Definition Essay: Is Tiger Parents(x) Child Abuse(y)?

****Background****
In this essay, you will argue for an issue based on a definition you will provide. In other words, argue whether or not a given X belongs to concept Y, which you must define.

You will create an extended definition of a concept such as “child abuse,” “freedom of religion,” or “discrimination” – a concept that is familiar, but difficult to define exactly. After establishing a definition, you will then apply it to a borderline case, showing how it does or does not match the definition. Here are some possible borderline cases:

Should social conventions such as men giving up their seats for women be considered sexual discrimination?
Should parents have the right to deny their children medical care because of religious beliefs?
Is punk rock music?
Is Southpark news?
Is healthcare an entitlement?
Is marijuana medicine?
Is spanking child abuse?
Is omission lying?

****Specifics of the Assignment****
Your introduction will contain a section devoted to defining your Y term, in which you establish the criteria for Y, illustrating each point with positive and contrastive examples. You will then use your definition of Y in deciding if your X term (the borderline case) matches your established criteria for Y.

The pre-writing portion of this assignment is more specific than in previous essays. As part of your final packet, include the following background work:

Establish the parts of your definitional claim (criteria part and match part).

Make three lists to assist establishing your definitional criteria for your Y term. The headings of the list should be: obvious examples, contrastive examples, and borderline cases. After evaluating your lists, draft a one-sentence definition for your Y term.

Create an outline. Note that the opposition could attack the criteria for your definition and/or the validity of the match.

Prewriting: Obvious, Contrastive, Borderline
Subject: Free Speech

Obvious Examples of Free Speech Behaviors
Voting.
Peacefully criticizing government policies.
Airing your opinion in class discussions and in essays.
Burning the American flag.
Writing Huckleberry Finn or Catcher in the Rye.
Providing legal defendants with adequate counsel.
Contrastive Examples of Free Speech Behaviors
Yelling “fire” in a movie theater when there is no fire.
Advocating the assassination of the President and the overthrow of the US government.
Yelling obscenities at your instructor and your classmates during a class discussion.
Slandering a movie star in your National Enquirer column.
Conspiring to cause riot at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968.
Appointing a first-year law student to represent an indigent defendant.
Examples of Borderline Cases
Requiring uniforms at a public school.
Expelling a high school student in San Diego County for expressing his opinion that he enjoyed watching things explode.
Holding a KKK rally on the CRC campus.
Rap albums that contain the lyrics: “Kill the police.”
Body Paragraph Development
After completing the prewriting, you should be able to fill in the Assignment Template.Preview the document

Your job in each body paragraph is:

Introduce one piece of criteria from the definition.
Provide an obvious example of the y category.
Match (or not) the borderline to the obvious, based on the one criterion that is your topic sentence.
Make a concession that the borderline and obvious may not identically match the criterion.
Transition to the next criterion.