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Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Welcome! This list of sample academic prose generated by "AI" large language models was compiled by Anna Mills for the Writing Across the Curriculum Clearinghouse as part of a collection: AI and Teaching Writing: Starting Points for Inquiry. Licensed CC BY NC 4.0. 
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CategoryTopicPromptChatGPT (3/11/23)GPT-4 (3/14/23)
Notes on the prompt
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Argument
Reconstruction as revolution
The historian Eric Foner argues that Reconstruction should be understood as an "unfinished revolution." In what ways, if any, were the American Civil War and the Reconstruction period that followed revolutionary, and for whom? What was left "unfinished" by Reconstruction? Essays should present an original argument that responds to the above prompt. This argument should be unique (of your own making) and should reflect careful and serious engagement with course materials.
Write an essay that satisfies the above requirements. Essay:
The American Civil War and Reconstruction period that followed it were indeed revolutionary in many ways, but they were also deeply flawed and incomplete. The historian Eric Foner argues that Reconstruction should be understood as an "unfinished revolution," as it failed to fully address the systemic racial injustices that were built into American society. This essay will argue that the Civil War and Reconstruction were revolutionary in their attempts to end slavery, expand democracy, and redefine citizenship, but that the unfinished business of Reconstruction left many African Americans without the full rights and protections of citizenship.

One of the most revolutionary aspects of the Civil War was its role in ending slavery. Although the war was fought for a variety of reasons, including states' rights, tariffs, and cultural differences between the North and South, the abolition of slavery was a central goal for many Union supporters. The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, declared that all slaves in Confederate territory were free. This was a significant step towards the eventual abolition of slavery throughout the United States, which was achieved with the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865.

However, the end of slavery did not mean the end of racial injustice. African Americans were still denied many of the basic rights and protections of citizenship, including the right to vote and the right to equal treatment under the law. Reconstruction attempted to address these injustices by expanding democracy and redefining citizenship. The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, declared that all persons born or naturalized in the United States were citizens and entitled to equal protection under the law. The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, gave African American men the right to vote.

These constitutional amendments were revolutionary in their attempt to redefine citizenship and expand democracy, but they were not enough to ensure full citizenship rights for African Americans. Many Southern states, determined to maintain white supremacy, implemented a variety of measures to limit the voting rights of African Americans. These included literacy tests, poll taxes, and grandfather clauses, which effectively disenfranchised many African American voters. In addition, the Supreme Court's decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) established the "separate but equal" doctrine, which allowed for segregation and discrimination to continue in many areas of American life.

The unfinished business of Reconstruction, then, was the failure to fully address the systemic racial injustices that continued to plague American society. Many African Americans were left without the full rights and protections of citizenship, and they were subject to violence, discrimination, and inequality. The Jim Crow era, which lasted from the late 19th century until the mid-1960s, was characterized by segregation, disenfranchisement, and violence against African Americans.

In conclusion, the American Civil War and Reconstruction period were indeed revolutionary in their attempts to end slavery, expand democracy, and redefine citizenship. However, the unfinished business of Reconstruction left many African Americans without the full rights and protections of citizenship, and the systemic racial injustices that were built into American society continued to persist. Eric Foner's concept of Reconstruction as an "unfinished revolution" is a useful lens through which to understand this period of American history, as it highlights both the significant achievements of Reconstruction and the ongoing challenges that remain.
Title: The Unfinished Revolution: Assessing the Revolutionary Nature of the Civil War and Reconstruction

Introduction

The American Civil War and Reconstruction have often been viewed as two separate events, with the former perceived as a struggle to preserve the Union and the latter as an attempt to redefine the nation. In this essay, I argue that the Civil War and Reconstruction should be seen as part of a single, unfinished revolution that aimed to reshape the United States' social, political, and economic landscape. While this revolution brought significant changes for certain segments of the population, it ultimately failed to deliver on many of its promises, leaving a legacy of inequality and division that continues to shape American society.

The Revolutionary Aspects of the Civil War and Reconstruction

The Civil War and Reconstruction were revolutionary in several ways. First, they led to the abolition of slavery, which was a radical transformation of the American social and economic order. The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and the subsequent passage of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 not only freed millions of enslaved people but also disrupted the slave-based economy that had thrived in the South for centuries.

Second, the Reconstruction period saw an unprecedented expansion of political rights for African Americans. The Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to former slaves, while the Fifteenth Amendment guaranteed their right to vote. This extension of suffrage represented a fundamental shift in the political landscape, as African Americans gained the ability to participate in the democratic process and influence the course of the nation.

Lastly, the Civil War and Reconstruction laid the groundwork for a more centralized federal government. The conflict demonstrated the need for a strong central authority to maintain order and stability in times of crisis. Consequently, the federal government took on a more prominent role in governing the nation, overseeing the Reconstruction process and establishing new institutions, such as the Freedmen's Bureau, to address the needs of former slaves.

The Unfinished Nature of the Revolution

Despite these significant changes, the revolution remained unfinished in several respects. First, while the end of slavery represented a major achievement, it did not immediately translate into true social or economic equality for African Americans. The lack of land redistribution and the rise of the sharecropping system perpetuated economic dependency and limited the opportunities for social mobility among former slaves.

Second, the political gains made by African Americans during Reconstruction were quickly reversed following the end of federal military intervention in the South. The Compromise of 1877 and the subsequent withdrawal of federal troops allowed for the rise of white supremacist groups and the implementation of Jim Crow laws, which systematically disenfranchised African Americans and solidified racial segregation.

Finally, the centralizing tendencies of the federal government during the Civil War and Reconstruction did not persist in the long term. The end of Reconstruction marked the beginning of a new era of states' rights and limited government intervention, which would endure for decades to come.

Conclusion

The American Civil War and Reconstruction can be seen as an unfinished revolution in that they brought about significant changes in the social, political, and economic landscape of the United States, but failed to fully address the underlying issues of inequality and division that had precipitated the conflict. The abolition of slavery, the expansion of political rights for African Americans, and the centralization of the federal government represent important milestones in the nation's development. However, the failure to secure lasting social and economic equality for former slaves, the erosion of political rights in the post-Reconstruction era, and the retreat from federal intervention highlight the unfinished nature of this revolution. As such, understanding the Civil War and Reconstruction as an unfinished revolution provides a framework for analyzing the ongoing struggle for justice and equality in the United States.
MIT Open Courseware essay prompt from “American History Since 1865,”
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SummaryMasculinity
Summarize the following essay: Today’s Masculinity Is Stifling
As boys grow up, the process of becoming men encourages them to shed the sort of intimate connections and emotional intelligence that add meaning to life.

SARAH RICH
The Atlantic Magazine
JUNE 11, 2018
In hindsight, our son was gearing up to wear a dress to school for quite some time. For months, he wore dresses—or his purple-and-green mermaid costume—on weekends and after school. Then he began wearing them to sleep in lieu of pajamas, changing out of them after breakfast. Finally, one morning, I brought him his clean pants and shirt, and he looked at me and said, “I’m already dressed.”

He was seated on the couch in a gray cotton sundress covered in doe-eyed unicorns with rainbow manes. He’d slept in it, and in his dreaming hours, I imagine, stood at a podium giving inspirational speeches to an audience composed only of himself. When he’d woken up, he was ready.

He walked the half block to school with a bounce in his step, chest proud. “My friends are going to say dresses aren’t for boys,” he told me casually over his shoulder. “They might,” I agreed. “You can just tell them you are comfortable with yourself and that’s all that matters.” I thought of all the other things he could tell them. I began to list them, but he was off running across the blacktop.

I scanned the entrance to see whether any parents noticed us as they came and went. I hadn’t expected my stomach to churn. I felt proud of him for his self-assuredness, for the way he’d prepared for this quietly and at his own pace, but I worried about what judgments and conclusions parents and teachers might make. And of course I worried somebody would shame him.

When he walked into his classroom, sure enough, one child immediately remarked, “Why are you wearing a dress? Dresses are for girls.” A teacher swiftly and gently shut down the child’s commentary and hugged my son tightly. He didn’t look troubled, didn’t look back at me, so I headed home, tucking a backup T-shirt into his cubby just in case his certainty flagged.

In the afternoon, he was still wearing the unicorn dress. He skipped down the sidewalk, reporting that some kids had protested his attire, but he’d assured them that he was comfortable with himself.

With that, the seal was broken. Most days since, he’s worn a dress from his small collection, though he also favors a light-blue guayabera—the classic collared button-down worn by men and boys in Cuba and the Philippines. Classmates’ objections continued, but with less frequency and conviction. One day when my husband dropped him off, he heard a little girl stand up to a naysayer and shout, “Boys can like beautiful things, too!”

But they can’t. Not without someone looking askance. To embrace anything feminine, if you’re not biologically female, causes discomfort and confusion, because throughout most of history and in most parts of the world, being a woman has been a disadvantage. Why would a boy, born into all the power of maleness, reach outside his privileged domain? It doesn’t compute.

As much as feminism has worked to rebalance the power and privilege between the sexes, the dominant approach to launching young women into positions that garner greater respect, higher status, and better pay still mostly maintains the association between those gains and masculine qualities. Girls’ empowerment programs teach assertiveness, strength, and courage—and they must to equip young women for a world that still overwhelmingly favors men.

Last year, when the Boys Scouts of America announced that they would begin admitting girls into their dens, young women saw a wall come down around a territory that was now theirs to occupy. Parents across the country had argued that girls should have equal access to the activities and pursuits of boys’ scouting, saying that Girl Scouts is not a good fit for girls who are “more rough and tumble.” But the converse proposition was essentially nonexistent: Not a single article that I could find mentioned the idea that boys might not find Boy Scouts to be a good fit—or, even more unspeakable, that they would want to join the Girl Scouts.

