Adapting Style
Journals and articles usually present new knowledge that has been either researched or reviewed from peer-written books or other journals. Some journals or articles are written to report to the public the results of a meeting, conference, or discussion, and to inform the public of policy changes. They often target a certain audience. The vocabulary, sentence structure, and length need to reflect the ability of the potential readers to comprehend the information presented. Educators, for example, normally report to the general public results, policy recommendations, or changes made to the education systems among other issues.
The general public might find it difficult to understand the meanings of certain concepts or words used in the report or proposed policies due to the hard vocabulary used. This, therefore, means that as an educator charged with presenting information to the general public; I have to tailor my language as well as writing style to benefit all the potential audiences. As educators, we sometimes use both qualitative and quantitative statistics to present reports.
The terms used may confuse others who are not familiar with them. For example, the terms used in describing the efficiency rates of an educational system may not be easily understood by some people. This, therefore, means that in writing educational reports meant for the public, the words used should be simple, and be used to bring concise meanings to the sentences. The vocabularies have to be carefully chosen to create a better understanding of the information. Thus, they should be adequate for communicating the meaning to the general audience (Kinneavy 34).
Sentence structure should also be established throughout the article or writing so that the idea in every sentence is concisely presented to the general public. The writing should contain simple phrases and single words that can easily convey the information especially if it is meant for the general public. Each sentence should be limited to a few ideas in explaining the general information being communicated in the paragraph. This would enable the reader to understand the information without having to read the sentence or paragraph several times.
The sentences need to be short and comprehensible to the expected reader. The sentences should also contain simple text that supports the ideas if necessary. Excessive use of conjunctions, commas, semi-colons may confuse the reader. Complex and compound sentences should be made easier to understand by breaking them into simple and short sentences. Complex sentence structures should be limited so that the main clauses in every sentence type stand alone.
The use of vocabulary, sentence structure, and length should be carefully established in each article depending on the purpose and the target audience. They should reflect the needs, knowledge, and the ability of the intended readers.
Analytical Paper on Social Trends
An increase in complexities in jobs and workplaces has made it necessary for even those who had not considered pursuing higher education to begin doing so. This has been prompted by the fear of losing jobs or being left out in promotions. As a result, adults are joining colleges to improve their qualifications or to align their skills and knowledge with new technologies and knowledge. However, this trend is likely to affect workers, firms as well as institutions of higher learning.
As more workers begin to register for higher learning and advance their skills and knowledge, they increase their technical abilities for performing job-related tasks. They also increase their career prospects and even lengthen their stay in paid employment. Additional skills as well as qualifications make them more qualified for promotions owing to their experience in the job. Besides, such workers also increase their minimum wages in their respective careers.
The level of education qualification together with the number of years of experience is always a key determinant of salaries and wages earned by an individual. These adults gain professional qualifications that enable them to register with councils or associations of professional qualifications, thus, increasing their technical credibility.
Companies are also likely to experience the consequences of this trend. They are likely to gain by having more technically qualified staff. Higher education will enhance adult employees’ abilities in performing their roles which is crucial to companies’ success. It increases the competence of the adult workers, and as a result, the standard of professional performance of tasks and production activities in the companies become more reliable and conventional.
Adult workers become more up-dated with new technologies, knowledge, and professional codes of conduct. Besides, a company that has many adult employees with higher standards and competence, approved by the relevant chartered association or council, has a greater possibility of winning potential businesses. Most customers internationally will always want proof of the company’s employees’ competence. This implies adult workers who had not thought of improving their qualifications have to further their education in institutions of higher learning.
A company that has experienced adult workers who are registered by the relevant professional bodies can seek certification with the Quality Management Systems standards such as ISO 9001. To be certified, the company needs to demonstrate the necessary competence of its employees by submitting proof of education, training as well as professional experience (Engineering Council 5).
On the contrary, as adult workers seek more educational qualifications, they are likely to disrupt the smooth running of the companies operations as they seek study leave. Worse still, retention rates may be lowered as these workers expand their career prospects and therefore seek employment elsewhere.
Finally, institutions of higher learning are also likely to be affected. Adult workers are likely to bring into classroom knowledge gained through their experience in practical work. This could benefit the institutions in structuring and designing their courses and curriculum. However, Colleges and universities could be overcrowded as more adult workers seek to advance their qualifications.
The increasing trend towards gaining more professional qualification has both benefits and demerits to workers, firms, and institutions of higher learning. Adult workers gain more professional qualifications which enhances their job performance. However, it could destabilize retention rates in companies.
Abortion debate
The debate over abortion has always focused on the issue of rights, and in particular, whether the mother’s rights to life outweigh that of the fetus. The two groups involved in this debate have always taken divergent stands. While the pro-choice group believes that a woman has absolute rights to carry out an abortion, their opponents, the pro-life movement contend that it is the fetus right to life that is indisputable (William 3).
