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Should Class Attendance Be Mandatory Essay

Decent Essays
With the start of each semester, all college students ponder the same question about their new classes. Will attendance be mandatory? Many college professors account class attendance as a reasonable portion of a student’s final grade, but opposing students acclaim that attendance should be a choice rather than a requirement. Because they are on the university level, scholars should hold the responsibility of deciding whether or not attendance is necessary. Rachel Osman’s argument “Should Class Attendance Be Mandatory? Students, Professors Say No” insists that mandatory college attendance is unfair and limits the responsibility of college students. Although her argument effectively combines ethos, strong premises, and quality structure,…show more content…
Following this statement, the author clarifies that “by the university level, students have the right and responsibility to prioritize their own time” (Osman, 2012). Students are given the confidence that, as adults, they should be able to know when it is a priority to attend class. When it is unnecessary, a student could responsibly make their own attendance decisions. Osman’s final premise declares why a mandatory attendance policy could negatively affect engaged students.Those who only come to class in order to receive a good attendance grade “distract other students as they do everything under the sun except listen to the professor” (Osman, 2012). Students in a lecture who would rather be elsewhere are often “sleeping, Facebook chatting, online shopping, watching funny animal videos on Youtube, streaming live sporting events and pinning wedding dresses on Pinterest” (Osman, 2012). (Do I need these parentheticals so often, and are they in the correct format?) Professors should be aware that their mandatory lectures are more detrimental than beneficial to those who are trying to concentrate. If attendance was optional, engaged students would be able to be more focused. Osman’s use of examples also gives credibility to her reasoning. By stating what students are likely to do while being distracted, many readers would likely relate to this statement knowing that it is true. This would encourage them to stay at home instead of attending class and
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