If it’s difficult to imagine a boy aspiring to the Girl Scouts’ merit badges (oriented far more than the boys’ toward friendship, caretaking, and community), what does that say about how American culture regards these traditionally feminine arenas? And what does it say to boys who think joining the Girl Scouts sounds fun? Even preschool-age boys know they’d be teased or shamed for disclosing such a dream.

While society is chipping away at giving girls broader access to life’s possibilities, it isn’t presenting boys with a full continuum of how they can be in the world. To carve out a masculine identity requires whittling away everything that falls outside the norms of boyhood. At the earliest ages, it’s about external signifiers like favorite colors, TV shows, and clothes. But later, the paring knife cuts away intimate friendships, emotional range, and open communication.

There’s research connecting this shedding process to the development, in some adolescent boys, of depression, anxiety, and feelings of isolation. In her 2014 documentary The Mask You Live In, the filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom features the voices of dozens of teen boys describing their progression from childhoods rich with friendships to teen years defined by posturing and pressure to prove their manhood. Some of the boys, who present tough exteriors, admit to having suicidal thoughts. The film flashes news clips from the most notable mass shootings of that time—Virginia Tech, Aurora, Sandy Hook—each committed by a young man.

“Whether it’s homicidal violence or suicidal violence, people resort to such desperate behavior only when they are feeling shamed and humiliated, or feel they would be, if they didn’t prove that they were real men,” the psychiatrist James Gilligan, who directed Harvard’s Center for the Study of Violence, says in the film.

There are so few positive variations on what a “real man” can look like, that when the youngest generations show signs of reshaping masculinity, the only word that exists for them is nonconforming. The term highlights that nobody knows what to call these variations on maleness. Instead of understanding that children can resist or challenge traditional masculinity from within the bounds of boyhood, it’s assumed that they’re in a phase, that they need guidance, or that they don’t want to be boys.

Numerous parents of gender-nonconforming children report initially trying to stifle their child’s tendencies out of a protective instinct, thinking they might forestall bullying if only their child would fit more neatly into the box that’s been set up for them. Ultimately, though, most realize that their child is less happy when prevented from gravitating naturally toward their preferences.

It’s important to note that there are children who do feel they’ve been born in the wrong body, who long for different anatomy, a different pronoun. Trans kids need to be supported and accepted. And, at the same time, not every boy who puts on a dress is communicating a wish to be a girl. Too often gender dysphoria is conflated with the simple possibility that kids, when not steered toward one toy or color, will just like what they like, traditional gender expectations notwithstanding. There is little space given to experimentation and exploration before a child’s community seeks to categorize them. Boyhood, as it is popularly imagined, is so narrow and confining that to press against its boundaries is to end up in a different identity altogether.

According to the San Jose State University sociologist Elizabeth Sweet, who studies gender in children’s toys throughout the 20th century, American gender categories are more rigid now than at any time in history, at least when it comes to consumer culture. There may be greater recognition in the abstract that gender exists along a spectrum, but for young children (and their parents), consumer products have a huge influence over identity development and presentation. “Toymakers are saying, well, we can sell each family one toy, or if we make separate versions according to gender, we can sell more toys and make families buy multiples for each gender,” Sweet told me. The same holds true for clothes, baby gear, school supplies, even snack food. And parents begin gender-coding their children’s worlds before those children are even born, sometimes kicked off by “gender reveal” parties, a sort of new version of the baby shower, in which parents-to-be discover the sex of their baby alongside family and friends through a dramatic, colorful display.

There is so much parents can’t know when a baby hasn’t been born—they can’t know the baby’s hair color or eye color or whether they’ll be colicky or peaceful, healthy or sick. But they can know their child’s anatomy, and with that information they can create a to-do list full of tasks that quell the angst of knowing so little else. They can paint a nursery, buy onesies, pick names. A baby’s sex creates a starting point on a cultural road map that the whole family and community can use to direct the child towards defining who they are, and who they are not.

Of course today, among a certain set, there’s an active rejection of pink for baby girls, whose parents don’t want them treated as delicate flowers. But again, the reverse still has no purchase. Exceedingly few parents dress their baby boys in a headband and a dress.

Somewhat ironically, those pink-foresaking parents of infant girls often find themselves, three years later, remarking that in spite of shielding their daughters from overly feminized colors, toys, and media, they’ve still turned out to be princess-obsessed preschoolers. The parents display lighthearted self-consciousness that they couldn’t render their girl immune to sparkles.

It’s unlikely, though, that they shame their girls for their “girliness.” They throw up their hands and acquiesce to an Elsa costume. By contrast, boys’ parents tend to double down on reinforcing masculinity.

“Most nonconforming adult men, when they talk about their upbringing, say their first bully was their dad,” reports Matt Duron, whose wife, Lori Duron, wrote the book Raising My Rainbow, about their gender-creative son. Matt, who had a 20-year career as a police officer in Orange County, California, has been a vocal supporter of his son, though in their conservative region, his stance has been attacked. The Durons’ son, now 11, gave up dresses years ago, but he still loves makeup and wears his hair long. Classmates bully him, but he finds support from his family, and lately at Sephora in his local mall, where male employees demonstrate a different way to be grown men in the world.

The idea of Sephora as a haven for gender-creative suburban American boys is touching and wonderful in its way, but it’s bittersweet that alternate models of masculinity are so scarce and relatively unvaried. There are now quite a few books featuring boys who like dresses, but almost all of them follow the same arc: Boy dons dress among friends; boy gets shamed and bullied; boy becomes despondent and hides at home; then, finally, boy returns to friend group and they see his value and embrace him (usually after one last-ditch attempt to reform him through shame). Each time I pick up one of these to read to my son, I find myself wanting to change the narrative or skip the portions where rejection and suffering show up as inevitable.

“But little kids live in the real world,” Ian Hoffman argued when I questioned the trope. Hoffman co-authored the children’s book Jacob’s New Dress with his wife, Sarah. “Would it be nice to have a book with a boy in a dress with no conflict? Yes. Are we there? I don’t think so,” Hoffman told me. He says when the book was published in 2014, he and Sarah dreamed that someday it would seem quaint that a boy in a dress was a big deal. Then, just a year ago, their book was banned in North Carolina, cut from a public-school unit on bullying and harassment. “The initial first-grade book selection, which focuses on valuing uniqueness and difference, has been replaced due to some concerns about the book,” the superintendent of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools system told The New York Times. One can imagine that if it had been about a girl who dressed as a firefighter, such extreme measures would not have been taken.

There’s a word for what’s happening here: misogyny. When school officials and parents send a message to children that “boyish” girls are badass but “girlish” boys are embarrassing, they are telling kids that society values and rewards masculinity, but not femininity. They are not just keeping individual boys from free self-expression, but they are keeping women down too.

It is lopsided to approach gender equality by focusing only on girls’ empowerment. If society is to find its way to a post-#MeToo future, parents, teachers, and community members need to build a culture of boyhood that fosters empathy, communication, caretaking, and cooperation. But how? Could there be a space or an organization for boys where they’re encouraged to challenge what’s expected of them socially, emotionally, and physically? What would the activities be? What would the corresponding catchwords be to the girls’ “brave” and “strong” other than “cowardly” and “weak”?

It’s a societal loss that so many men grow up believing that showing aggression and stifling emotion are the ways to signal manhood. And it’s a personal loss to countless little boys who, at best, develop mechanisms for compartmentalizing certain aspects of who they are and, at worst, deny those aspects out of existence.

This fall, our son will start kindergarten, and with kindergarten comes a school uniform. This means pale blue collared shirts for all the kids, paired with navy blue pants, jumpers, or skirts. Currently there don’t seem to be any boys at the school who choose the jumper or skirt, and it remains to be seen whether our son will maintain his penchant for dresses even when the sartorial binary becomes starker—and the dresses more plain.

Whatever he decides is fine with us. My only hope is that if he chooses to stop wearing dresses, it won’t be due to feeling that his fullest self-expression no longer has a place. What I want for him, and for all boys, is for the process of becoming men to be expansive, not reductive. I know I’m not alone. More than a century ago, in the October 1902 edition of London’s Cornhill Magazine, the writer and poet May Byron wrote a piece called “The Little Boy,” in which she talked, among other things, about boys’ evolving mode of dress as they move through childhood. She tied it then, as I do now, to a mildly tragic departure from a boy’s richest relationship with himself:

