Pro/AFF
Reason
Persuasive Essay Sample – School Uniforms
Con/NEG
Evidence
Reason
Evidence
Everyone is equal
Safety
Saves money
Safes time
-identical clothes
-no one looks
better or wealthier
-avoid gang colors
-easy for school to
find strangers on
campus
No freedom of
expression
Anecdote about
Thomas
Kids might rebel
-don’t have lots of
fasionable,
expensive clothes
-less laundry
-get ready faster
cuz don’t have to
decide what to
wear
-less laundry
Kids won’t be
excited about
coming to school
Anecdote
(Caylen’s 8th
grade friends
dressed in black
and got
suspended)
Anecdote
Uniforms might be
expensive
-$200-400 for a
shirt and slacks
Outline for NEG:
Students should not be forced to wear school uniforms because it limits their freedom of
expression, causes students to rebel, and uniforms are too expensive.
1. Uniforms limit freedom of expression
a. Anecote about Thomas’s wardrobe
2. Uniforms cause students to rebel
a. Caylen’s anecdote about getting suspended
3. Counterargument – Some may say that uniforms save money because you don’t have to
buy a lot of clothes.
a. Rebuttal – However, uniforms can be very expensive
i. Fact - $200-$400 for uniforms at Harvard Prep School
Persuasive Essay Sample – School Uniforms
First Draft Essay – School Uniforms
Attention
Grabber /
Lead
The one thing that high school students fear most is being forced to wear a uniform.
Religious schools, charter schools, private schools, and some public schools require
that all students dress the same school colors. Some schools even require that all
Background
Info about
the subject
(school
uniforms)
students wear the same shirt, vests, ties, slacks, shoes, and even underwear and
socks. Some schools even ban any kind of jewelry or accessories or body piercing or
makeup or nail adornments. Some schools even force kids to cut their hair so that
everyone has the same hairstyle – cut a certain length or pulled back in a braid or
ponytail. Dresses must be a certain length, and the principal or teachers even use a
ruler to measure girls’ dress lengths. Students must all carry the same exact book bag.
Thesis
I think this is unfair. Students should not be forced to wear school uniforms because it
limits their freedom of expression, causes students to rebel, and uniforms are too
expensive.
Topic
Sentence
(TS) –
reason #1
Students like to express their personality by wearing certain styles of clothing, but
Commentary
(CM):
Explain &
Clarify what
you mean
economic group we belong to. We can trace this back to our history, when Americans
uniforms don’t enable them to dress the way they identify themselves. In the United
States, a person’s individuality is more important than what social, political, or
fought for independence from Britain during the American Revolution. American
soldiers refused to wear British uniforms, because they did not want to be subjects of
another country; they wanted their own country. In schools, students show who they
Evidence:
fact,
example,
anecdote,
expert
opinion, etc.
are by wearing clothes that express who they are. For example, Thomas is a unique
individual who is colorful, gay, and creative, and his clothes reflect his personality. One
day, he wore an outlandish outfit – a bright fuscia colored scarf, black and white
unicorn shoes, white fishnet stockings over black pants, and a black vest over his bare
chest. When I asked Thomas why he wears such extravagant costumes, he said, “I
CM: Explain
how the
evidence
supports
your
argument
want people to see my artistic abilities and creative ideas!” This shows that his
wardrobe is an important symbol of his persona. If Thomas had to wear a school
uniform everyday, he would probably feel depressed and repressed – unable to
express himself freely.