Analyzing Arguments

According to Nancy Kalish from The New York Times, teenagers can learn more and stay more participatory in classes if the classes start later. He argue that many of them stayed up too late the night before, but it is not always because they wanted to. Kalish explain that a research shows that teenagers’ body clocks are set to a schedule that is different from that of younger children or adults. This prevents adolescents from dropping off until around 11 p.m., when they produce the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, and waking up much before 8 a.m. when their bodies stop producing melatonin. The result is that the first class of the morning is often a waste, with as many as 28 percent of students falling asleep, according to a National Sleep Foundation poll.

Nancy uses goods arguments to persuade about her opinion. Besides of using strong arguments, she use evidences that help to prove that her thesis is true. She tell for example that in 2002, high schools in Jessamine County in Kentucky pushed back the first bell to 8:40 a.m., from 7:30 a.m. Attendance immediately went up, as did scores on standardized tests, which have continued to rise each year. I believe that her argument is valid, therefore, waking up too early is bad for students indeed. 

Kalish, Nancy (2008, Jan 14). The Early Bird Gets the Bad Grade. The New York Times. Retrieved July 11, 2012, from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/14/opinion/14kalish.html