opinion_paper

An Essay of Opinion
In this assignment, you are to read the Newsweek article I have passed out to you in class. Consider this statement as well as what you have read in the rest of the article:

==="In a new book, "The Nurture Assumption: Why Children Turn Out the Way they Do; Parents Matter Less Than You Think and Peers Matter More" (//Free Press//), Harris is igniting a bonfire of controversy for her central claim: the belief "that what influences children's development...is the way their parents bring them up is wrong." (Begley)===

Hmmm... what do you think about that? Do you agree? Why/not? What do you think about nature versus nurture? In your experience, what makes young people act the way they act? On what side of the argument do you fall? What do you believe?

You will remember the following passage from __Lord of the Flies__:

==="Yet there was a space round Henry, perhaps six yards indiameter, into which he dare not throw. Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policement and the law. Roger's arm was conditioned by a civilization that knew nothing of him and was in ruins." (Golding 62)===

How does your idea of **conscience** inform your opinion about the way young people act?

In this **in-class** writing assignment, you will write an opinion statement in 300-500 words about //what you believe// about how kids behave. What dictates Roger's behavior in the scene above, in the scene at Castle Rock where he uses a bigger rock? Use your reading of this article and the text __Lord of the Flies__ to inform your opinion about: **nature versus nurture**, or **friends versus family**. As you try to explain why young people act the way they do, consider ordinary random events that happen in your life, and you might also consider bigger events, more tragic or more scary. How do the forces of **peer pressure** and **conscience** work with or against each other in a young person's decision-making process? In your explanation of your opinion, please **use quotes from each text** to support what you say, and the explanations of your opinion should be clear and thorough.

Like your research paper, I would like you to construct this essay on your wiki. That includes any prewriting and any notes (such as the journal) that you use to organize your argument. Remember, you are writing to **persuade**, so I would recommend reading page 116 in your Writers Inc book, and you might also get some help [|here]. I have reserved three classes in Room 129 and the writing center, so you do not need to write this piece outside of class.

Please turn in this essay by next **Tuesday the 27th**. by **posting it on your wiki**. If you prefer to print it up, that is fine, otherwise, through the wikispaces message service, **send me a link** to the exact page where your opinion paper is posted. I will then read it and score it. I will score it using this rubric.

You can find the article "The Parent Trap" [|here] if you need to access it from home.