Read the following quotation.
It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes
unhappy marriages.
--Friedrich Nietzsche
Read more at
Think carefully about the following statement.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_marriage.
Many marriages have been founded on things other than love, including shared needs, shared
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interest, similar backgrounds, or compatible personalities.
Write an essay stating your position on whether love is necessary for a successful marriage.
Be sure to—
 state your position clearly
 use appropriate organization
 provide specific support for your argument
 choose your words carefully
 edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
Read the following quotation.
The true face of smoking is disease, death and horror not the glamour and sophistication the pushers in the
tobacco industry try to portray.
--David Byrne
Readstatement.
more at
Think carefully about the following
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/davidbyr
Cigarettes are one of the few legal
products that when used as intended will significantly increase the
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user’s odds of suffering from heart
disease, cancer, stroke, and premature death.
Write an essay stating your position on whether the government should make smoking tobacco illegal.
Be sure to—
 state your position clearly
 use appropriate organization
 provide specific support for your argument
 choose words carefully
 edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
Read the following quotation.
When some old people drive, we wonder if they’ll
prevent someone else from growing old as well.
We also wonder when they’ll reward their blinker’s
persistence with an actual turn.
--Anonymous
Think carefully about the following statement.
Some privileges are earned for life, but others can change when circumstances do.
Write an essay stating your position on whether the elderly should have to pass a driving test
each time they renew their licenses.
Be sure to—
•
state your position clearly
•
use appropriate organization
•
provide specific support for your argument
•
choose words carefully
•
edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
Read the following quotation.
Without ambition one starts nothing. Without
work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be
sent to you. You have to win it
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
Think carefully about the following statement.
Some people think part-time jobs teach students responsibility, but others think they hinder
students in their studies.
Write an essay stating your position on whether it is better for high school students to have or
to not have part-time jobs during the school year.
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Be sure to—
state your position clearly
use appropriate organization
provide specific support for your argument
choose words carefully
edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
Read the following quotation.
Too often we look at a situation to see what is in it
for us instead of what is in it for the common good.
As jealously as we guard our rights, we often fail to
recognize our responsibilities.
--Anonymous
Think carefully about the following statement.
Many countries require their citizens to participate in some form of national service, usually
after high school graduation and lasting for a period of one to two years. Besides serving in the
military, national service can include working in schools, in forestry, in construction, in the
medical field, or with the elderly.
Write an essay stating your position on whether the United States should adopt a mandatory
national service program for all citizens.
Be sure to—
 state your position clearly
 use appropriate organization
 provide specific support for your argument
 choose your words carefully
 edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
Read the following quotation.
The march of science and technology does not imply growing intellectual
complexity in the lives of most people. It often means the opposite.
--Thomas Sowell
Think carefully about the following statement.
Technology has become a vital part of modern American life, as a source of information and
entertainment but also as a source of misinformation and distraction.
Write an essay stating your position on whether technology is more of a help or a hindrance in the
education process.
Be sure to—
 state your position clearly
 use appropriate organization
 provide specific support for your argument
 choose your words carefully
 edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
Read the following quotation:
The importance of money flows from it being a link between the
present and the future.
--John Maynard Keynes
Think carefully about the following statement:
Some people believe students should receive monetary compensation for earning good grades in
school whereas others believe that education is its own reward, providing students with what they will
need for future economic success.
Write an essay stating your position on whether students should get paid for earning high marks in
school.
Be sure to—
 State your position clearly
 Use appropriate organization
 Provide specific support for your argument
 Choose your words carefully
 Edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
Read the following quotation.
A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free
state, the right of the people to bear arms shall not be infringed.
--2nd Amendment; The United States Constitution
Think carefully about the following statement.
Some people believe the United States’ relatively high rate of gun violence has to do with a lack of gun
regulation, but others contend it has more to do with other societal factors, including education, crime,
poverty, and the entertainment industry’s glorification of violence.
Write an essay stating your position on whether the 2nd amendment should allow American civilians to
own semi-automatic assault weapons and high capacity magazines. (A high capacity magazine is a
device that allows someone to fire a weapon up to thirty times without reloading.)
Be sure to—
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



State your position clearly
Use appropriate organization
Provide specific support for your argument
Choose your words carefully
Edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
Read the following quotation.
The bottom line is that there is a lot more that could and
should be done to help people with nutrition and exercise.
--Parris Glendening
Think carefully about the following statement.
Some people believe that students should not be allowed to purchase high caloric, unhealthy
foods or sugary drinks on school campuses or at school functions whereas others believe that parents
and students should be allowed to make their own choices about what students consume.
Write an essay stating your position on whether schools should be allowed to sell unhealthy foods and
sugary drinks to students.
Be sure to—
 State your position clearly
 Use appropriate organization
 Provide specific support for your argument
 Choose your words carefully
 Edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
Read the following quotation.
Any health care funding plan that is just, equitable, civilized and
humane must - must - redistribute wealth from the richer among
us to the poorer and the less fortunate. Excellent healthcare is by
definition redistributional.
--Donald Berwick
Think carefully about the following statement.
Whereas the United States has some of the best medical service in the world for those who
can afford it, it is one of only three developed nations without universal healthcare.
Write an essay stating your position on whether healthcare is a fundamental right or a privilege that
must be earned.
Be sure to—
 state your position clearly
 use appropriate organization
 provide specific support for your argument
 choose your words carefully
 edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
Read the following quotation.
Personal beauty is a greater recommendation
than any letter of reference.
--Aristotle
Think about the following statement.
Even though we are often told that “you cannot judge a book by its cover” or that “it is what is on the
inside that counts,” several studies show that the more physically attractive a person is, the more
personal and professional success she or he is likely to achieve.
Write an essay stating your position on whether you think a person’s physical attractiveness has a
significant impact on his or her life.
Be sure to—
 state your position clearly
 use appropriate organization
 provide specific support for your argument
 choose your words carefully
Read the following quotation.
Illegally downloading music is stealing.
― Bill Kaulitz
Think about the following statement.
In recent years illegal downloading of music has cost the music industry billions of dollars,
including the artists who write, perform, and record the music.
Write an essay stating your position on whether the government should allocate more
resources to prosecute those who download music illegally.
Be sure to—
 state your position clearly
 use appropriate organization
 provide specific support for your argument
 choose your words carefully