Appeal to the law

Appealing to the law is a great way to balance fact and opinion in your editorial. You may choose to appeal to the Constitution, federal law, state law, or even moral and ethical codes that are generally accepted by members of society.

Example:Several states, including California, have already taken measures to curb the plastic water bottle issue by charging consumers a 10 cent deposit that can be redeemed by recycling the product. Yet, this legislation is not enough to affect consumers in a way that brings about permanent change.

Using your own sample argument, appeal to the law by commenting below.

39 comments:

  1. Luckily, many countries are taking action. They raised the level of intensity from 4 to 5 thinking we need to take action before it spreads like a wildfire. We think that they are doing an excellent job caring for this problem and taking action.

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  2. Many countries. like Russia and England, have lowered health insurance and are not working on improving their health care and medical schools. Training good doctors to take care of patients decreases the amount of people dying. But many countries do not lower the health insurance and neither do they train better doctors. Lots of countries are not updated with the current equipment. These countries have higher death rates.

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  3. Several states, including New York and Tennessee, have already passed and raised bills proposing the ban of texting while driving. Yet, many drivers still text and don't worry about the charges.

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  4. Laura Liu, period 5May 5, 2009 at 11:51 AM

    Our constitution clearly states that all men are created equal. If that's true, then let's make all men stay equal be ensuring equal health care.

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  5. In 2003, New York passed an absolute smoke-free law. Secondhand smoke is measured by testing indoor air, and also by testing bodily fluids for cotinine, a by-product that is produced when the body is exposed to nicotine. According to a documented report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, after New York passed an absolute smoke-free law in 2003, the number of particles in the air that came from tobacco products decreased by an overwhelming 84%. The level of cotinine and other chemicals found in the body of someone that had been exposed to secondhand smoking also reduced by more than 47%. When a stringent smoke-free law was enforced in Scotland in 2007, it was found that within 2 months, the level of toxins caused by smoking decreased 86% in most public places, even including pubs! In the end, the benefits of firmer and more precise smoke-free laws are obvious.

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  6. President Barack Obama asked Congress for 1.5billion in emergency funds to fight the disease. But it is clear that his efforts are only an attempt to suppress the fears of the public. Instead, the people of the US should restrict theirs and handle the situation logically. The 1.5 billion could and should be used to help the many that are suffering from the faltering economy.

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  7. Karishma Period 5May 5, 2009 at 12:04 PM

    The Constitution itself states that every being has right to life, liberty, pursuit of happiness. Students have freedom to study how they want and live how they want as long as others are not being harmed. And the curve not going in your favor is NOT harm. We all can commit to Monta Vista's academic program as much or as little as we want if that is our pursuit of happiness.

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  8. Shanthi, period 5May 5, 2009 at 12:04 PM

    U.S. health experts also are concerned because more than 1,000 people have fallen ill in Mexico City in a short period of time, diagnosed with the swine flu. However, this is nothing compared to the normal influenza epidemics that infect 3 to 5 million a year.

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  9. Rachel Lu Period 5May 5, 2009 at 12:06 PM

    The California law has enforced a the hands-free law so that people can't multitask while driving. But the people are still doing it since a 200 dollar ticket isn't that bad of a fee to pay for convenience.

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  10. Sarah Park, Period 5May 5, 2009 at 12:08 PM

    With students reading less books for sources, they are more tempted to plagiarize from the internet. Plagiarism is a copyright infringement and according to study at University of California 30 percent of Berkeley students were recently caught plagiarizing from the internet.

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  11. Surabhi, Period 5May 5, 2009 at 12:10 PM

    The School Board has strict laws on how many hours each student must be required to attend school. By keeping regular schedule during AP testing week, some students are fulfilling their hour requirements while others are not.

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  12. Ashley Wu, Period 5May 5, 2009 at 12:10 PM

    In California, drug abuse can result in very harsh penalties, yet many people still feel the urge to do drugs.

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  13. Several countries have already taken action and placed a partial ban or restrict the plastic bags. San Francisco is the first and only US city that outlaws plastic bags as of now. These actions are the start of helping out the environment, but it will take more than this to really have a beneficial effect on the environment.

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  14. Emily Vu period 5May 5, 2009 at 12:15 PM

    Since gum was causing serious maintenance problems in high-rise public housing flats, with vandals disposing of spent gum in mailboxes, inside keyholes and even on elevator buttons. Chewing gum left on floors, stairways and pavements in public areas increased the cost of cleaning and damaged cleaning equipment. In 1987, Singapore banned the use of gum.

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  15. Favoritism from teachers is simply discrimination in disguise. For many years, the American Constitution has condemned and outlawed such social predispositions. In order to continue preventing unjust temptations, teachers should limit the gifts they receive from students.

