Task 3: Genre Identification

Instructions: Read the five student essays. Determine what genre of essay each sample is. Samples
may overlap in purpose. Therefore, they could fit in multiple genres.

Note that samples are adapted from authentic student writing and contain minor errors. The sample
essay numbers correspond to the original source document.

 Sample essay #3 – Persuasive Essay

 Sample essay #5 – Compare and contrast Essay
 Sample essay #6 – Descriptive Essay
 Sample essay #9 – Cause and effect essay
 Sample essay #10 – Compare and contrast Essay

Note: These texts were adapted from sample essays found in College ESL Writers: Applied Grammar and Composing Strategies for
Success in 2020. That text was an adaptation from Business English for Success, previously adapted by The Saylor Foundation, under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License without attribution as requested by the work’s original creator
or licensee. Additionally, Barbara Hall and Beth Wallace adapted this text in 2017 under a Grant from Affordable Learning Georgia to
Georgia State University Perimeter College.
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 Sample Essay #9
Restriction of Children’s Using Phones
Not until I became a high school student was I allowed to have my own phone. Each time I wanted to
contact my family from outside the house, I had no choice but to utilize payphones. Whereas some people in
the general population argue that phones help make their lives easier, I believe relying on phones does not
have a good impact on people, especially children. Parents should restrict their children's use of phones in
order to help children build good relationships with friends, concentrate on children`s study, and improve
the mental health of the children.
First and foremost, for parents to restrict their children's phone use is imperative. Under any
circumstance, children who use their phones frequently tend to build their lives around phones. Birdwell
(2007) in his article, “Addicted to Phones?” mentioned that children who use phones do not become friends
of peers with less knowledge about phones. In other words, children with phones intend to have relationships
with limited people who they favor. Moreover, they are prone to give a priority of using phones for checking
emails over talking with friends face to face, although they share some time with their friends. Consequently,
there is a necessity to limit children's phone use to encourage them to have good relationships with others.
Second, another reason why parents should restrict their children's use of phones is to get rid of the
obstacle of their study. When it comes to children's homework, children with phones are usually distracted
by emails and other messages. Carr (2010) states in his article “Does the Internet Make You Dumber?” that
only when humans are not interrupted by phones or the Internet are they able to come up with better ideas
than they usually do; more effective than using phones during their study to improve the children's ability of
memory is cutting off their phones. With that, children can acquire concentration. In order to enhance their
academic skills, parents should ask children not to use their phones often.
Last but not least, parents should limit the use of children's phones in order to improve their mental
health. Children who depend on phones easily become mentally unstable, compared with infrequent phone
users. Birdwell (2007) says in his article that frequent phone users often become apprehensive when they
are required not to use the phone so much so that they seldom enjoy whatever they are doing. In my case,
my friend told me that she felt nervous when her friends did not send her responses immediately. Waiting
for a reply from her friend, she sought reasons why the friend did not reply to her; she made herself
mentally unstable. It is obvious that people with phones are placed under psychological stress. Thus, parents
need to keep their children away from phones in terms of keeping their mental health good.
To sum up, parents should restrict their children's use of phones for the following reasons: helping
build good relationships with peers, improving their concentration, and making the mental health better.
Even
though my mother did not allow me to have my own phone since she cared about me, I did not think it was a
wise choice at the time. Yet, now I feel this restriction of the phone has worked in good ways. In the long
term, the decision surely makes a difference in children's ability. Hence, parents should consider the
restriction of phones for their children.
 Sample Essay #10

Globalization’s Influence on Health and Lifestyle

The former UN secretary Kofi Annan once said “It has been said that arguing against globalization is
like arguing against the laws of gravity.” So whether we like it or not, globalization is expanding rapidly and we
cannot stop it. Therefore, instead of wasting our time fighting it, we should embrace it. Globalization has
proven to be beneficial for people’s health and lifestyle. Globalization influences health and lifestyle by
increasing the number of people who are part of the consumer class, which in turn leads to the increase of
demand for more environmental friendly products as well as improved sustainability.

First of all, globalization leads to the rapid increase in consumer class which is beneficial for health and
lifestyle. But before explaining why the increase in consumer class is a good thing, it is important to go back a
little bit and clarify what is the meaning of consumer class and how it did increase. In “If Poor Get Richer, Does
World See Progress?” Knickerbocker (2004) defines consumer class as the yearly purchasing ability for a
person that is more than $7000 yearly in local currency. The purchasing power is increasing around the world
because people are making more money now and we have globalization to thank for this. Knickerbocker
(2004) explaining why globalization has led to more affluence “As economies expand- accelerated by
globalization that has opened up markets, greater efficiency in manufacturing, and advancing technologies-
that consumer class has grown rapidly.”

So how is the increase of the consumer class and the increase of the purchasing power affects health
and lifestyle? Well, that leads to my next point. Being richer, people tend to demand higher quality products
and more environment friendly products. In his article “Rich People, Poor People, and Environmental
Concerns: evidence across Nations and Time” Fairbrother (2013) said “…residents of more economically
developed countries, as well as relatively wealthier people within countries, are more concerned about the
state of the natural environment and more willing to pay to protect it.” Take a look of some of the largest
closed economies, China and India, the rate of pollution in those countries are much higher than the more
globalized and open economies such as U.S or Japan. People in U.S and Japan tend to be richer than people
in China and India and they are also more aware of environment.

One more reason why Japan and the United States have a smaller pollution footprint is that
globalization greatly improved sustainability. To measure sustainability, we have to calculate how much
energy needed to produce a product. So if the amount of energy that is needed to produce the same product
is
decreasing over time then the sustainability is increasing. Take the U.S economy as an example. In “The
Environmental Benefits of Globalization”, Charles (2004) stating that “Between 1949 and 2000, energy
consumption per dollar of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) dropped steadily from 20.63 thousand Btu to 10.57.”
That is nearly half the amount of energy needed to manufacture the same product 50 years ago. There are
also some indicators of improved sustainability. Between 1972 and 1997, air pollution decreased by 31
percent in the U.S. In the end, the improved sustainability, thanks to globalization, has a direct impact on our
health and lifestyle. Now we have better air, better water and less damage to environment

In conclusion, there is a clear positive relation between globalization and health and lifestyle.
Globalization influences health and lifestyle by increasing the number of people who are part of the
consumer class, which in turn lead to a demand for more environmental friendly product as well as improved
sustainability.