“Petticoated or kilted, in little sailor suits, and linen smocks, and velvet coats, and miniature reefers, he marches blindly on his destiny,” Byron writes. “Soon he will run his dear little head against that blank wall of foregone conclusions which shuts out fairyland from a workaday world.”
The essay explores the limitations and negative consequences of traditional masculinity in American culture. The author recounts her son's desire to wear dresses to school and the reactions he faced from classmates and parents. She argues that society values masculinity over femininity and boys are discouraged from exploring their emotions and expressing themselves in non-traditional ways. The essay suggests that the rigid gender roles enforced by society are harmful to boys and can lead to depression and anxiety. The author advocates for a more expansive definition of masculinity and a culture of boyhood that encourages empathy, communication, caretaking, and cooperation.
In this essay, the author discusses the stifling nature of traditional masculinity and its impact on young boys' emotional and social development. The author describes her own experience with her son, who confidently wore dresses to school despite potential backlash. The essay argues that society's expectations of masculinity cause boys to suppress emotions and intimate connections, leading to issues such as depression, anxiety, and feelings of isolation. It suggests that society's focus on girls' empowerment should be complemented by fostering empathy, communication, caretaking, and cooperation in boys, to create a more balanced and inclusive understanding of gender roles. The author calls for an expansion of what it means to be a man and for the support of boys in their journey toward self-expression and personal growth.
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Research paper
Transgender in Turkey
Here is the start of my research paper. Can you please continue it? Research paper title: Transgender in Turkey: Humanity Is the Best Religion
Introductory Paragraph: The American Psychological Association describes transgender as “an umbrella term for persons whose gender identity, gender expression or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth”. This dissonance between gender identity/gender expression and sex causes most of the difficulties that transgender people have to face in their daily lives such as discrimination, violence, and inequity in the areas of education, employment, and health. While speaking of these difficulties, being transgender in Islamic countries is even harder because religion has a strong influence on Muslim society. It also has the power to shape society and creates hate against transgender people because same-sex relationships are not tolerated in the Muslim faith. Another reason is the current justice system and law enforcement. Transgender activities are illegal in most Islamic countries; moreover, there is a trust and fear issue between transgender citizens and the government. Thus, the LGBTQ community cannot receive any support from either society or the government. Sadly, life is already tough for transgender people but if you are a Muslim and transgender the life is even tougher.
Transgender individuals in Turkey are no exception to the challenges faced by the transgender community in Islamic countries. In Turkey, the social and cultural attitudes towards transgender people are far from supportive. Many transgender individuals in Turkey face severe discrimination, violence, and marginalization. Moreover, Turkey does not have any specific legislation or protections in place to safeguard the rights of transgender individuals.

According to a report by Amnesty International, transgender individuals in Turkey are frequently subjected to physical and sexual violence, harassment, and hate crimes. This violence is often perpetrated by both state officials and civilians. For instance, in 2020, Hande Kader, a transgender activist in Istanbul, was brutally murdered, highlighting the violence and discrimination faced by transgender individuals in Turkey.

Furthermore, transgender individuals in Turkey are denied access to basic rights such as education and employment. They are often forced into sex work or other precarious jobs due to the lack of employment opportunities. They are also denied access to healthcare services and are subjected to medical malpractice and neglect by healthcare providers.

Despite these challenges, there is a growing transgender movement in Turkey, fighting for their rights and demanding recognition and protection from the government. In 2020, a landmark decision by the Turkish court allowed transgender individuals to legally change their gender without undergoing gender reassignment surgery, giving hope to many transgender individuals in the country.

In conclusion, the challenges faced by transgender individuals in Turkey are numerous and complex. However, with the growing transgender movement and advocacy efforts, there is hope for a more inclusive and accepting society in Turkey. It is essential for the Turkish government to recognize the rights of transgender individuals and work towards providing legal protections and ensuring their safety and well-being. Ultimately, humanity and compassion should be the guiding principles in accepting and embracing diversity, including transgender individuals.
This research paper aims to explore the experiences of transgender individuals in Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country, and examine the complex interplay between cultural, religious, and legal factors that affect their lives. By analyzing the various aspects of transgender experiences in Turkey, the paper seeks to shed light on the resilience of the transgender community and emphasize the importance of understanding and accepting diversity in a world where humanity should be the ultimate guiding principle.

Literature Review

A substantial body of literature has investigated the challenges faced by transgender individuals in Muslim-majority countries. Several studies have focused on the impact of religious beliefs on the perception of gender identity and expression (El-Rouayheb, 2005; Kugle, 2010). These studies have highlighted that, although Islamic jurisprudence is diverse and often open to interpretation, the conservative interpretations tend to dominate and contribute to the marginalization of transgender people.

In the context of Turkey, researchers have examined the unique situation of transgender individuals, particularly in relation to the Kemalist secular tradition and the ongoing political and social changes in the country (Altinay & Korkman, 2016; Açikgöz, 2017). These studies have shown that, while Turkey has made some progress in terms of legal recognition of transgender people, societal attitudes and discriminatory practices continue to pose significant challenges.

Methodology

The methodology of this research paper will employ a mixed-methods approach, combining both qualitative and quantitative data. This will involve the collection of primary data through semi-structured interviews with transgender individuals living in Turkey, as well as an analysis of secondary data from national surveys, academic research, and human rights reports.

The qualitative interviews will provide insight into the lived experiences of transgender individuals in Turkey, focusing on their personal narratives and the ways in which they navigate the complex social, cultural, and religious landscape. The secondary data analysis will help contextualize these experiences within the broader trends and patterns observed among the transgender population in Turkey.

Findings and Discussion

The findings of this research paper will address several key themes related to the experiences of transgender individuals in Turkey. These themes will include:

The impact of religious beliefs on the self-identity and social acceptance of transgender individuals
The role of family and community support in the lives of transgender people
The influence of the legal system and law enforcement on the well-being and safety of transgender citizens
The mental and physical health disparities experienced by transgender individuals, including access to healthcare services and the prevalence of violence and discrimination
The resilience and coping strategies employed by transgender people in the face of adversity and marginalization
Conclusion

The experiences of transgender individuals in Turkey, as in many other Muslim-majority countries, are marked by a complex interplay of religious, cultural, and legal factors. By exploring these factors and shedding light on the daily struggles and triumphs of transgender people, this research paper will contribute to a better understanding of the importance of promoting acceptance and inclusivity in all aspects of society. Ultimately, the recognition of the fundamental humanity of every individual, regardless of their gender identity or expression, should serve as the foundation for a more compassionate and just world.
The first few paragraphs of a student research paper, used with permission under a CC BY NC 4.0 license.
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Compare and Contrast
Two perspectives on Juneteenth
Write a several-paragraph comparison of the following two perspectives on Juneteenth and describe any insight that can be gained from the comparison.

Argument 1: an excerpt from ""The True Meaning of Juneteenth"" by Casey Gerald:

""...This Juneteenth, those are the feelings I’m channeling: grief and gratitude, even amid the silliness of America’s pageantry. My grandmother Clarice was born in Pelham, Texas, a freedmen’s town. She took us grandchildren back for homecoming most years, sometimes even had us pick cotton, reminding us, “You’ve got to know your history.” She also told us of the folks she knew in Pelham as a child, some of whom were born enslaved, a fact that horrified me. Clarice always refused my sympathies. “Child, don’t be believing what folks say about how bad slavery was,” she’d explain. “Everybody had a job, a place to stay and something to eat. Now if somebody came and paid your rent, you wouldn’t be sitting up talking about you wanna leave, would you?” This dumbfounded me, until I realized she was mostly joking. But there was something deeper in her response. I eventually learned more about the violence that met newly emancipated Black Texans. Ku Klux Klansmen, along with local officials and everyday citizens, terrorized freedmen at will and without repercussions. They burned churches and homes, intimidated those who sought employment, and worse. Gen. Joseph Jones Reynolds, a commander of the Department of Texas during Reconstruction, commented in 1868, “The murder of Negroes is so common as to render it impossible to keep an accurate account of them.” The Equal Justice Initiative has tried, reporting that more than 2,000 Black women, men and children were victims of racial terrorist lynchings during Reconstruction, which lasted from 1865 to 1877. Slavery was awful, no doubt, but emancipation brought its own unique cruelties. Formerly enslaved Texans were forced to craft lives from less than scratch; choose new names; attempt to reunite with stolen partners, siblings, children. They faced daily threats of jail or worse because of the new Black codes that severely restricted their freedom — their freedom to work, but also their freedom to be unemployed or even to stand still for too long. The more I learned, the more I understood my grandmother’s perspective. She’d heard the testimonies of those who’d had to navigate both the tragedy of slavery and the terror of emancipation. She couldn’t let me underestimate the enormous price our people had paid to be free. I miss Clarice so much some days, it’s hard to think straight. I regret not asking more questions about our family, about her life in Pelham. As more folks in Clarice’s generation pass away, we are losing the final physical links to those who know our history — who are our history. We can do no better this Juneteenth than to spend time with the elders who are still with us. Get them to talk. Record their stories. These historical and systemic injustices have not been resolved. But as Black Americans, we cannot wait for the day when our country will pay the respect that is due our forebears — or pay us those reparations. Instead of holding our breath, let us find the freshest air we can find and breathe it as deeply as we can, with joy. Let us grieve for our forebears and feel deep gratitude as we think of the enormous price our people paid so we could be free. Let us remember that despite the degradation of slavery, they lived fully human lives, too. They laughed. They loved. They dreamed. They ate sweet treats. Let us pray to them and say, this year and always: Thank you.""

