reader into reading on. Also it doesn’t get into data or interpretations or methods like other sections of the paper do.
New Intro
The goal for my paper is to investigate what makes an individual chose to claim straight edge. By the end of the paper I would like to have given a realistic account of the decision to claim Edge. I suppose my target audience would be both straight edge kids and kids who aren’t. I also think my target audience will be mostly young people. To accommodate to my audiences needs I plan to use common language that most youths would understand.
intro
When asked, most people are not able to define what Straight Edge is. Straight Edge is a life long pledge to abstain from smoking, drinking, and having promiscuous sex. The reason so little is known about straight edge is because of its close ties to the hardcore punk subculture. Many people are not exposed to the Straight Edge movement or the Hardcore punk scene that it is most common in. Since Straight Edge has roots in a small subculture, there is not much substantial research on the topic. I want to know what exactly influences a person into claiming Straight Edge.
Straight Edge is a movement that started in the early 1980’s. Hardcore punk rock bands helped to shape a subculture where kids abstained from smoking, drinking, and having promiscuous sex. The name “Straight Edge” was given to this new movement, and was inspired by lyrics from a band named, Minor Threat. Straight Edge has had a history or violence, and has seen many straight edge individuals turn militant and fight back against drug dealers and people who brought the community down in their eyes.
So little research has been done on the Straight Edge movement that it leaves the field wide open for new research. I would like to research what factors influence a youth’s decision to claim Straight Edge. I also would like to investigate how things such as race, gender, and socio economic status effect the decision of someone to claim straight edge. This type of research is significant because so little research has been done on it. It is important for people to understand or at least be aware of social movements that are taking place.
Robert T. Wood’s research, titled Straight Edge Youth: Complexities and contradictions of a subculture was a valuable reference for my research. Wood is a professor of sociology at The University of Lethbridge, Alberta. Wood’s research investigates the history and the social impact of straight edge on the lives of Straight Edge youths.
In the body of my research, I will take a very detailed look at one specific Straight Edge friend of mine. I will draw on his experiences and see what things influenced him to claim Edge. I will investigate how topics like race, gender, and socio economic status played a role in his affiliation to Straight Edge. I believe that by examining one case in a very detailed way I will be able to add knowledge to any academic conversation that may be taking place about Straight Edge. I will be able to present one very specific and in-depth research about what influenced one Straight Edge youth to claim Edge. I may not be able to analyze my research and make definitive claims about the types of things that influence a youth to claim edge, but I will present research that will raise questions and awareness of the topic.
Writing the intro definitely helped me see the rest of my project a little more clearly. It forced me to focus and structure my ideas. It’s also going to help my readers because I offer a definition of the terms that need to be defined so that the rest of the paper will make sense.
By the end of this paper I think I have accomplished a better focus for the rest of my paper. I also think I catered to my audience by using come language, and defining terms that will be necessary to comprehending the rest of the paper.
