Example Essays

Here are some example essays submitted by students in the past (posted here with their kind permission).

Please note: These essays are not in MLA format (which would also require that they be double- spaced), I was trying to save space.

Example 1.

Guest Coaching Controversy

I am a figure skater and assistant coach at the local ice skating rink. I have been skating for six years, four of them at this rink, and I have been an assistant coach for two years. I believe that, although I have a lot to learn, I have a good general understanding of how the skating world operates and how the people involved in it relate to one another. The skating world, like so many sports' environments, is an extremely complicated place, with its share of politics and controversies. A particular issue that is important at my rink concerns the rights and regulation of guest coaches.

The rink hires coaches who work under the skating director/head coach and teach the figure skating classes. The rink holds the half hour classes on certain days of the week. The coaches are paid for each class they teach, but the pay is minimal and the rink gets most of the profit. In addition, these "resident" coaches may also teach private lessons on public skating sessions or official figure skating sessions. Skaters must pay their coaches for their lessons and the rink for the skating time. In this way, the coaches can technically keep the money they receive for their private lessons and the rink still makes money.

In order to teach private lessons, however, the coaches must also teach two classes per week and they must pay a three-hundred dollar coaching fee per month. The entire process of payment and lessons applies to all coaches whom the rink employs, although if a coach does not want to teach classes, she can opt to pay a higher monthly fee. Most other rinks have similar processes in place. Generally, coaches can only work for one rink at a time. However, at some rinks, "guest coaches" from other rinks are allowed to "visit" a number of times per month, but they pay a daily coaching fee, which is usually around twenty dollars.

Some coaches from different rinks have expressed interest in doing this at our rink. They would bring their current students with them and they would also give lessons to skaters at our rink. They still want to remain employed by their original rink and they do not want to teach classes. Currently, there is a new no-guest-coaching policy at our rink and many skaters, including me, want to change that rule.

The rink and skating director put the current policy regarding guest coaches in place in order to protect the resident coaches from competition and to ensure that there will always be a sufficient number of coaches to teach the classes. The rink believes that the policy guarantees equal coaching opportunities and preserves the financial stability of the rink.

After considering the views of the skating director, I found some very interesting and valid arguments for the rink's position. The first two concerns are closely related to one another. They involve how guest coaching would affect our resident coaches, who might suffer financially because they could lose students. First, skaters are free to change coaches at will and, thus, they may decide to take lessons from a guest coach instead of a resident coach. While this would not hurt the rink directly, it would make it

harder for the resident coaches to pay the three hundred dollar monthly fee. Since the average coach makes around thirty-five dollars for each private, half-hour lesson, they must give at least nine lessons a month to break even. If they lose even one lesson to a guest coach, they will be in a financially difficult situation.

Similarly, our current coaches might feel threatened by higher-level coaches who come as guests. Our rink is a relatively new establishment for the skating world and most of our coaches are fairly young. They have on average seven years of coaching experience, which is not much compared that if coaches at other rinks. When guest coaches with more experience come to teach at our rink, they may, intentionally or unintentionally, draw skaters away from our young—but no less talented—coaches.

The third problem with guest coaching is that it might bring too many skaters from other rinks who would make the skating sessions busier. They might then crowd out our current skaters by making it more difficult for them to practice. As a skater myself, I can certainly see how inconvenient this would be when I am trying to practice.

A major concern for the rink is that some resident coaches could avoid teaching classes, and paying the three hundred dollar fee, by declaring themselves guest coaches. If, for example, guest coaches were allowed to teach even one day a week at the standard twenty dollars per day, the coaches would only be paying eighty dollars each month as opposed to three hundred dollars. Now, of course, these coaches would not be able to give as many lessons as those who coached every day, but they would also not have to teach the classes, which are held in the late afternoon and on weekends. The resulting effect of resident coaches becoming guest coaches would be that the rink loses both money and a stable staff.

The last reason that the rink and skating director feel that guest coaching should be prohibited is because of the complicated and often unpleasant politics between competing coaches. Many resident coaches have come to our rink to avoid working with other coaches they do not get along with. Theoretically, these people could come as guest coaches and for ethical reasons, the rink could not discriminate against them. The resulting conflicts that might ensue would create a negative atmosphere for everyone at the rink.

I understand the rink's and skating director's view on guest coaching and think their concerns are valid. Nevertheless, I believe that guest coaching should be allowed at our rink for the substantial benefit to skaters and, indirectly, the coaches. One of the reasons that I feel this way is because there are a number of skaters at our rink who would like to take private lessons from certain Olympic and Nationally-ranked coaches in the area. These coaches are extremely well-respected in the skating world and they do not want to teach classes or be tied down to our rink. They do not even want to coach at our rink every day. If guest coaches were allowed, skaters would have the opportunity to take lessons from these coaches while still skating at the same rink. This would not only be convenient for the skaters, but it would also monetarily benefit the rink by keeping business busy. My sister, a competitive skater, is a prime example. As it stands now, she must drive to Los Angeles several times a week in order to have lessons from an Olympic coach. She would much rather pay our rink for her skating sessions and be able to take her lessons closer to home.