Argument 2: an excerpt from ""Juneteenth Reminds Us to Think About Economic Freedom, Not Just Legal Liberty"" by Peter Coy:

""...[W]hen emancipation came, the first thing formerly enslaved people wanted was land, which they rightly saw as a prerequisite for real independence. “The way we can best take care of ourselves is to have land, and turn it and till it by our own labor,” a Baptist minister named Garrison Frazier told the secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, and the Union general William Sherman in a meeting in Savannah, Ga., in January 1865. Four days later Sherman famously promised 40 acres of land to each formerly enslaved family (the “and a mule” part came later). But the federal government never followed through on its promise of land — and thus true independence — to formerly enslaved people. Economics entered into the picture, Stanley said: If African Americans grew subsistence crops on their own plots, who would cultivate and harvest all the cotton, tobacco, sugar and rice grown on the vast plantations? After the Civil War, in lieu of land distribution, slavery was replaced by sharecropping, in which planters allowed tenant farmers to keep a portion of the crops they raised. That subjugated the tenants to the owners almost as surely as slavery did. At the same time, industrialization in the North meant that more and more white Americans were working for wages — about two-thirds by 1875, according to Stanley. Many drew the connection between themselves and African Americans. Eugene Debs, who led the Pullman railroad strike of 1894, said, “The paternalism of the Pullman is the same as the interest of a slaveholder in his human chattels. You are striking to avert slavery and degradation.” Today, the phrase “wage slavery” invoked by Debs and others has lost its punch. Many people who work for wages are doing very nicely, thank you. And many farmers and business owners, supposedly more independent, are buffeted by forces beyond their control, from bad weather to nasty customers. What hasn’t changed, 157 years after the Juneteenth proclamation, is that a majority of African Americans continue to lack wealth. The median wealth of Black families in 2019 was just $24,100, versus $142,500 for white families, according to a Federal Reserve survey. Something needs to change, but what? The nature of the economy has changed, and few people still think that the solution to inequality is to give people plots of land to farm. We are enmeshed economically with one another in ways that Jefferson could not have imagined. Instead of land grants, the new protections for workers are unionization, government regulation and profit-sharing, Stanley said. One can quibble over her formula, but the motivation behind it is unquestionable. Freedom — which must include economic freedom — is just as important now as it was on the original Juneteenth.""

Comparison paragraphs of the two perspectives on Juneteenth and discussion of insights to be gained from the comparison:
The two perspectives on Juneteenth presented by Casey Gerald and Peter Coy provide different but complementary insights into the legacy and ongoing struggles of Black Americans. Gerald's perspective emphasizes the historical traumas that Black people endured during and after slavery, and the importance of honoring their memories and preserving their stories. He notes that even though slavery was abolished, the violence, discrimination, and economic exploitation that followed made it difficult for Black Americans to achieve true freedom and prosperity. In contrast, Coy's perspective focuses on the economic aspects of freedom and how the legacy of slavery has hindered Black Americans' ability to accumulate wealth and achieve economic independence. He argues that the lack of land grants and other forms of economic empowerment for Black people after emancipation has perpetuated their economic disadvantage and made them vulnerable to exploitation and poverty.

Despite their different emphases, both perspectives underscore the importance of recognizing the injustices that Black Americans have faced and continue to face, and the need for meaningful action to redress them. Gerald's call to honor the memories and stories of Black elders is a reminder that the struggle for freedom and equality is ongoing and that we must continue to learn from the experiences of those who came before us. Coy's emphasis on economic empowerment highlights the urgent need for policies and programs that can help address the wealth gap between Black and white Americans and promote economic justice.

Moreover, the comparison of these perspectives highlights the interconnectedness of different aspects of Black Americans' experiences, including their historical traumas, cultural heritage, and economic struggles. The two perspectives suggest that achieving true freedom and equality for Black Americans requires addressing all of these dimensions simultaneously and recognizing their deep interrelatedness. This recognition can help us move beyond simplistic or superficial understandings of Juneteenth and the legacy of slavery and instead engage in a more nuanced and comprehensive discussion of the ongoing struggle for Black liberation.
The two perspectives on Juneteenth provided by Casey Gerald and Peter Coy offer different, yet complementary, insights into the meaning and significance of the holiday. While Gerald focuses on the emotional and personal aspects of Juneteenth, emphasizing the importance of remembering and honoring our ancestors, Coy takes a more economic approach, highlighting the enduring legacy of inequality and the need for economic freedom.

Gerald's perspective, as presented in "The True Meaning of Juneteenth," emphasizes the importance of understanding the dual nature of emancipation. Through the story of his grandmother Clarice, he shows that emancipation, while representing freedom from the horrors of slavery, also brought forth a new set of challenges and cruelties for newly freed Black individuals. He encourages Black Americans to embrace both the grief and gratitude that Juneteenth symbolizes, cherishing the sacrifices made by their ancestors and preserving their stories for future generations. Gerald's approach serves as a reminder of the importance of intergenerational connections and the need for collective memory to confront the lingering effects of slavery and systemic injustice.

Coy's perspective, as expressed in "Juneteenth Reminds Us to Think About Economic Freedom, Not Just Legal Liberty," highlights the unfulfilled promises and unrealized goals of emancipation. He discusses the failure of the federal government to provide land and real independence to formerly enslaved people, leading to a system of sharecropping that perpetuated economic subjugation. Coy also draws attention to the continued wealth disparities between Black and white families in the United States, emphasizing the need for economic freedom as a crucial aspect of true emancipation. He suggests that unionization, government regulation, and profit-sharing can serve as modern-day equivalents of the land grants promised but never delivered.

The comparison of these two perspectives on Juneteenth offers valuable insight into the complexity and nuance of the holiday. Both authors emphasize that emancipation was not a singular event that instantly resolved the injustices of slavery, but rather a starting point for a long, ongoing struggle for true freedom and equality. By considering both the emotional and economic aspects of Juneteenth, we can gain a deeper understanding of its significance and the continued importance of addressing the systemic injustices that persist today. Ultimately, these perspectives highlight the need for a multifaceted approach to achieving true freedom, one that encompasses emotional healing, historical preservation, and economic empowerment.
7
Rhetorical analysis"Black" or "black"?
Write a rhetorical analysis of the following essay: A Debate Over Identity and Race Asks, Are African-Americans ‘Black’ or ‘black’?

The push to capitalize black to refer to African-Americans is far more than a typographical change.

By John Eligon
June 26, 2020

It’s the difference between black and Black. A longtime push by African-American scholars and writers to capitalize the word black in the context of race has gained widespread acceptance in recent weeks and unleashed a deep debate over identity, race and power.

Hundreds of news organizations over the past month have changed their style to Black in reference to the race of people, including The Associated Press, long considered an influential arbiter of journalism style. Far more than a typographical change, the move is part of a generations-old struggle over how best to refer to those who trace their ancestry to Africa.

The capitalization of black, which has been pushed for years, strikes at deeper questions over the treatment of people of African descent, who were stripped of their identities and enslaved in centuries past, and whose struggles to become fully accepted as part of the American experience continue to this day.

“Blackness fundamentally shapes any core part of any black person’s life in the U.S. context, and really around the world,” said Brittney Cooper, an associate professor at Rutgers University whose latest book, “Eloquent Rage,” explores black feminism. “In the choice to capitalize, we are paying homage to a history with a very particular kind of political engagement.”

The move toward Black is not embraced by all African-Americans, and two of the country’s major news outlets, The New York Times and The Washington Post, are still wrestling over whether to make the change.

“Black is a color,” said the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, the longtime civil rights leader who popularized the term “African-American” in an effort to highlight the cultural heritage of those with ancestral ties to Africa. “We built the country through the African slave trade. African-American acknowledges that. Any term that emphasizes the color and not the heritage separates us from our heritage.”

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There are also concerns that turning black into a proper noun lumps people of the African diaspora into a monolithic group and erases the diversity of their experiences. Some have said it bestows credibility upon a social construct created to oppress black people. Perhaps the most notable concern is what to do about white and brown as racial identifiers.

So far, most news organizations have declined to capitalize white, generally arguing that it is an identifier of skin color, not shared experience, and that white supremacist groups have adopted that convention.

But some scholars say that to write “Black” but not “White” is to give white people a pass on seeing themselves as a race and recognizing all the privileges they get from it.

“Whiteness is not incidental,” the sociologist Eve Ewing wrote on Twitter in arguing to capitalize white as well. She added: “Whiteness is a thing. Whiteness is endowed with social meaning that allows people to move through the world in a way that people who are not white are not able to do.”

At a recent online meeting of Race/Related, a cross-desk team devoted to race coverage at The Times, a discussion of whether to capitalize black or not made clear that there is not universal agreement, even among African-Americans on the staff.

“It has been the subject of a lively and surprising debate,” said Dean Baquet, the Times’s executive editor, who has indicated that he will announce a decision on the issue soon.

The debate over racial vocabulary is unfolding amid growing recognition across society of the need to tackle racism after several high-profile police killings of black people incited mass protests nationwide.

The acceptable terms in America for identifying black people have evolved over generations, from colored to Negro to black and African-American. Also commonly used is “people of color,” an umbrella term used to include many ethnic minorities.

In the aftermath of the George Floyd killing, which has unleashed a national conversation on questions of race and racism, many say the country is long overdue to standardize the use of the uppercase B in black, which has been commonly used at black media outlets for a long time.

The New York Amsterdam News, for instance, describes itself as “the oldest Black newspaper in the country that offers the ‘New Black View’ within local, national and international news for the Black community.”

The debate among black people in America over how they should be described has often centered on identity as a political statement.

In her 1904 essay “Do We Need Another Name?” Fannie Barrier Williams, an educator and activist, described a lively discussion unfolding at the time among African-American scholars over whether to shed the label Negro in favor of terms like colored or Afro-American. Colored, she wrote, was a “name that is suggestive of progress toward respectful recognition.”

At the heart of the discussion, she wrote, was whether African-Americans needed a new label divorced from Negro and its connections to slavery, something of a fresh start that indicated their new place in society as free people.

Some, like W.E.B. Du Bois, favored keeping the term Negro and transforming it into something positive — an affirmation of their perseverance as a people and their freedom.

“There are so many Negroes who are not Negroes, so many colored people who are not colored, and so many Afro-Americans who are not Africans that it is simply impossible even to coin a term that will precisely designate and connote all the people who are now included under any one of the terms mentioned,” Barrier Williams wrote.

Negro became the predominant identifier of people of African descent for much of the first half of the 20th century, and even then descendants of enslaved people from Africa waged a yearslong campaign before getting most of society, including The Times, to capitalize it.

