Christine Romano wrote the following essay when she was a first-year college student. In it, she evaluates a position paper written by another student, Jessica Statsky’s “Children Need to Play, Not...

Christine Romano wrote the following essay when she was a first-year college student. In it, she evaluates a position paper written by another student, Jessica Statsky’s “Children Need to Play, Not Compete,” which appears in Chapter 8 of this book. Romano focuses not on the writing strategies Statsky uses but rather on her logic — that is, on whether Statsky’s argument is likely to convince her intended readers. She evaluates the logic of the argument according to the criteria or standards presented “Evaluating the Logic of An Argument” in Chapter 2.

Before you read, Romano’s evaluation, you might want to read Statsky’s essay, thinking about what seems most and least convincing to you about her argument that competitive sports can be harmful to young children.

As you read, think about Romano’s criteria. How important is it that the supporting evidence for an argument be “appropriate, believable, consistent, and complete” (par. 2)?