An additional benefit of guest coaching to the skaters concerns the coaches' areas of skill. Many skaters take lessons from two or three different coaches, who each specialize in a certain aspect of the sport and who bring in varying levels of expertise. Currently, the coaching staff at our rink is limited; we do not have coaches with certain specialties, such as Ice Dancing and program choreography. Allowing these types of coaches to come as guests would give skaters more opportunities and would probably bring

additional income to the rink by attracting a variety of skaters. Allowing these high-level coaches would bring benefits to the resident

coaches as well. The healthy rivalry that they could bring would force the young coaches to keep their qualifications and credentials current in order to attract and keep students. They would also have the chance to share students with, and learn from, these more experienced coaches. This would ultimately be good for the rink's reputation - it would have higher quality coaches and skaters.

A final reason that guest coaches should be allowed at this rink, specifically, is that it has the most sessions of all the rinks in the area and, thus, offers more time for skaters to have lessons. A wide variety of skating session times is a great advantage to skaters, who often need to practice early in the morning before school and in the late afternoon after school. More skaters could have additional lessons if guest coaches could teach on our numerous sessions.

The guest coaching policy issue is divisive and arguments on both sides are very strong. There seems to me, however, to be three underlying points of agreement that we share. Naturally, the reason any of us can skate or coach is that we have an operational ice rink, so we agree that the rink must make money to stay open. We also want to have competent, qualified coaches who are satisfied with their positions and who have opportunities to develop their coaching skills. Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, we desire to benefit the skaters by providing them with a comfortable, high-quality environment in which to learn with a minimum of political interference.

With these points of agreement in mind, and with a clearer understanding of the rink's viewpoint, I can certainly see how a no-guest-coaching policy is an efficient and reasonable solution. After all, if there are no guest coaches allowed, many of the political factors could be avoided and young coaches might have a better chance at starting their careers. I can see more clearly now the potential problems with my argument; for example I have no solution to protect our current coaches if guest coaches are allowed, and, in fact, my view actually seems to encourage rivalry. I can also see, though, that my view is more beneficial to the skaters at the rink by offering them more coaching options. Overall, I still feel that my position has the most benefits for all parties, including attracting high level coaches, offering more variety for skaters, and bringing additional income to the rink.

I believe that a satisfying compromise can perhaps be reached on this issue. If the rink management, skating director, coaches, and skaters could have an open, fair discussion, they might devise some creative options. For example, an exact definition of the term "guest coach" could be reached, including how many days they could coach at the rink and how many students they could have each day. There might also be a way for guest coaches to pay a fee higher than twenty dollars. This would give the rink more control over the situation and prevent the guest coaches from paying less than the resident coaches who teach classes. A plan that might work would be that guest coaches could teach an unlimited number of skaters, but could come to the rink only once per week. This would allow their students to take advantage of our numerous skating sessions, but it would also prevent overcrowding every day. The coaches would pay a higher guest fee, maybe fifty dollars a day, and would be strictly forbidden to solicit students from other coaches in order to protect the careers of our current staff. My example proposal is but one idea; if all concerned parties can work out a practical plan, I believe that we can settle this important disagreement satisfactorily.