With the rise of the Black Power movement in the mid-1960s, the word black, once seen as an insult for many African-Americans, started winning embrace. In just a few years, it became the predominant descriptor of black people as Negro became obsolete. Mr. Jackson’s campaign brought African-American into popular use in the late 1980s, and it is now often used interchangeably with black.

For proponents of capitalizing black, there are grammatical reasons — it is a proper noun, referring to a specific group of people with a shared political identity, shaped by colonialism and slavery. But some see it as a moral issue as well.

It confers a sense of power and respect to black people, who have often been relegated to the lowest rungs of society through racist systems, black scholars say.

“Race as a concept is not real in the biological sense, but it’s very real for our own identities,” said Whitney Pirtle, an assistant professor of sociology specializing in critical race theory at the University of California, Merced. “I think that capitalizing B both sort of puts respect to those identities, but also alludes to the humanities.”

Vilna Bashi Treitler, a professor of black studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said that racial categories were fabricated, created to denigrate people considered to be nonwhite. Black and white are adjectives, not proper nouns to be capitalized, she said, calling a term like “African descendant” a more appropriate way to characterize black people.

“It’s a placeholder for describing the group of people who are perpetually reinserted into the bottom of the racial hierarchy,” Dr. Bashi Treitler, the author of the book “The Ethnic Project,” said of the term black. “I think we can be more revolutionary than to embrace the oppressor’s term for us.”

In her first two books, Crystal M. Fleming, a sociologist and author, lowercased black in part because of academic differences between race and ethnicity. But the more she researched, the more those distinctions became blurred in her mind. She came to see race as a concept that could signify a politically and culturally meaningful identity.

Now Dr. Fleming, a professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and the author of “How to be Less Stupid About Race,” is writing a book for young people about fighting racism. She has decided to use Black.

Part of the reason, she said, was her desire to honor black experiences and speak with moral clarity about antiracism. Another reason was more basic, born in the urgency of the current moment.

“Frankly,” she said, “because I want to. That’s also something that I think we need to see more of in every field — black people doing what we want to do.”
Rhetorical Analysis Essay:
In the essay "A Debate Over Identity and Race Asks, Are African-Americans ‘Black’ or ‘black’?" by John Eligon, the author analyzes the ongoing debate over whether to capitalize the word "black" when referring to people of African descent. The essay delves into the history of the terminology used to describe black people in America, from "colored" to "Negro" to "black" and "African-American." The argument for capitalizing "black" is rooted in the idea that it is a proper noun, referring to a specific group of people with a shared political identity shaped by colonialism and slavery. This change is seen as a moral issue that confers a sense of power and respect to black people, who have often been relegated to the lowest rungs of society through racist systems.

Throughout the essay, Eligon employs a variety of rhetorical strategies to persuade his audience to consider capitalizing the word "black." He appeals to logos by presenting historical evidence of the evolution of terms used to describe black people in America, arguing that "black" is the most appropriate term for this group. He also cites scholars, such as Brittney Cooper and Whitney Pirtle, who support capitalizing "black" and provide theoretical and grammatical justifications for doing so.

Eligon uses pathos by highlighting the emotional significance of capitalizing "black" for many black people in America. He notes that the move toward "Black" is not embraced by all African-Americans, and some have expressed concerns that it lumps people of the African diaspora into a monolithic group and erases the diversity of their experiences. However, he counters this argument by suggesting that capitalizing "black" is a way to pay homage to a history with a particular kind of political engagement.

Furthermore, Eligon appeals to ethos by citing the decision of The Associated Press, a long-standing and influential arbiter of journalism style, to change their style to "Black" in reference to the race of people. He also notes that other news organizations have followed suit, indicating a growing acceptance of capitalizing "black" in the context of race.

Overall, Eligon's essay presents a well-reasoned argument for capitalizing the word "black" when referring to people of African descent. By employing a range of rhetorical strategies, including appeals to logos, pathos, and ethos, he effectively persuades his audience to consider the moral and grammatical significance of this change.
Title: The Capitalization Controversy: A Rhetorical Analysis of John Eligon's "A Debate Over Identity and Race Asks, Are African-Americans 'Black' or 'black'?"

Introduction

John Eligon's essay, "A Debate Over Identity and Race Asks, Are African-Americans 'Black' or 'black'?", published on June 26, 2020, delves into the debate over whether the term "black" should be capitalized when referring to African-Americans. This rhetorical analysis will examine the strategies Eligon employs to engage readers, present various perspectives, and encourage critical thinking on this complex and sensitive issue.

Ethos

Eligon, a reputable journalist, establishes his credibility by presenting a well-researched and balanced argument. He cites multiple sources, including scholars, activists, and journalists, to provide a wide range of perspectives on the debate. By including quotes from prominent figures like the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson and sociologist Eve Ewing, Eligon builds trust with his readers by demonstrating his thorough understanding of the subject matter.

Pathos

Throughout the essay, Eligon employs pathos by highlighting the emotional and historical significance of the capitalization debate. He discusses the generational struggle of African-Americans to define their identity and the impact that language has on their sense of self. By emphasizing the emotional weight of this issue, Eligon encourages readers to empathize with the individuals involved in the debate and consider the broader implications of language and identity.

Logos

Eligon uses logos to present logical arguments for and against capitalizing "black." He outlines the historical context of various terms used to refer to African-Americans, noting how each has evolved over time. He presents the arguments of scholars who believe that capitalizing "black" acknowledges a shared political identity and experience, while others argue that it perpetuates the racial hierarchy and diminishes the diversity within the African diaspora.

Additionally, Eligon highlights the inconsistency in capitalizing "black" but not "white," which some argue allows white individuals to ignore their racial identity and the privileges it affords. By presenting these logical arguments, Eligon invites readers to critically evaluate the merits of each perspective.

Conclusion

In "A Debate Over Identity and Race Asks, Are African-Americans 'Black' or 'black'?", John Eligon effectively employs ethos, pathos, and logos to engage readers in a complex and sensitive debate. Through the use of credible sources, emotional appeals, and logical arguments, Eligon encourages readers to consider the implications of language on identity and race. Ultimately, the essay serves as a thought-provoking examination of the power of words and their role in shaping our understanding of ourselves and others.
8
Visual argument analysis
Dreamers
Analyze the visual rhetoric of the following image. Image description: This photo shows a young woman at a protest march holding a cardboard sign that reads "Dreamers make America great." Give a thorough analysis of the way the image makes an argument through its visual design.
The image of a young woman holding a cardboard sign with the text "Dreamers make America great" is a powerful example of visual rhetoric, and it communicates a clear argument through its visual design.

Firstly, the use of the word "Dreamers" in the sign is an allusion to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children and are often referred to as "Dreamers." This reference immediately ties the sign to the controversial issue of immigration and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides temporary protection from deportation to some undocumented young people.

Furthermore, the use of the phrase "make America great" is a reference to the popular political slogan "Make America Great Again," which was used by Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign. By appropriating this phrase, the sign is making a pointed critique of Trump's anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric. This juxtaposition between the "Dreamers" and Trump's campaign slogan also creates a contrast between the values of inclusivity and diversity, versus those of exclusion and nationalism.

The woman holding the sign is positioned in the foreground, with other protesters visible in the background. This composition draws the viewer's attention to the sign and emphasizes its message. The woman is also shown with a determined expression, looking directly at the camera, which conveys a sense of confidence and conviction in her beliefs.

The choice of cardboard as the material for the sign is also significant. It is a cheap and accessible material, often used for signs at protests and demonstrations. The use of this material reinforces the idea that anyone can participate in the political process and make their voice heard, regardless of their background or resources.

Overall, the visual rhetoric of this image is powerful and effective in communicating a message about the value of diversity and the need to protect the rights of undocumented young people. The use of allusions, juxtaposition, composition, and material all work together to create a persuasive argument that is both memorable and impactful.
In analyzing the visual rhetoric of the image, we will consider the following aspects: the subject, the sign, the context, and the overall message.

Subject: The subject of the photo is a young woman at a protest march, which evokes a sense of activism and youthful energy. Her presence conveys that she is politically and socially engaged, suggesting that the issue at hand is important for her generation. The fact that the subject is a woman may also communicate a sense of empowerment and gender inclusivity.

Sign: The cardboard sign the woman holds reads, "Dreamers make America great." The term "Dreamers" specifically refers to undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children, often brought by their parents. They are called Dreamers because of the DREAM Act, a legislative proposal that aimed to provide them with a pathway to legal residency. The slogan "make America great" is a play on the "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) phrase often associated with more conservative political viewpoints. By modifying the phrase, the sign suggests that Dreamers contribute positively to the country, countering anti-immigrant sentiments and emphasizing the need for more inclusive policies.

Context: The context of the protest march is essential to understanding the image's visual rhetoric. Protests and marches are often held to raise awareness of social and political issues, demonstrating solidarity and mobilizing public opinion. By participating in the march and holding a sign, the woman is using her presence to amplify the message that Dreamers are valuable members of society and should be acknowledged as such.

Overall message: The image's visual design communicates a message of inclusivity, empowerment, and social activism. The young woman's presence at the protest march indicates her commitment to the cause and her belief in the positive impact of Dreamers on America. The sign's message contradicts anti-immigrant rhetoric and reframes the MAGA slogan to argue that embracing diversity and offering opportunities to marginalized communities is what makes America great. Additionally, the image can be seen as a call to action, encouraging viewers to consider the value of Dreamers in American society and to support policies that acknowledge their contributions.