The Fourteenth Amendment’s Right to Privacy forms the basis for this debate. The 1973 US Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade held that a woman has a fundamental right to decide whether to abort or not (William 17).
The proponents of abortion argue that the mother’s right to control her body supersedes that of the fetus’s right to life. Thus, a woman’s control over her reproduction is a private matter, and therefore the government should not interfere with a woman’s private life. They argue that enforcing laws which give the fetus life priority over that of the woman would make women second-class citizens who have fewer rights.
The pro-choice group also argues the fetus is not recognized as a human being. This means that a fetus can not have the same rights as those that a woman is entitled to. To them, before birth, the fetus does not have the qualities of personhood which include independent existence, sentence, as well as a social experience. As such, the fetus has to be born to have rights.
Abortion rights supports, especially feminists, insist that a woman’s right to bodily control as well as privacy has to prevail over that of the fetus’s right to life for women to gain economic as well as social equality with men. According to them, if women are empowered to gain control over their reproduction, then they can equally participate in the economic and social activities of the country. They insist that unplanned or unwanted pregnancy could hinder a woman’s ability to complete her education, remain working, and more importantly, support herself financially.
On the other hand, the pro-life group argues that the fetus’s right to life is more important and should not be interfered with. They assert that the Fourteenth Amendment that entitles every person the right to life, liberty as well as the property does not allow any woman to abort (McDonagh 21). The right as is provided in the constitution should protect all life whether born or unborn. Thus even the preborn child is protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. According to them, a woman does not have exclusive rights over her body. Although a woman has control over her body and chooses how to use it, this right can be restricted by law whenever it violates the rights of others. They believe the life of every person begins in the womb, and therefore a preborn child’s basic human rights should not be violated.
Despite the debate that has existed for many years, the controversy has remained unsolved. Both sides are not ready to acknowledge the merits of the arguments brought forward by their opponents. I believe that the life of both the woman and the child is important, therefore protecting both lives is vital. This debate should not be based on rights but the health condition of both the woman and the fetus. Abortion should only be permitted in situations where the life of both is in danger and therefore only one can be saved. It should only be considered where the woman stands more chances of survival than the fetus.
School uniforms for students
Schools and the general public across the nation are debating on whether or not to implement school uniforms for their students. This debate began several years ago, and over time, many schools have chosen to join thousands of schools that have implemented school uniforms for both pupils and students. By 1997, only 3% of public schools across the nation had adopted uniforms. By 2004, the number had increased to 14% of all the public schools (Walde 2).
The question remains; should public school students be required to wear uniforms? I completely agree that school uniforms are important and should be enforced to encourage pupils and students to focus on their academic work. According to Wilde (2), the results of a study conducted in Ohio State in 2005 confirmed that school uniforms improve attendance rates as well as graduation rates in schools.
Allowing students to wear what they like has taken a sharp turn over the years. It has led to the increase of gangs, revealing clothing as well as baggy pants, and more importantly, relaxed attitudes among students. Students behave better if they are dressed in uniform.
School uniforms create a better learning environment. Teasing among students is reduced especially on students who come from low socio-economic backgrounds, and therefore can not afford expensive clothes. Students from high socio-economic homes often tease their counterparts from low socio-economic backgrounds since the latter can afford to buy expensive clothes to come with to school. This lowers self-esteem among learners from low socio-economic backgrounds. Such learners find it difficult to interact with their peers since they are afraid of being reminded of the status of their clothing.
This affects their learning, and as a result, leads to a decline in their academic performance since their concentration in class is negatively affected. He or she worries more about his or her clothes and becomes too demoralized to learn. Personality development among these learners is also affected, and some have grown to become introverts due to low self-esteem. This can be avoided by creating an environment that does not remind learners of the various social classes that they come from.
School uniforms make learners feel equal and encourage the spirit of positive competition among learners. When all the students in the schoolwear school uniform, the likelihood of certain students judging the economic backgrounds of other learners is reduced.
There has been an increase in the number of students who join gangs and increase insecurity in the nation. Some students escape from school or leave home to go to school, but go on gang missions. In some cases, students do not go home directly after the end of school hours. They go down the streets to meet their gang members and begin gang activities. School uniforms could help limit students’ involvement and participation in gangs and gang activities.
It will help monitor students and control their movements in and out of school. School administrations can identify intruders who get into the schools for all the wrong reasons. This would also help reduce the use of students by gangs to traffic and peddle drugs. As a result, fewer students will be victims of drug abuse and drug-related cases. Again, school uniforms can also reduce truancy among learners, dropout rates in schools, and hence increase graduation rates.
