Scholarly Research

I am trying to learn about the sleep patterns of teenagers during the school semesters. I am studying this concept because I want to find out whether or not students' attendance and performance could be improved if their classes started at a later time. I am doing this in order to help my reader understand that school districts may want to consider adopting flexible class schedules that would improve the attendance and performance of the students who are not getting enough sleep.

Revised Paragraph

For those of you that do feel college athletes deserve to be paid, think of it this way. Picture the star of your favorite college team. Football, baseball, swimming, whatever it is, think of the most important player to the team. Now imagine that player is caught accepting a bribe. Perhaps he or she is receiving weekly payments and depositing that money straight into the weekend party funds (this is college we’re talking about). Would this anger you? Would it disappoint you that your team’s star athlete’s sole priority wasn’t sports? After all, if it requires money for one to play a sport, how much could that player really love the game?

With so many aspects to consider, forming an opinion on this type subject can be very difficult. Imagine that the star player of your favorite college team is caught accepting a bribe from a member within the organization. Chances are that the athlete isn't using this under the table cash for basic necessities such as food or school supplies. Unfortunately, this money is most likely being deposited straight into the party funds (this is college we're talking about. Upon hearing this news about your team's captain, or leader, do you think this would anger you? Would it disappoint you to hear that this player has more on his mind than just the team? After all, if it requires money in order to get an athlete to perform, he or she probably doesn't respect the team enough to be on it.

Venue for Argument

The College Connection

Joe Posnanski

Joe Posnanski, in this Sports Illustrated article, writes about the issues associated with paying college athletes. He clearly states his main idea behind the article several times, and it is as follows: "College athletics are NOT about the players." An intial reaction to this statement may be disagreement, but Posnanski backs up this statement further on. Joe says that when he looks at the big picture, he can't imagine how paying college athletes could possibly be fair. He makes the argument that big time college athletes are already getting paid. They are being paid with free college tuition, room and board, incredible training facilities, world-class coaching, public relations, national exposure, free travel, the best doctors, direct access to the professional ranks, and all of their priceless experiences. In addition to this, he also discusses a topic i planned to use in my paper, dealing with the difference between college and professional sports. He recognizes that the skill level in pro sports is superior to college athletics. So he questions why people love these college games so much, and then attributes it to the connections people feel to the university. He states that college athletics are FOR the players and not ABOUT the players. It's this connection that drives college sports. Even if Penn State's entire football team quits because they are fed up about not being paid, would people still come to watch the replacement players compete? And the answer is yes.

To make his argument, he first expresses all of the arguments presented by the other side, and then addresses them one at a time picking apart the argument flaws. In his introduction, he states his thesis that "college athletics are not about the players," and then welcomes the reader to stop reading if he or she does not want to hear his argument. He first analyzes the question at hand, and then proceeds into his arguments. He uses claims and backs them up with reasoning throughout. He concludes by discussing what would happen if college athletes were paid. If you take away "college" from the term "college football," and add the word "money," you are left with professional minor league football. He then says, "See how many people go and watch that."

I agree with the author because he made great additional arguments in addition to ones I was already aware of. He is also a respected journalist employed by a well-known source, Sports Illustrated. He is also very knowledgable of the subject and makes several good rebuttals. He let the claims from the other side of the debate set up his own arguments perfectly, which makes the piece very effective.

I loved all the questions Posnanski asks and comparisons he makes in the article that made me feel very involved while reading it. I plan on using some of his comparisons in my argument. The fact that he addressed the other side so much also added a great sense of credibility to his writing and I would like to use this technique as well.