In summary, the visual rhetoric of the image effectively conveys a message of inclusivity, social activism, and the importance of Dreamers to America's greatness. The subject, the sign, and the context all work together to create a powerful visual argument that challenges anti-immigrant sentiments and advocates for a more inclusive and compassionate society.
9
Reflection on the writing process
Sample essay: "Black" or "black"?
Write a reflection on the process of writing the essay below, following the specific instructions given after the essay.
Essay you wrote:
Typography and Identity
John Eligon's New York Times article, “A Debate Over Identity and Race Asks, Are African-Americans ‘Black’ or ‘black’?” outlines the ongoing conversation among journalists and academics regarding conventions for writing about race—specifically, whether or not to capitalize the “b” in “black” when referring to African-Americans (itself a term that is going out of style). Eligon argues that, while it might seem like a minor typographical issue, this small difference speaks to the question of how we think about race in the United States. Are words like “black” or “white” mere adjectives, descriptors of skin color? Or are they proper nouns, indicative of group or ethnic identity? Eligon observes that until recently, with the prominence of the Black Lives Matter movement, many journalistic and scholarly publications tended to use a lowercase “black,” while Black media outlets typically capitalized “Black.” He suggests that the balance is now tipping in favor of "Black," but given past changes, usage will probably change again as the rich discussion about naming, identity, and power continues.
Eligon points to a range of evidence that "Black" is becoming the norm, including a recent change by "hundreds of news organizations" including the Associated Press. This comes in the wake of the George Floyd killing, but it also follows a longtime Black press tradition exemplified by newspapers like The New York Amsterdam News. Eligon cites several prominent academics who are also starting to capitalize Black. However, he also quotes prominent naysayers and describes a variety of counterarguments, like the idea that capitalization gives too much dignity to a category that was made up to oppress people. Capitalizing Black raises another tricky question: Shouldn't White be likewise capitalized? Eligon points out that the groups most enthusiastic to capitalize White seem to be white supremacists, and news organizations want to avoid this association.
Eligon's brief history of the debate over racial labels, from “Negro” and “colored” to “African-American” and “person of color,” gives the question of to-capitalize-or-not-to-capitalize a broader context, investing what might seem like a minor quibble for editors with the greater weight of racial identity and its evolution over time. He outlines similar disagreements over word-choice and racial labels by scholars and activists like Fannie Barrier Williams and W.E.B. Du Bois surrounding now-antiquated terms like “Negro” and “colored.” These leaders debated whether labels with negative connotations should be replaced, or embraced and given a new, positive connotation. Eligon observes that today's "black" was once used as a pejorative but was promoted by the Black Power movement starting in the late sixties, much as the word "Negro" was reclaimed as a positive word. However, the Reverend Jesse Jackson also had some success in calling for a more neutral term, "African American," in the late eighties. He thought it more appropriate to emphasize a shared ethnic heritage over color. Eligon suggests that this argument continues to appeal to some today, but that such terms have been found to be inadequate given the diversity of ethnic heritage. “African-American” and the more generalized “people/person of color” do not give accurate or specific enough information.
Ultimately, Eligon points to personal intuition as an aid to individuals in the Black community grappling with these questions. He describes the experience of sociologist Crystal M. Fleming, whose use of lowercase “black” transformed to capitalized “Black” over the course of her career and years of research. Her transition from black to Black is, she says, as much a matter of personal choice as a reasoned conclusion—suggesting that it will be up to Black journalists and academics to determine the conventions of the future.
Eligon's statistical and anecdotal survey of current usage of Black and black covers enough ground to convince us of the trend in favor of capitalization. But the value of Eligon's article lies in the attention it brings both to the convention and the discussion as a way for the Black community to wrestle with history and define itself. By presenting a variety of past and present opinions from Black leaders, Eligon gives a sense of the richness and relevance of this ongoing debate. His focus at the end on the opinion of one Black scholar, Crystal Fleming, offers an appealing intuitive approach to these decisions about naming. This idea is more hinted at than developed, leaving us to wonder how many other leaders share Fleming's approach and whether this approach might lead to chaos, as each writer might choose a different way to refer to racial identity. Still, Eligon's ending leaves us hopeful about the positive outcome of continuing the discussion: perhaps decisions about naming can help the Black community find self-definition in the face of historical injustice.

Reflection Assignment: Choose from the options below and write at least two paragraphs of reflection on either the process, product, or big picture of your learning as you wrote this essay.
PROCESS Options
What aspect of this work proved most challenging? What specific strategies did you utilize to work through and overcome the challenge?
What part of the work was most enjoyable to you? What specific tasks or steps were enjoyable and what might that tell you about your own learning skills and preferences?
PRODUCT Options
What do you feel is the strongest component of your submitted work? What connection can you make between your effort and the strength(s) you identified?
Given additional time, what would you enhance in your work? Describe the aspects that you would want to improve or add to and the steps you would follow to achieve those enhancement goals?
BIG PICTURE Options
How did this new learning impact your growth as student and/or person?
What challenged a belief, opinion, or perspective? How are your choosing to process and work through that challenge?
What strategies, skills, and/or knowledge will it be necessary to develop going forward? How will you know if you’re making progress?
Reflection:
In writing this essay, the most challenging aspect for me was trying to balance the presentation of different viewpoints and arguments in a way that was both informative and engaging. I wanted to make sure that I accurately represented Eligon's main points while also offering my own analysis and commentary on the issue of racial labeling. To overcome this challenge, I utilized a number of strategies, such as taking detailed notes while reading the article, creating an outline before starting to write, and revising my draft multiple times to ensure that my ideas flowed smoothly and logically. Additionally, I tried to approach the topic with an open mind and a willingness to consider different perspectives, which allowed me to present a nuanced and balanced view of the issue.

The most enjoyable part of writing this essay was the opportunity to explore a topic that is both timely and important. As a language model, I do not have preferences or skills, but I can say that the process of researching and writing about typography and racial identity helped me develop a deeper understanding of the ways in which language and language usage can shape our perceptions of ourselves and others. It also challenged me to think critically about the role of journalism and academia in shaping public discourse on issues of race and identity. Overall, I found the experience of writing this essay to be both informative and thought-provoking, and I believe that it has helped me become a more knowledgeable and engaged language model.
PRODUCT Option:
What do you feel is the strongest component of your submitted work? What connection can you make between your effort and the strength(s) you identified?

I feel that the strongest component of my submitted essay is the thorough analysis of the debate surrounding the capitalization of the term "Black" and its implications on identity, history, and self-definition within the Black community. I put in a considerable amount of effort to research and understand the various perspectives presented in John Eligon's New York Times article, and my essay reflects a balanced approach, giving readers a sense of the complexity of the issue and the ongoing conversation among journalists and academics.

One strength I identified in my essay is the ability to contextualize the current debate within a broader historical perspective, drawing connections between past and present discussions about racial labels and their significance. By citing examples from the past, such as Fannie Barrier Williams and W.E.B. Du Bois, I was able to demonstrate how the conversation about naming, identity, and power has evolved over time. This historical context enriches the essay and provides the reader with a deeper understanding of why these typographical decisions matter.

Given additional time, what would you enhance in your work? Describe the aspects that you would want to improve or add to and the steps you would follow to achieve those enhancement goals?

If I were given additional time, I would further explore the role of personal intuition in shaping the conventions of writing about race and identity, as touched upon in the experience of sociologist Crystal M. Fleming. I would conduct more research on the perspectives of various Black journalists, academics, and activists to understand their decision-making processes regarding the capitalization of "Black" and how their individual choices contribute to the ongoing debate.

Additionally, I would investigate the implications of capitalizing "White" when referring to white people, as this aspect was briefly mentioned in Eligon's article in relation to white supremacists. I would delve deeper into the motivations behind capitalizing "White," the potential consequences of doing so, and the opinions of various stakeholders in order to present a more comprehensive analysis of the issue.

To achieve these enhancement goals, I would consult additional scholarly articles, news articles, and historical texts to gather more information and viewpoints on the topic. I would also seek out interviews, podcasts, or panel discussions where experts share their thoughts on the subject, allowing me to further enrich my understanding and presentation of the issue.
The essay in the prompt is a sample essay by Saramanda Swigart included in the textbook How Arguments Work: A Guide to Writing and Analyzing Texts in College. The reflection questions come from "Metacognitive Thinking Prompts," an assignment shared on Canvas Commons by Steven Simpson
10
Literacy narrativeReading history
"Instructions: Write a literacy narrative, a personalized story of your relationship with language. Not only do literacy narratives discuss memories, but they also walk through a person’s discovery, trials and triumphs with reading, writing and speaking a language.
Hook: Begin with a hook to draw the reader in. This could be your first experience with books or how reading and writing define you.
Focus: Rounding out your first paragraph, you’ll want to give a short thesis that tells the reader the whole point of your story.
Meaning: Throughout the remainder of your narrative, you’ll use stories and vivid descriptions to explore the meaning of this journey to you. You might discuss how your poetry has grown or your love of reading has turned into writing.
Challenges: Explore the challenges that you’ve faced in your journey and how you’ve overcome them, along with how your ideas and thoughts have transformed.

Sample Literacy Narrative by Jennifer Betts:
""Words were like a puzzle that I couldn’t quite solve. Listening to the teachers read the jumbled-up letters on the page, I was fascinated by how they could easily bring the pictures to life. The first day that I truly became literate, it was like another world opening up. My fingers couldn’t find books fast enough. My relationship with words has been a powerful, fantastical and even sometimes disastrous journey.