Again, students who dress smartly and wear expensive clothes, shoes, or chains have often been the target of gangs and criminals. They have occasionally been robed of such items or even killed. These could be avoided if all students were to be required to wear uniforms.
Revealing clothing that students wear when they are given the freedom to dress as they want disrupts learning and the learning environment. Teenagers and adolescent students, who are still undergoing emotional and physical developments, are distracted easily by such partial nakedness. It diverts the attention of students of the opposite sex. Teachers, especially of the opposite sex, may also feel uneasy teaching such students with revealing clothing. It changes the students’ thoughts, language, and as a result, interferes with the learning process. On the contrary, school uniforms are properly defined and can help eliminate such behavior in schools and learning environments.
School uniforms do not encourage sagging or large baggy clothes, clothes with holes, visible undergarments, tights, immodestly low-cut necklines, or clothes with decorations, symbols, or words that convey gang-related, violent, vulgar, or crude messages. Such messages are known to affect adolescents’ behavior and personality development. School uniforms will also help students refuse to be swayed into buying trendy clothes as a result of peer pressure.
Those who argue against the adoption of school uniforms have always cited the price of school uniforms as a major factor that should be considered to shun wearing of uniforms in schools. They claim that school uniforms are expensive and could even cost up to $200 a year. I find this argument irrelevant and illogical. The cost of buying jeans, t-shirts, and designer clothes that students wear in schools is higher than the cost of school uniforms.
Even if uniforms may not benefit some students academically, it prepares them for the future dress codes required in various business environments. It also helps students develop a strong personality and to be more accustomed to rules and laws. They also learn to be responsible as they take care of their uniforms during their school days.
Bullying in schools
Bullying, intimidations, and harassment have become common problems experienced in schools and institutions of higher learning. Such acts have included verbal abuse or threats, physical and emotional harm, damage to a student’s property and written or electronic threats and abuse within school compounds or off school grounds (The State University of New Jersey 2). Such acts often make the school environment unsafe for some students and therefore contribute to student dropouts. It creates a hostile environment by pervasively causing emotional and physical harm to the affected student (The State University of New Jersey 2). Schools including our college have come up with strategies for eliminating such problems.
Such strategies include designing and adopting rules about students’ safety as regards, acts of bullying, intimidatiorassment. These rules are clearly communicated to students. It is also a requirement that students sign to observe these conditions and to respect each member of the school community. Enforcement of these norms as well as rules for intervention of these acts of misconduct and abuse of others’ rights are clear and consistent. Repercussions for such acts are clear and students know what constitutes such acts.
The institution also encourages and supports the development of skills that enable students to co-exist and succeed in life. It provides common course units which teach conflict resolution, personal responsibility as well as ethical decision making.
The school administration communicates to all students and staff alike its vision and how it plans to successfully implement it. The administration is committed to developing leadership in students and therefore the staff work towards ensuring positive interactions and relationships which reinforce supportive attitudes. It also has a disciplinary committee where students can report their problems or instances of bullying, intimidation, and harassment. Each student is afforded a fair hearing by the institution’s disciplinary committee.
The institution’s administration also encourages interpersonal relationships and unity in diversity among the school community. Respecting individual differences that exist in the school community has been a major part of the school’s policy for ensuring peaceful co-existence. The school defines diversity in the school to include differences in race, gender, culture, socio-economic backgrounds, sexual preference, and disability among others. It is enforced at every level of the institution, which includes student-student, student-staff, and staff-staff relationships.
These strategies have succeeded in eliminating acts of bullying, intimidation, and harassment; and in ensuring peaceful co-existence in the school community. Students and staff feel safe from any physical harm while in the school compound. Students also feel safe from any acts of emotional harm which includes teasing, harassment as well as exclusion. Students are supportive of one another’s academic as well as emotional needs.
The school community, which comprises students, staff, and families has developed a sense of positive connection to the institution and is ready to participate in the school’s initiatives which enhance learning among students. Thus, these strategies have been able to eliminate violence and fear among students, and as a result, have created a positive learning environment for both learners and teachers.
Works Cited
Engineering Council. Benefits of employing professionally qualified engineers. Engineering Council, 2011. Web.
Kinneavy, James. A Theory of Discourse. New York: Norton, 1980. Print.
McDonagh, Eileen. My body, my consent: securing the constitutional right to abortion funding. Albany Law Review, 1999.
The State University of New Jersey. Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying: Prevention and Intervention Laws and Strategies Resource Packet. Rutgers SDFSC Project, 2011. Web.
Wilde, Marjan. Do Uniforms Make Schools Better? GreatSchools Inc., 2011. Web.
William, Saletan. Unbecoming Justice Blackmun. Legal Affairs, 2005. Web.