essay structure invention

November 1, 2006- Engl 110- essay structure invention

PART ONE
Essay structure invention- “why?”

Why does my interpretation of this phenomenon of seminary matter to anyone besides me?
It lets people know about seminary, about the youth of my church. About how much we care about our religion and our beliefs and our standards and what sorts of techniques the church uses to raise its youth well. And you don’t need to be Mormon to come to seminary. So perhaps some people will have their kids come to seminary with us. That would be pretty cool. Maybe if more people came to seminary they’d start making better choices in their lives, and do better in school, and be happy and stuff. I know that I am extremely biased
It is a support for parents, church leaders, seminary teachers, high school teachers, seminary students, and upcoming seminary students (aka “seminary students to-be”). Why is it important to them? For parents- well, parents wake up at six o’clock in the morning to drive their children to seminary. Their children loose sleep for it. I think that expressing the value of seminary reassures these parents that their sacrifices are for something good- that in sacrificing an hour or so of sleep, they allow their children to have a daily experience which is beneficial to their daily lives.
Seminary teachers would benefit from hearing a student express the value of seminary because sometimes being a seminary teacher can be a thankless job. I do not know this from first-hand experience, however, I am aware of it through watching teachers. One day last year Brother Dysart got extremely upset- upset for him at least (it was pretty calm compared other peoples’ tempers that I’ve seen; he must just be a very placid sort of man)- because he had worked hard at his lesson, and what was the class doing? Well, one third wasn’t present, another third was sleeping, and the last third (excepting maybe two students) were talking. I felt bad for him (especially since I was one of the talking students…). It was the only day that he ever got upset with us like that. It really was. Freshman year Brother Sellers had a hard time as well. He had a bunch of obnoxious freshman boys who like to think they’re funny (okay, so they are actually pretty funny, I’ve realized now that they and I have matured a bit, but at the time I just got annoyed with them for detracting from my learning experience), and who would spend most of seminary talking. Poor Brother Sellers.
Such a previously explained explanation would benefit seminary students and seminary students-to-be because it will show them how seminary can impact their lives and how beneficial it can be for them. And also how much many current seminary students enjoy and reap great rewards from attending, and learning in, seminary.
Four hundred and seventy nine words. That’s not enough! Okay, so now it’s four hundred and ninety eight words. Fantastic. I’m done. (501)
Well, in conclusion, why is this topic important? ‘cuz it’s good to know what’s going on, and it’s also good to reassure people that things they do (or can do) are for their benefit. The end.
Essay structure invention- “what?”

What evidence shows that seminary being a good community for high school students is true?
The fact that high school students who attend regularly and who are willing to benefit from the class, are generally happy people who work hard at doing well in school and at being good people.
Isaac, Spencer, David, and Derek are pretty happy young men. They come to seminary in the morning often tired, but still retaining their good sense of humor. This was especially so today when Sister Utterback said that she brought donuts for the class. “Yeee-es!!” said Isaac. He, David, Spencer and Derek pretty much went very quickly over to the donuts. But it’s not just about donuts, you see, it’s also about behavior outside of the classroom. While I may not be well acquainted with all of these four boys, I do feel comfortable around them. I know that if I am around them they will not say anything inappropriate- no swearing, cussing, vulgar language, dirty jokes, sexual innuendos- none of that which when I hear it makes me cringe. What’s also nice is, for example, in my contemporary world issues (CWI) class that I had last year, Isaac was in it. And we would talk about different things- like gay marriage- in that class that tend to be very controversial issues. I absolutely loved it when we broached the topic of gay marriage and I was able to exchange a look with Isaac, and could tell that he was thinking, “ugh… gay marriage is not right; and I don’t really want to talk about it”. Or when in Mr. Larsen’s class our freshman year, Mr. Larsen drew an excessive amount of attention to the male genitalia on a Greek statue, and the female “endowments” (that’s what we’ll call the breasts)- the upstanding LDS boys (who, by the way, are in my seminary class) looked away and groaned at the teacher’s audacity. With these young men I don’t have to worry about them viewing my body as an object to be admired and that being the sole reason they enjoy my company. They are not that worldly.
You see, being LDS, we have values, and standards, and morals and we try to adhere to them like tape, sticking up for what we believe in. But sometimes, Sunday worship service and Sunday school just aren’t enough. In our society which can be so corrupt and vulgar at times, we often need daily uplifting. Daily reminders of who we are and what we stand for. Seminary does this for today’s LDS youth. It helps us at this critical deciding time in our lives to stick to what we believe and stand up for it.
Of course, in my example about the young men being upstanding, that goes two ways. I know young men who are extremely thankful for the large amount of girls who dress and behave modestly. Some of them like to say, “modest is hottest!!”, which always gets a laugh, but is also nice for the young women to hear. They don’t feel pressured around these good LDS girls to think about sex or other inappropriate behaviors. They are able to concentrate on the girls’ personalities instead of being distracted by their more physical endowments.
Essay structure invention- “how?”

How does the thesis stand up to the challenge of a counter-argument?
How does the introduction of new material affect the claims I’m making?
Possible argument: these students are just raised to be good students, and seminary doesn’t make a difference one way or the other because that’s just who they are.
Possible counter-argument: wrong. These students may or may not have good parents who raise them well, and may not have other good environments to be in in order to have their standards upheld. And if they do, well, good for them. However- seminary makes a difference because it reinforces what is taught at home and expounds on that. Often nowadays parents don’t have much time to sit down with their kids and teach them about their religion and in-depth teach them about good standards and values and morals and about how to uphold those and such. This is unfortunate, but it happens. Students come to seminary and learn things that parents don’t teach them at home (whether that be because of neglect to teach or just lack of time or knowledge). We are reminded about how bad choices lead to bad consequences and given scriptural advice concerning these matters as well. Seminary supports what a student already knows and does, making it easier to live making good decisions.
Possible argument (including new material): there are seminary students that don’t make very good choices- that do drugs, have sex, etc. yet they attend seminary regularly. Obviously seminary doesn’t make a difference in their lives.
Possible counter-argument: these students don’t care about seminary. But it’s more than that- they don’t follow their religion, and since seminary is a support to religion and faith, there must be faith and a willingness or conviction to follow what they know is right. Students that don’t have that attitude, that willingness or conviction, don’t have anything for seminary to augment. They go to seminary and very little of the lessons taught there affect them because they are not willing to accept them.
Possible argument: seminary just teaches a bunch of religious “hoo-ha”, or junk.
Possible counter-argument: seminary doesn’t teach a bunch of religious “hoo-ha” (that is soo fun to say!!). It teaches our religion, and that includes things like having good standards and integrity. Good standards such as being honest and hard working and respectful towards people. Keeping good care of your body- not drinking alcohol (ever), doing drugs, we even talk about getting enough sleep! (of course, most of the seminary students have a lot of trouble with that one.) The students in my seminary class that “walk the talk” (act on what they believe) are great students. They follow the counsel of the president of our church and study hard and work hard and uphold their standards.
I like my seminary class, and no one can convince me that it is a worthless class. I like going to the church in the morning before school and starting my day off learning about my religion and about the scriptures. I like the people that I meet through seminary and how they give me a support group for staying true to what I believe.