WRITING EXERCISE: WHETHER OR NOT TO HAVE SCHOOL UNIFORMS

The following exercise has been designed to help you grasp the basics of essay organization. In each case, the introduction and the conclusion will be provided along with notes for the development. Read the introduction carefully and make sure you understand the reason for the organization of the essay. Then write the development in accordance with the suggestions provided. You may need to do research to expand on the points. A word of warning: this not the only way of organizing this essay but it is one that works.

Uniforms, specialized clothing for various groups of people in life, have been around for hundreds and thousands of years especially in some sectors. Some people wear uniforms for recognition and identification like the army, clerics and the police, some do so for protection like firemen and riot police, others do so for hygiene like doctors and nurses. Yet students in many countries are made to wear uniforms as well and some are at a loss to understand why. Do they have a point or are school uniforms vital? There is a very simple answer to this: school uniforms should be the norm in developing and underdeveloped countries.

First developmental paragraph: Financial arguments

·         Poverty and limited means: one uniform cheaper than lots of regular clothes

·         Equality: the distinctions between more well to do less well-off students blurred

Second developmental paragraph: Practical arguments

·         Identification: young people identified as students

·         Discipline: uniforms, due to their connotations, make keeping order easier

·         Pride: a sense of pride due to being a student at a certain school

Third developmental paragraph: Individuality versus the system

·         Counter argument: uniforms restrict personality development

·         Rebuttal: generations of people have grown up with school uniforms; no data to link lack of individuality to uniforms

In conclusion, uniforms have done hundreds and thousands of people of past generations no discernible harm and in no way prevented them from flourishing. This being the case, burdening overstretched parents with the added expense of a wardrobe for their offspring seems illogical. The alternative a uniform and a spare is both cheaper and more practical. This does not mean to say uniforms can’t be more child-friendly and comfortable. In fact efforts should be made to achieve this to put a stop to the argument for once and for all.