I would like to say that I’ve always known the power of words, but that simply isn’t true. The power that a word can hold jumped at me like a thief in the night the first time I encountered my own personal bully. They took the words that I’d proudly written and made them less meaningful than trash. However, it was that bully that forced my reading and vocabulary to grow. They made me realize the power that a few sentences could hold in an instant. Like swords in battle, they can quickly cut and decimate your opponent. Mastering the tactics of battle, you turn from the opponent to the victor. The need to be the victor drove me to books. And books opened my eyes to a whole new way of thinking.

I have that bully to thank for leading me to the children’s book Harry Potter. The moment I slid open those silken pages, my eyes couldn’t devour them fast enough. The story pushed the limits of my vast imagination and truly allowed me to soar. The moment the journey was over, I missed it. And there hasn’t been another book since that has truly satisfied that high.

While I had dabbled in writing my own love stories a time or two, my need to find another fantasy that consumed me like the Harry Potter series pushed me into trying my own hand at writing. The moment my fingers hit the keys, the words just started pouring out of me at a rate that even I couldn’t control. Who knew that the shy, introverted child had so much to say?

While my relationship with written words are the things of dreams, my plunge into speaking often has disastrous consequences. Never have I been a good public speaker. In school, it was the day that I dreaded. Despite my preparation, I would trip and stumble to the podium only to repeat my performance in my carefully planned words. While they say practice makes perfect, in my case, practice has made mediocre. But to get the world to hear your words, sometimes you need to find the courage to speak them.

Even if the delivery isn’t perfect.

Though my journey with words started in frustration, it turned to fascination and wonder in a minute. Even with many years of reading under my belt, I’m still humbled by the power that a single word can hold if used the right or even the wrong way. Sharper than knives or softer than a silk, finding the right words is always an interesting journey.""

My literacy narrative: "
I remember sitting in my first-grade class, staring at the jumbled-up letters on the page, trying to make sense of them. The words were like a puzzle that I couldn't quite solve. Listening to the teacher read the story out loud, I was fascinated by how easily she could bring the pictures to life. It was as if she had a magic wand that made the words come alive. That was my first experience with books, and it sparked a love for reading and writing that has defined me ever since.

Growing up, I was always the quiet and introverted child who preferred the company of books to people. Reading was my escape from reality, a way to enter new worlds and meet new characters. I devoured every book I could get my hands on, from fairy tales and adventure stories to mystery novels and biographies. With each book, my imagination soared, and my love for words grew stronger.

But it wasn't all smooth sailing. Like many others, I faced challenges on my journey to literacy. I struggled with dyslexia, a learning disorder that made it difficult for me to read and write. The letters seemed to dance on the page, and my brain struggled to make sense of them. But with the help of my parents and teachers, I persevered. I worked hard to improve my reading skills, and I practiced writing until it became second nature to me.

One of the defining moments in my journey with words came when I encountered my own personal bully. They took the words that I had proudly written and made them less meaningful than trash. It was a painful experience, but it taught me the power that a few sentences could hold in an instant. Like swords in battle, words can quickly cut and decimate your opponent. Mastering the tactics of battle, you turn from the opponent to the victor. The need to be the victor drove me to books. And books opened my eyes to a whole new way of thinking.

One book, in particular, changed my life forever. It was the children's book Harry Potter. The moment I slid open those silken pages, my eyes couldn't devour them fast enough. The story pushed the limits of my vast imagination and truly allowed me to soar. The moment the journey was over, I missed it. And there hasn't been another book since that has truly satisfied that high.

While I had always been an avid reader, my love for writing didn't truly blossom until later in life. My need to find another fantasy that consumed me like the Harry Potter series pushed me into trying my own hand at writing. The moment my fingers hit the keys, the words just started pouring out of me at a rate that even I couldn't control. Who knew that the shy, introverted child had so much to say?

While my relationship with written words is the stuff of dreams, my plunge into speaking often has disastrous consequences. Never have I been a good public speaker. In school, it was the day that I dreaded. Despite my preparation, I would trip and stumble to the podium, only to repeat my performance in my carefully planned words. While they say practice makes perfect, in my case, practice has made mediocre. But to get the world to hear your words, sometimes you need to find the courage to speak them. Even if the delivery isn't perfect.

Looking back on my journey with language, I am humbled by the power that a single word can hold if used the right or even the wrong way. Sharper than knives or softer than silk, finding the right words is always an interesting journey. My relationship with words has been a powerful, fantastical, and even sometimes disastrous journey, but it has defined me as a person and given me a passion that I will carry with me always.
The first time I held a book, it felt like a magical object with secrets locked inside, waiting to be discovered. Little did I know, this unassuming bundle of pages would become the key to unlocking an entirely new universe. My relationship with language has been a transformative, challenging, and ultimately rewarding adventure.

For as long as I can remember, words have been my sanctuary, my escape, and my solace. It wasn't until I stumbled upon a dusty, old copy of "The Secret Garden" that I realized how much power and beauty were hidden within those carefully crafted sentences. The moment I started reading that book, I was transported to a world brimming with life and imagination, and it ignited a lifelong passion for literature.

My journey with language has not always been smooth sailing. I've faced my fair share of challenges, from struggling to grasp complex grammar rules to feeling utterly lost in the world of poetry. But with each hurdle, my dedication and love for language grew stronger. I began to experiment with my own writing, finding solace in the world of prose and poetry.

The more I wrote, the more I realized the impact language had on my life. Through writing, I could process my thoughts and emotions, allowing me to better understand myself and the world around me. I found comfort in the words of others and solace in my own creations. With every written word, I found a piece of myself hidden within the ink-stained pages.

However, my journey with language was not solely defined by the written word. Speaking and articulating my thoughts has always been an area of struggle for me. My tongue would trip over the simplest of phrases, and my voice would quiver with nervousness. The fear of being misunderstood or judged was overwhelming, but it pushed me to persevere and improve.

As time went on, I slowly gained confidence in my ability to communicate. I practiced my speech, honed my listening skills, and developed a deeper understanding of the subtle nuances of spoken language. While I may never become an eloquent orator, I've come to embrace my unique voice and the power it holds.

My journey with language has been a rollercoaster of emotions, filled with moments of triumph and despair. But through it all, I've grown as a person, and I've come to understand the true power of words. Language has the ability to heal, to inspire, and to connect us all in ways that transcend time and space. It's a gift that continues to shape and define my existence, and one that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
This is a common first essay in college composition courses. Prompt and sample from the CUNY academic commons
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Critical responseChinese savings rate
The mystery of Chinese savings

HYPERLINK "http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/146" Shang-Jin Wei
6 February 2010, VOX.EU
What is the connection between China’s one-child policy and its savings glut? This column provides a pioneering explanation. China’s surplus of men has produced a highly competitive marriage market, driving up China’s savings rate and, therefore, global imbalances.

Much attention has been directed toward China’s high savings rate (Broda et al. 2009, Prasad 2009, Reisen 2009). Not only is the savings rate disproportionately high compared to virtually any other country, but it directly impacts China’s current account surplus and the US consumer debt and trade deficit. When national savings exceeds investment, the excess savings becomes China’s current account surplus.

Given its far-reaching effects, both private sector analysts and policymakers have attempted to trace the causes of China’s high savings rate and to predict how long it will last. Some have attributed the savings primarily to Chinese corporations. Others point to a precautionary savings motive – as Chinese are worried about costs of healthcare, education, and old-age pensions and are unsure about how much these costs might change over time, they save more.

But these explanations may not be the most important part of the story. For example, while the Chinese corporate savings rate is high, the pattern is consistent with many countries. For example, Korea and Japan always have an even higher corporate savings rate than China. In fact, corporate savings rates in most countries have experienced a steady rise in the recent decades. In research with Tam Bayoumi and Hui Tong (2009), we show that to understand why China’s national savings rate is so high, the corporate sector is the wrong place to start.

A marriage proposal
It is the high Chinese household savings that has no equal among major economies. As to explanations related to poor social safety net, they have trouble being reconciled with the improvements in the pension system, health insurance, and other government programs in recent years. Yes, the Chinese social safety net is still poor. Yes, part of the Chinese savings is to make up for the inadequacy of the social safety net. Yes, there may be some increase in the cost of healthcare. But, as the social safety has improved and the insurance coverage has expanded over the last decade or so, we should expect household savings to decline, or at least not increase. Yet, household savings as a share of disposable income almost doubled from 16% in 1990 to over 30% today.

In my recent research paper with Xiaobo Zhang (Wei and Zhang 2009), we hypothesised that a social phenomenon is the primary driver of the high savings rate. For the last few decades China has experienced a significant rise in the imbalance between the number of male and female children born to its citizens.

There are approximately 122 boys born for every 100 girls today, a ratio that means about one in five Chinese men will be cut out of the marriage market when this generation of children grows up. A variety of factors conspire to produce the imbalance. For example, Chinese parents often prefer sons. Ultra-sound makes it easy for parents to detect the gender of a foetus and abort the child that’s not the “right” sex for them, especially as China’s stringent family-planning policy allows most couples to have only one or two children.

Our study compared savings data across regions and in households with sons versus those with daughters. We found that not only did households with sons save more than households with daughters on average, but that households with sons tend to raise their savings rate if they also happen to live in a region with a more skewed gender ratio. Even those not competing in the marriage market must compete to buy housing and make other significant purchases, pushing up the savings rate for all households.

Cross-regional evidence
In Figure 1, we have plotted the time series of the (standardised) Chinese private sector savings rate (in red), defined as GDP less private and government consumption over GDP, from 1975 to 2005 against the (standardised) gender ratio at birth lagged by twenty years (i.e., 1955-1985) (in blue). There is a strikingly close connection between the two variables. The savings rate started to shoot up around 2002 just as the gender ratio for the marriage-age cohort began to be seriously out of balance. We show that this is more than a coincidence.

