“good manners and good morals are sworn friends and fast allies.” – c. a. bartol bartol’s quote reveals the preoccupation with manners as evidence of morals. some might argue that today’s youth have a poor sense of manners, and therefore poor morals. is this true? do today’s youth lack the morals of previous generations? or are they simply changing with the times? plan and write an essay in which you take and develop a position on this issue. support your position with reasoning and examples from your experience and observations.

write a thesis statement for this question

Read the excerpt from "mother tongue." lately, i’ve been giving more thought to the kind of english my mother speaks. like others, i have described it to people as “broken” or “fractured” english. but i wince when i say that. it has always bothered me that i can think of no other way to describe it other than “broken,” as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness and soundness. what best supports the inference that tan believes nonstandard english is no less valid than standard english? tan spends a lot of time thinking about her mother’s “fractured” english. tan has trouble thinking of descriptive words when she is writing. tan’s american education makes it difficult for her to understand her mother. tan winces when she describes her mother’s english as “broken.”