English Composition

English Composition Study Guide

©2018 of 84 coast.” These statues serve as a painful reminder to African Americans of a violent time in history towards their race, in addition to the violence that still occurs in racially motivated acts of aggression in our current time. Statues honoring white supremacy need to be removed from public land. They celebrate a horrific and violent time in the history of the Unites States where racial aggression was encouraged. If they continue to remain in place outside government buildings and in public parks they will also continue to foster racial tension within the country. Strong Response Analysis: The writing begins by explaining to the reader the issue at hand. Background context is provided in the form of examples of racial tension in present day, and both sides of the argument are addressed in the introduction. The thesis is strong, making a clear point to the reader on the author’s stance, while also providing an outline of what will be covered in the body paragraphs. The body paragraphs each begin with a topic sentence that connects to the thesis. Within each body paragraph, multiple examples from the text are used to bridge a connection between points made in the article with the points the author is making. The writer correctly paraphrases and cites the article, using parenthetical documentation to cite Staples, or using a signal phrase to say, “according to Staples…”. Each example from the article is followed by several sentences of analysis and explanation to help readers see how the text is helping to back up the argument being made. The author uses transitions to help the writing flow from one idea to the next. The author also does a good job of acknowledging the other side of the argument, and then refuting it with additional evidence as to why the other side is not right. The concluding paragraph leaves the reader with a sense that action should be taken to resolve this issue, while also summarizing the arguments made in the writing. The essay is structured in a way that is logical and is free from any fallacies. Average Response Example: Monuments are generally created as symbols of honor and respect for people who have performed services for others. However, there are many bad things in history that do not deserve monuments. Therefore the public shouldn’t have to deal with constant reminders of just tragedies. This reason, Confederate monuments should be removed from public areas because the Civil War championed slavery, a horrifying historical tragedy that deserves no honor. Since public areas are common people have the right to occupy these spaces without being forced to see statues that praise undeserved virtues on our country’s inexcusable period of slavery. State governments wield the power to raise public monuments only with the approval of their law-makers. Public outcries against offensive monuments have been going on for awhile now, but law-markers are just starting to take note. According to Brent Staples, author of the essay, “Monuments to White Supremacy,” Ida B. Wells, wrote a pamphlet called, “Southern Horrors,” in the late 19th century. She protested the actual white supremacists and the monuments of themselves they left behind. Doing this though lead to the threat on her life which made her have to move away. Staples says , “by the time Wells took refuge in the North in 1892, white Southerners had made racial terrorism a fact of life.” Monuments are painful reminders of periods of history that people do not want to see. Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States had a statue made commemorating him in Memphis, TN, a predominantly black community. Not only was Davis, a representative of a pro- Achieve Page 72