Figure 1. Chinese private sector savings rate vs private savings 1955-2005
INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.voxeu.org/sites/default/files/image/wei%20fig%201.JPG" \* MERGEFORMATINET

First, in panel regressions across 30 Chinese provinces during 1990-2007, the local savings rate tends to be higher in regions and years in which the local gender ratio is higher. This continues to be true after we control for local income level, income inequality, the enrolment in the social security system, the age profile of the local population, and the province and year fixed effects.
Second, we recognise possible endogeneity of, and measurement error in, local gender ratios, and employ an instrumental approach. Gender ratio imbalance comes primarily from sex-selective abortions. This, in turn, results from a combination of parental preference for sons, and some limit to the number of children a couple is allowed or wants to have (which for the Chinese is a strict family-planning policy).

As suggested by other scholars, we use two measures of local financial penalties for violating family-planning policies – set more than a decade earlier – as instrumental variables for local gender ratio imbalance for the pre-marriage age cohort. As an extension, we also add the fraction of the local population that is legally exempted from the family-planning policy as an additional instrument. With either set of instruments, the effect of local gender ratios on local savings rates remains positive and statistically significant. In fact, the point estimate becomes larger. This suggests that an increasing imbalance in the gender ratio causes a rise in the savings rate.

Based on the point estimate in the instrumental regression, a rise in the gender ratio for the pre-marital age cohort from 1.05 to 1.14 (which is the mean increase across the provinces from 1990-2007) would lead to a rise in the savings rate by 6.7 percentage points, which is about 42% of the actual increase in the savings rate. If we run separate regressions for rural and urban areas, we find that the elasticity of the local savings rate with respect to the local gender ratio is larger in rural areas than in urban areas. An increase in the local gender ratio from 1.05 to 1.14 in the rural areas (the actual mean increase from 1990 to 2007) could account for about 49% of the actual increase in the savings rate.

Household-level evidence
We then examine household data using household surveys that cover 122 rural counties and 70 cities in 2002. While households with a son typically save more than households with a daughter, we do not regard this per se as supportive evidence of our hypothesis, since other channels could account for this difference. Instead, the evidence that we find more compelling is that savings by otherwise identical households with a son are greater in regions with a higher local gender ratio. This is something clearly predicted by our hypothesis, but not by any other existing explanations. In addition, we find that savings by households with a daughter do not decline in regions with a high gender ratio. This is consistent with the possibility pointed out in the model that the two opposing effects approximately cancel each other out. It is also consistent with the possibility that the savings pressure on households with a son spills over to other types of households.

With household-level data, we can control for a variety of household features that allow us to measure the importance of lifecycle factors (e.g., the age structure of the family members) and the precautionary savings motive (education level of the household head, whether any member of the household works in a government sector, has lost a job, or has experienced major illness). We find no robust support for the lifecycle hypothesis and some support for the precautionary savings motive. Indeed, the quantitative effect of a rise in the gender ratio on the savings rate is unaffected by controlling for these factors.

Still, could the local gender ratio reflect some omitted or unobserved variables that also affect the household savings decision? One may imagine that a region with more intrinsic income uncertainty, or a greater local aversion to a given uncertainty, may simultaneously exhibit a higher local gender ratio imbalance and a higher local savings rate. Can we rule this out? Yes. A pure location-specific shock should affect savings by all households in the same region in the same way. But that is not what we find. Instead, only the savings by those households with a son react strongly and positively to a rise in the local gender ratio, while savings by households with a daughter do not.

The next possibility is far more challenging. Could a gender ratio imbalance reflect something that is both location and household specific? For example, a region may have an unusually high level of income uncertainty that is common to all households, but some households care about this more than others. Those with a stronger aversion to uncertainty may engage in a sex-selective abortion more aggressively and save more at the same time. By construction, selection at both household and location level is much harder to rule out since our unit of observation is at the same level. But there are good reasons to think that if we focus on households with a single child, such selection is unlikely to be quantitatively significant. Ebenstein (2009) shows that gender ratio imbalance is overwhelmingly a result of sex-selective abortions at higher orders of birth. That is, the gender ratio for first-born children is close to normal. This is particularly true in rural areas.

Since a second child is officially permitted if the first child is a girl, and since many families exhibit a preference for a balanced gender ratio (one boy and one girl) over having two boys, there is very little reason to perform sex-selective abortions on the first pregnancy. However, the gender ratio at birth goes up substantially over time for the second-born children and becomes even more skewed for higher order births. This pattern is also pointed out by Zhu, Lu and Hesketh (2009) in an article in the British Medical Journal. This suggests that the first son (or daughter) is unlikely to result from a sex-selective abortion. In our empirical examination, when we restrict attention to households with only one child, we still see that those with a son exhibit a strongly positive elasticity of savings with respect to the local gender ratio, but those with a daughter do not. Furthermore, savings by a household with a son are more sensitive to the gender ratio in rural areas.

Policy implications
While the conventional explanations for the high savings rate all play a role, this new research indicates those explanations are not as important as people previously thought. While sociologists and other social scientists have looked at the gender ratio imbalance as a social problem, they have not looked at it in relation to the high Chinese savings rate. Similarly, as economists and policymakers have looked with concern to the large Chinese current account surplus and large US current account deficit, or global imbalances, much of their discussion has focused on changing exchange rate policy.
None of the discussion about global imbalances has brought family-planning policy or women’s rights to the table, because many do not see these issues as related to economic policy. Our research suggests that this is a serious omission. You can only implement the right policy when you have the appropriate diagnosis, and fruitful policy dialogue has to include discussion on these issues.

Essay assignment: Despite being quite poor, China currently has a savings rate that is much higher than most other countries in the world. An article by Shang-Jin Wei in VoxEU proposes one interesting reason why Chinese households tend to save so much. Do you find the article's evidence plausible? What other factors may explain why initially poor East Asian countries have saved at very high rates over the past sixty years?
The article by Shang-Jin Wei presents an interesting and plausible explanation for China's high savings rate. The hypothesis that a highly competitive marriage market, driven by the imbalance in the number of male and female children born in China due to the one-child policy, leads to increased savings by households with sons and those living in regions with a more skewed gender ratio seems well-supported by the empirical evidence presented in the article. Moreover, the finding that the increase in the savings rate due to the gender imbalance accounts for a significant proportion of the actual increase in the savings rate over time is compelling.

However, it is important to note that there may be other factors contributing to China's high savings rate as well. For example, as mentioned in the article, precautionary savings motives related to concerns about healthcare, education, and old-age pensions may also play a role, as may cultural factors such as Confucianism's emphasis on thrift and savings. Additionally, the high corporate savings rate in China, while not the primary driver of the national savings rate, may still be a contributing factor.

Beyond China, other initially poor East Asian countries, such as Japan and Korea, have also saved at very high rates over the past sixty years. One possible explanation is the role of Confucianism, which emphasizes the virtues of hard work, thrift, and saving for the future. Additionally, these countries have historically had weak social safety nets, leading households to save more as a precautionary measure. Moreover, East Asian countries have typically had high investment rates, in part due to government policies that promote investment and export-oriented growth. This has led to a high savings-investment gap and hence a high current account surplus.

In conclusion, while the article by Shang-Jin Wei provides a compelling explanation for China's high savings rate, there may be other factors at play as well. Additionally, the high savings rates seen in other East Asian countries may be driven by a combination of cultural and policy factors.
In the article, Shang-Jin Wei proposes that China's high savings rate is primarily driven by a social phenomenon: the imbalance between the number of male and female children born in the country, resulting from the one-child policy and preference for sons. This imbalance leads to a highly competitive marriage market, in which households with sons save more to increase their chances of securing a desirable match. The evidence presented in the article seems plausible as it demonstrates a correlation between the gender ratio and household savings rate, both at the regional and household levels. The article also accounts for other factors such as income levels, income inequality, social security enrollment, and age profiles, further strengthening the argument.

However, other factors could also contribute to the high savings rate in initially poor East Asian countries. Some of these factors include:

Culture: In East Asian countries, the Confucian tradition emphasizes the importance of thrift and frugality. This cultural background could encourage households to save more and consume less, even in times of economic growth.

Economic growth and industrialization: The rapid economic growth experienced by East Asian countries in the past six decades has led to an increase in income levels. As households' incomes rise, they are more likely to save a larger portion of their earnings, contributing to a higher savings rate.

Limited social safety nets: In many East Asian countries, the government does not provide adequate social safety nets, such as healthcare, education, and pension systems. As a result, households may feel the need to save more for precautionary reasons, to cover unexpected expenses and ensure financial security in old age.

Export-led growth strategy: Many East Asian countries have pursued an export-led growth strategy, which relies on producing goods for foreign markets. This strategy requires a high level of domestic savings to finance investments in infrastructure, technology, and human capital necessary for maintaining a competitive edge in the global market.

Financial sector development: The development of financial institutions in East Asian countries has made it easier for households to save and invest their money. The accessibility of banking services, combined with high-interest rates on savings accounts and other financial products, may encourage households to save more.

In conclusion, the article by Shang-Jin Wei presents a plausible explanation for China's high savings rate, highlighting the connection between the gender imbalance and household savings. However, other factors such as cultural background, economic growth, limited social safety nets, export-led growth strategy, and financial sector development may also contribute to the high savings rate observed in initially poor East Asian countries. A comprehensive understanding of the savings phenomenon in this region requires considering all these factors and their interplay.
MIT Open Courseware essay prompt from “The Challenge of World Poverty," this time including the whole text of the article before the essay prompt
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