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  16. Nothing good comes out of keeping students from using library resources. It simply takes away from the student's education. In order to ensure the best education, students must be able to use the facilities.

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  17. Shaalini, period 5
    Along with the war were flooded accusations of the ill-treatment of Guantanomo Bay detainees regarding torture. The war, in itself, was an excuse for these actions.

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  18. The U.S. Constitution states that everyone has the right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and these inalienable rights should not be affected by one's wealth--whether you are able to afford healthcare, or not.

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  19. Our school has rules about tardies, and enforces them strictly. How can we let students come late to school and enforce these rules while knowing that such a problem exists?

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  20. Leaders, as defined by our Constitution, are people holding executive power over decisions ranging from passing laws to declaring war. These leaders are the people we trust to make the best decision. We need trust in our leaders, and we need good leaders so we can trust them.

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  21. Both Congress and the Federal Trade Commission have passed rules restricting telemarketers (The Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the National Do Not Call Registry, respectively). While this has certainly helped the problem, oneself also needs to take action.

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  22. Though they may still look and act like teens, 18-year olds are legally adults, and have the right to decide for themselves what path in life they want to pursue. They have the right to marry, to move out, to join the military, to vote, and parents no longer hold the right to control their child's every move once the final candle has been blown and the last note sung.

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  23. High schools everywhere have programs to "help relieve stress" and claim that they are helping their students get through difficult situations. And yet we still see and hear of suicide among students, so are these programs really doing anything that the claim?

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  24. It's always been said that two minds are better than one, but this rule just doesn't work when one mind's reputation is affected by the faults of the other. It's a corrupted form of one of the most crucial aspects of life today: teamwork.

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  25. Edward Wang Period 4May 6, 2009 at 11:55 AM

    The President's recent stimulus package has also added even more benefits to buying hybrids and other fuel-efficient cars. These may include: up to $15,000 in tax credits, coupons for those who sell their gas-guzzlers, and up to $4,000 in tax credits for automakers who convert gas cars into hybrids.

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  26. Actually, the earliest a school can start, by law, is 7:30. On most days Monta Vista starts at 7:35. That's five minutes past the law. So we definitely have some breathing room to not start school so early.

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  27. CAROLYNNNN period 4?May 6, 2009 at 11:59 AM

    The Senate of Massachusetts is taking action and has passed a pandemic flu preparation bill even before the swine flu outbreak.

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  28. Even though girls will start to feel the pressure to look beautiful from a very early age, dieting is medically not recommended for anyone under the age of 12, and even then not at all healthy. Dieting should be the resort for an overweight person, mixed with exercise. To maintain a good weight for their size, girls must exercise.

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  29. The Constitution of our United States of America states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This passage is more commonly known as a separation of church and state. By disallowing gay marriage we are enforcing the beliefs of a religion and violating the Constitution.

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  30. Aafreen, period 4May 6, 2009 at 12:02 PM

    Schools have used much of the precious classroom time to hold assemblies, lessons in class, and workshops to increase a student's confidence in their capabilities and that there are many other chances to succeed in life.

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  31. Several famous organizations claim that they are working on new cures and finding new breakthroughs to help patients with diabetes. Yet, we still see the number of diabetes cases rising every year.

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  32. Even in our Bill of Rights, the freedom of men to make his own decisions is stressed over and over.

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  33. Taneisha, Period 4May 6, 2009 at 12:08 PM

    The law of Mind tells about how we can control ourselves physically, emotionally, verbally, and mentally. We put our own self through these things, we can stop but we don't! Because we at Monta Vista have to be ahead of the people around us. So the competitiveness will and never will stop here.

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  34. Jacob Lui Period 4May 6, 2009 at 12:20 PM

    Lucia Mar High School in San Luis Obispo has also cut $100,000 off of school sports, and are charging a dollar for bus transportation to school. This was passed by the San Luis Obispo School Site Council to save money due to a $9.4 million deficit.

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  35. Although there is no law making people eat breakfast, it has been proven time and time again that eating breakfast is beneficial.

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  36. Tiffany Lau, Period 4May 6, 2009 at 12:23 PM

    The law imposes consequences of criminals on paper. It does not physically prevent danger, only what happens after the deed has been done. We need something that will physically stop danger before is becomes a problem.

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  37. Legaly, if your weight is affecting you life, health insurance pays allot of money to get you better.

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  38. Our constitution gives us the right to vote, a freedom that many nations do not enjoy. Yet the youth of the United States consistently fails to exercise their right and this needs to be remedied.

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  39. Brigitte, period 4June 8, 2009 at 11:03 PM

    We as citizens are supposed to be given the right to the pursuit of happiness, and yet, there are some children that are defenseless and cannot do anything while their parents beat them, for maybe, no apparent reason.

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