Example 2. Wedding Guest Controversy

! My cousin, Francine, is getting married this summer in New Orleans. My sister and I have been honored with being her bridesmaids even though we live in California. Since weddings are such busy and time consuming occasions to plan, I asked Francine a year in advanced if I could bring my boyfriend of two years to the wedding and we were able to make it work. I was very excited for my boyfriend, Jackson, to finally meet the family that I had grown up with and to see my hometown. We bought our tickets in December and everything was finalized. Soon after our purchase it became clear that my sister, Jessica, wanted to bring her friend, Sarah. Jessica started making plans to have her friend come to New Orleans during this time, but I believe that it she shouldn’t bring her friend. With the excitement of everything that is happening this summer, it is reasonable for Jessica to want to share it with her friend. Jessica and Sarah have been close friends for 5 years now and they have been on vacations together before. Sarah has always wanted to go to New Orleans, so she decided to ask my sister if she could come with us this summer. Jessica did not want to say no to her because Sarah and her family have invited Jessica to multiple vacations at no cost. On top of that Sarah offered to pay for all of her expenses for the trip including the flight, hotel, and transportation. Jessica was also upset that she was not able to bring her boyfriend, Chad, like I was bringing Jackson. Jessica has been with Chad for just as long as I have been with Jackson. Due to their unusual circumstances-- Chad has an inflexible work schedule-- and lack of money, he wasn’t able to come with her. In contrast, my boyfriend and I have been more fortunate with money and time. So by bringing Sarah to New Orleans with her, she knew that she wouldn’t feel so left out and would have a friend to keep her entertained. No one wants to be left out, it’s more than reasonable for her to want to prevent being alone during this time. On top of all this, it’s quite reasonable for her to think that bringing Sarah wouldn’t be problematic or unduly stressful. After all, Sarah was getting her own hotel room and Jessica would actually have stayed with her. One would naturally think that this would relieve Francine of the stress of finding a place for Jessica to stay. They also would have their own transportation, relieving yet another burden. Not only does their appear to be no inconvenience for the family, but it also appears to be win-win situation for Sarah and Francine. Jessica has very valid points to her position. It isn’t fair for her to be in the position where she was unable to bring someone, like I am able to bring Jackson. She deserves to have Chad to be a part of moments like these as much as I do. Since he cannot come, it reasonable to conclude that it shouldn’t matter that it’s a good friend that comes as opposed to her boyfriend-- especially if she’s paying all of her expenses. Jessica wants to be fair to her friends and give back as much as they give her. Regardless of the circumstances, no one can really deny Sarah or Jessica the right to go to New Orleans at any time. Also there is no financial burden laid upon the family to find place for Sarah, if anything it relieves some stress due to Jessica’s absence. Jessica is a giving person and a loving friend. Such friends, she knows, should be able to reciprocate when people like Sarah who have been so good to her. Unfortunately, Francine and our grandmother didn’t speak their opposition when Jessica started talking to them about bringing Sarah. Although Francine and grandma didn’t speak to Jessica, they were very vocal to me about their disapproval to Sarah coming. They both have hit their limit for everything that was going on at this moment and didn’t want to add to the continuously growing list of things to do or worry about. I disagreed with

Jessica’s decision to bring Sarah to New Orleans. It was just poor timing and bad circumstances. One reason that Sarah shouldn’t come is because she is only a friend and that this trip is more than just another fun trip to New Orleans. This is an important family function. I’m not bringing Jackson just for the companionship. Rather, meeting my family and seeing where I grew up is, for us, taking the next step in our relationship. This is a meaningful and symbolic trip for us, one that we’ve been planning on for a full year. If Jessica were to bring Sarah, it would make the experience feel more like just another family trip. Moreover, our family in New Orleans would feel like they have to entertain Sarah and make her apart of everything if she did come. Certainly Francine deserves the weekend that she wants, and I don’t want to add any burden’s to her experience. While it’s true that Jackson would also need to be made a part of things, they understand that he’s not merely a friend. This is a time when, perhaps, he starts to see himself as a part of our family and this is something that Francine and I are both excited about. One of the many reasons why I love my sister is because of her spontaneity and free spirit. Along with these gifts, though, comes the susceptibility to getting easily distracted --especially when friends are around. As with most women her age, her free time is centered on her friends more than her family. I’m worried that Sarah would distract her from her responsibilities as a bridesmaid. Indeed, Jessica is a good friend and would want to give her friend the kind of attention that would make her trip enjoyable for her as well. In all honesty, too, Sarah has also been known to be unfriendly and rude with people, and that may create an uncomfortable environment for everyone. Since we are Francine’s bridesmaids we have an obligation to make the wedding planning-- and the wedding itself-- as smooth and easy as possible. It’s only fair to Francine that we guard against problems, and problem personalities, that can easily be avoided. I believe that my points are also valid. This time is about family and creating new memories for those who are (or perhaps soon will be) family. Also, Jessica and I have a responsibility as bridesmaids to be focusing on those tasks, rather than enjoying time with friends. Jessica and I do have some mutual agreements in the situation. We both believe that Francine and grandma should have spoken up rather than saying things behind her back. While Jessica is very focused on her friends, she would also do anything her family asked of her and so would I. Whenever we accept a responsibility we both fulfill it to our maximum capability and won’t accept anything over our heads. I also would like to think that we share that giving attribute to want help others by inconveniencing them less and making everyone happy in a situation. Originally looking at this situation, I saw a blatant disregard for our family in New Orleans. All I saw was my sister wanting to do whatever she pleased and whatever would be fun rather than taking care of her family. After doing my best to consider what it would be like in her shoes, I really understand her decision. She didn’t have the full information to make a decision, and she was going off of what information was provided to her. Now I see her good intentions and her good reasons. I feel like I should have seen them all along. Although I still believe it is still not good timing, I do understand her decision to begin planning. I think the most important step that needs to be made is that Francine and grandma should express their thoughts honestly the next time they talk to her. I realize now that I can help them have that conversation. I have good faith that my sister will reconsider her decision as soon as they talk to her. I also believe that if I had I talked to Jessica about Sarah’s conduct around me, she would wait for another time to bring her to New Orleans.

Indeed, I realize now that I wish I had had more courage to speak to her about my concerns with Sarah sooner.