Page 31 - 2021-bfw-shea-all-2e

Topics for Composing 5

1. Analysis. We know that Bystricky’s central claim is that 16-year-olds should be allowed to
vote. Examine Bystricky’s argument by evaluating how effectively he uses evidence, appeals, section one
reasoning, and language choices to persuade his audience to believe his claim.
2. Argument. Is Bystricky right? Should 16-year-olds be allowed to vote? Use evidence from
his piece, or conduct additional research for evidence to support your position. /
3. Connection. Bystricky says this about his own students: “They saw no point in learning from
history when they were barred from even a small say in America’s path forward.” How engaged David Hogg
are you and your friends in politics? Are there local or national issues that you wish that you
could vote on? Would being able to vote have affected your attitude toward the issues?
4. Speaking and Listening. Interview students, teachers, and staff and ask why 16-year-olds
should or should not be allowed to vote. Try to gather responses from as many people as
possible at your school, and take careful notes on the reasons they offer. Once you have
enough responses, look for patterns in your findings. For example, have adults tended to
respond in one way and students in another? Present your findings to your class using a
graph, word cloud, or other visual representation.
5. Research. Are there currently any proposals in your state, city, or town to lower the voting age?
If so, what objections do opponents raise? If there are no such proposals in your area, identify
representatives in your local or city government who might be interested in hearing about this
proposal and write a letter or email to that person sharing your perspective on the issue.
6. Creative Writing. Bystricky shares accounts of students approaching their city councils to
propose the right to vote. Write an imaginary dialogue between a young person and a
councilperson who opposes the idea of allowing anyone under the age of 18 to vote. Try to
communicate elements of each person’s character and motivations through your choice of
dialogue.

The Road to Change

David Hogg

David Hogg (b. 2000) was a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas
High School in Parkland, Florida, the site of a school shooting on
February 14, 2018, which left 17 people dead and many others
wounded. In the aftermath, Hogg and several of his classmates Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
became outspoken advocates for stricter gun-control legislation,
helping to form the organization March for our Lives to raise
awareness of gun violence. This piece was originally published in a
collection in 2018 called We Say #Never Again, written by Parkland student journalists.

t is hard to believe that all of this has our lives forever and set us on a path to effect
Ihappened in the same calendar year. From our sane gun laws for America once and for all.
lives as normal high school students, to activists The shooting at our school also sent me and
born of tragedy, to caricatures of the gun lobby my friends on a journey into the heart of our
and many of their supporters, 2018 has changed country, and on this journey we have discovered
15
Copyright © Bedford/St. Martin’s. Uncorrected proofs have been used in this sample chapter.
Distributed by BFW Publishers. Strictly for use with its products. Not for redistribution.

sheaall2e_24428_ch05_002_095.indd 15 09/07/20 5:30 PM