Janie Wilson

Mr. Newman
English 101:Rhetoric
19 September 2014
Statement of Scope for the Annotated Bibliography
Competition is inevitable in our society today because of the idea that everyone wants to
become a better person. However, competition is what the human brain derives off of. Our
society needs competition to make us better people, because without it,growth would not occur.
This essay will explore the different ways that competition affect peoples actions,
thoughts, and lives. Athletes compete against one another to see who can be the better athlete;
solely for the purpose of wanting to be better than the other. Students trying to attain the goal of
being admitted into an elite school compete against one another to see who can achieve a higher
score on their standardized tests and will get in over the other.School systems compete against
one another to see who has the best equipment and quality of teaching.
This selected bibliography includes sources that cover competition in schools,sports, and
peers. My sources include information about competition in big level sports, but I did not include
information about competition in youth sports. The Brink and Bostwick articles describe how
to make an athlete more efficient on the field or wherever they may play, they have to work
harder against one another. Cowen, Watanabe, and Wingfield describe how students work hard
in class to achieve higher goals such as getting into an Ivy League school, or something as small
as receiving a higher grade than their best friend.

Annotated Bibliography
Bostwick, Michael J. The Limits of Acceptable Biological Variation in Athletes. New
York Times Magazine. N.p.: n.p., 2006. 508. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 18 Sept.
2014. <http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SIL1209H-02560&artno=0000343612&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=%20competition&title=The%2
0Limits%20of%20Acceptable%20Biological%20Variation%20in%20Elite%20Athletes
%2E%2E%2E&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N>. Caster Semenya, a middledistance runner from South Africa,was cleared to compete in the 2012 Olympic Games,
although not without considerable controversy that made an extensive medical work-

up be ordered by the International Association of Athletics Federations that

confirmed and judged her to be a woman for the purpose of competition.This article
explores whether athletes should be singled out for specific scrutiny or whether they are
just another way in which Olympians tower over the rest of us. Bostwick explains how to
make an athlete more efficient on the field or wherever they may play, they have to work
harder against one another.
Brink, Susan. Faster, Stronger Smarter: In Pursuit of the Edge. Los Angeles Times [Los
Angeles] 9 Jan. 2006: F1-F12. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.
<http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SIL1209H-02461&artno=0000246063&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=sports%20competition&title=F
aster%2C%20Stronger%2C%20Smarter%3A%20In%20Pursuit%20of%20the%20Edge&
res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N>. Brink explains that athletes are exceeding what
a normal human being is able to perform just to get ahead of the rest of the athletes. She
also explains that the sports that require fields and equipment, are the sports that
individuals can compete with each other the most. Brink said the toughest competitors
are most interested in beating actual human beings running, swimming, cycling or
leaping in the same competition; basically saying that if you are swimming you just want
to beat the guy in the lane next to you.
Cowen, Tyler. The New Invisible Competitors. Wilson Quarterly Fall 2007: 62-66.
SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 Sept. 2014. <http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-articledisplay?id=SIL1209-01606&artno=0000270917&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=internal%20competition&title=
The%20New%20Invisible%20Competitors&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N>.

This source describes how in our economy, competitors can come out of all places.
Cowen says that competition is fiercer than ever before, yet it is also harder to perceive as
real; no rival with snarling teeth knocks on your door. He also explains that to get better
competition, we usually end up looking to more competition.
Watanabe, Teresa. As Access to AP Classes Rises. Los Angeles Times [Los Angeles]
10 Oct. 2013, A.1: n. pag. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.
<http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SIL1209-07635&artno=0000358447&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=competition&title=As%20Acce
ss%20to%20AP%20Classes%20Rises%2C%20So%20Do%20Headaches&res=Y&ren=
N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N>. This source describes how students want to achieve their
goals of getting into elite schools, but are stopped by the stress and overwhelming
amount of pressure that is placed on them from AP classes. Watanabe says that a student,
Alex Wong, at Mark Keppel High School who has a nearly perfect college application
but has to compete with other students to get in to the college he wants and make himself
better. Other students say that they are having struggles adjusting but are trying to push
themselves so they can succeed and beat others out in the end.
Wingfield, Kyle. School Choice: We Cant Help the Poor by Helping Only Them.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution [Atlanta] 21 Feb. 2013, A:13: n. pag. SIRS Issues
Researcher. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. <http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-articledisplay?id=SIL1209H-02560&artno=0000349163&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=%20competition&title=School
%20Choice%3A%20We%20Can%27t%20Help%20the%20Poor%20by%20Helping%20
Only%20Them&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N>. This article describes that we

understand the public schools need more competition. Wingfield says that more
competition would not only mean new, better options for families; but it would compel
public schools to improve themselves, too. To become more efficient like non-public
schools, public schools need to increase their resources and quality of their education.