Don't Touch That Towel



Position Paper Exemplar and Thinking Questions

Read the following position paper and complete the following:

What is the author’s topic?__________________________________________________

What is the author’s thesis and where did you find it? ____________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

A) In addition to her position, the author includes her paper’s main points in the thesis statement. What are they?

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

B) Why might it be a good idea to include your main points in your thesis statement?

____________________________________________________________________

What is the name given to the paragraph following the introduction? ________________

What, according to the author, is the opposition’s argument? How does the author refute this idea in the second paragraph? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

A) Re-read the first line in paragraphs 2-4. Write the first sentence of each paragraph here:

paragraph #2: _____________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________ paragraph #3: _____________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

paragraph #4: _____________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

B) What do you notice about these sentences? (Be specific).

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In essay writing, what does MEAL stand for? Has the author used the MEAL format for every body paragraph? Explain with specific examples from the text.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. Transition words are words and phrases that provide the glue that holds ideas together in writing. They provide coherence (that hanging together, making sense as a whole) by helping the reader to understand the relationship between ideas and they help the reader follow the movement of the discussion.

Based on this definition, list the transitional words used in this paper.

____________________________ ____________________________

____________________________ ____________________________

____________________________ _____________________________

Make three specific observations about the author’s use of secondary sources:

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What is your opinion of this paper? What mark would you give it (out of 100%) and why? Be very specific.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cartworth 1

Shannon Cartworth

Mr. Furman

Grade 9 Media

October 2009

Don't Touch That Towel!

One would think that in public schools public health and concern for the environment would be taught and celebrated. Sadly, this is not the case. Why? According to Rita Folger, bathrooms in public schools are a breeding ground for germs and a wasteland for un-recycled paper towels (Folger). What is even more unsettling is that a solution is possible. Schools would benefit by investing in automatic motion-sensing hand dryers as they decrease the occurrence of sickness and help save the environment.

People who oppose the implementation of automated hand dryers in school bathrooms often argue that the cost is excessive. While it is true that the cost of an automated hand dryer is expensive, from $300.00- $500.00 each (Crosby), the cost of paper towels is expensive too. In fact, the cost of a case of 3000 paper towels is $20.00 dollars, which, according to the article, “Know What Kids Really Hate: Dirty Bathrooms”, only lasts 2-3 days in a busy high school restroom (Crosby). Considering that a school spends around $40.00/week to stock paper towels, the automated hand dryer would pay for itself in less than two months. Clearly, people who argue that the cost of automated hand dryers is prohibitive have not done their math homework.

In addition to money benefits, automated hand dryers also improve school bathroom sanitation, which helps prevent sickness in students. Instead of pulling on a lever that has been touched by a large number of students, users can just stick their hands under the blow-dryer. No germs can get on them because there is nothing to touch. Rita Folger’s article, “Why Kids Get Sick”, suggests that “harmful micro bacteria were found on or around paper towel dispensing machines in all 39 bathrooms tested”. This statistic comes from a study conducted by Dr. Gail Cassell who is the Chair of the Department of Microbiology at the University of Alabama. Cassell goes on to state that “motion sensored water taps and hand dryers reduce the spread of many germs that cause infections — ranging from the common cold, Hepatitis A to Shigella—by 60%

Cartworth 2

(quoted in Folger). Considering the health benefits of automated hand dryers, public schools should install them.

Furthermore, the installation of automated hand dryers is good for the environment. As stated earlier, an average high school bathroom uses 3000 paper towels every 2-3 days (Crosby). That is a staggering number and a huge, needless waste of paper. These paper towels are tossed into the garbage and not recycled. Schools teach kids to recycle, but they often don’t practice what they preach. Similarly, “the production and transportation [of paper towels] requires the burning of fossil fuels…and are often bleached white, which emits dioxins” (Watson). Automated hand dryers, however, leave a significantly smaller ecological footprint. In fact, according to “Greener Dryer Better: Hand Dryer versus Paper Towel”, “the hand dryer system does better than paper towels in all impact categories” and “paper towels have double the global warming burden of the hand dryer” (Watson). Clearly, choosing a hand drying option that poses a smaller burden on our environment is the most responsible choice and therefore schools should install automated hand dryers in all bathrooms.

There is much to be said in favour of the installation of automatic motion-sensing hand dryers in school bathrooms. Administrators will be glad to know that absenteeism will be lowered. Money can be saved. Finally, if the trees could talk, they would probably shout for joy, knowing that a whole school is saving a forest. Let's install automatic hand dryers at our school as soon as possible.

Cartworth 3

Works Cited

Crosby, Sherry. “Know What Kids Really Hate: Dirty Bathrooms”. LA Times Online. 11 Oct. 1999. Web. 18 May 2007. .

Folger, Rita. “Why Kids Get Sick”. Wisconsin Council on Children and Families. 10 Sept. 2006. Web. 15 May 2007. .

Watson, Jenna. “Greener Dryer Better: Hand Dryer versus Paper Towel”. Treehugger: A Discovery Company. 18 Feb. 2006. Web. 15 May 2007. .

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