Amanda Ripley's Essay: The Case Against High School Sports

Amanda Ripley, author of “The Case Against High-School Sports,” gives an interesting thought to not only how important high-school sports are, but how much money is spent. Her stance on it tends to be that sports are more of a distraction than they are good for. Through the use of examples and relevant data, she was able to effectively establish her stance on high-school sports. However, there were oftentimes organizational and evidence based errors. By looking at the organization, audience awareness, and examples it can be seen that the article is effective but could use some major improvements.

Summary

First in her article, Ripley gives a fact comparing the costs of high-school athletes to high-school math students, and discloses we falter in international rankings. She continues by explaining that teenagers from all over come to America and observe the things we never stop to consider. These include sports in high schools. Ripley uses a personal story about playing sports through her childhood, and lists off the basic ways it helps high schoolers. She then introduces the topic of travel club sports, which is claimed to be more popular for

Furthermore, the opposing opinions that are not recognized may drive away a large audience due to the bias for her stance. Ripley mentions how sports have been seen to drive kids away from trouble and bad influences. However, this is quickly shrugged off stating that, “it remains relevant for a small portion students.” Furthermore, the significance of exercise to learning and a healthy life is brought up but again, but quickly bypassed due to the insignificant percentage are affected. As a result, the lack of recognition of counterarguments develops a weak argument that can be seen through weak claims and tenuous