Wednesday, October 1, 2008

"Timing is Everything"

For my argument topic I am going to support and refute girl competition. Although I don't have a complete thesis yet, I still have a generalization of one; Because opportunities for young women are expanding and changing, competition between them has become more of a stress factor than a self esteem builder.
Some arguments that I will be using in this essay include competition between females concerning appearance, status, and other in women's sports; where as female competition is more positive rather than negative to refute my previous concerns.
The sources that I am using for the article I think are legitimate and reliable. The first one is an article on female competition and the stress that develops from it. The article was written by Catherine Salmon (corresponding author), Charles B. Crawford, and Sally Walters, all from the Department of Psychology. I find these authors of the article to be reputable because they all studied at acceptable universities, the sources of information were all properly cited, the facts were relevant and the article is not outdated. Also the corresponding author left an email ending in (.edu) in case anyone had questions about it (like me). The second source is also an article labeled Theory & Science: Evolutionary Feminist Theory. It has the same kind of notable qualities (ethos) that the first source has; educated authors, correct citations, up to date information, and a legitimate web source (.org). The last source that I am using is also web based but still contains the same needed things only the facts from it lean more towards refuting my position rather than taking it for a more balanced type of argument.
My topic that I have chosen makes for a timely one because not only is it something that is occurring right now, but has been occurring, and will eventually become too evolved for our mental capacity to handle unless we at least take notice of it ASAP. Yes. I am talking about girl competition. To me I find it a very fascinating topic as well, because it relates to me and the personal experiences that I have had with it, both the good, the bad, and the ugly. From real pageantry sports (cheer leading) to take no prisoners mental sports (volleyball). Basically I have anecdotes from A to Z that will both support my point and oppose it; which is what I think I'll want for a good argumentative essay.