Final Persuasive Paper

RJ Mosqueda

Professor Brown

English 306

7 December 2016

Word Count: 1629

Final Persuasive Essay

Open letter to the students of the University of Arizona: Published in the Daily Wildcat and the Arizona Daily Star.

Dear University of Arizona Students,

I know school has started to pick up really quickly. We’ve been having multiple tests, exams, quizzes, and homework all due on the same days and not to mention that finals are just right around the corner. Times like these can be extremely stressful, sad, depressing, and can cause serious anxiety amongst us students. It has come to my attention from walking around campus to get to my classes daily, that I notice at least 80% of students look dramatically tired and moody to an extreme extent. I see it every day, students look tired, irritated, depressed, and low-spirited. As a young student here at the University of Arizona, I can relate heavily to all the other students. It is not a fun experience having so much forced on you to do within a short period of time with the addition of a large amount of pressure on you to produce a good grade all together. It is not easy and it is not desirable in any way or form. To do this as a student on a consistent basis is outrageous, so I am here as a fellow comrade to provide guidance and advice to relieve the stress and anxiety school puts on us. Because ultimately if we are going to be doing this for the next 4-5 years here at the university, then it is our duty to adapt and make life easier for us throughout our academic journey. If you fellow classmates take my advice and accept my guidance, you will not only be in a better overall mood but you will be in a healthier state physically/mentally which leads to better performance in the classroom which subsequently translates to better/good grades. Learning to manage your stress in a positive way is crucial to your well-being.

The first piece of guidance to an easier and less stressful experience with school is good nutrition and diet. Eating good certain types of food has so many positive benefits. It keeps you more energized and focused throughout the day. Good types of foods also helps keep you in shape and it keeps you in an overall better mood. According to One Green Planet Nutrition, foods from all 5 food groups (Dairy, Meats, Grains, Vegetables, Fruits) like apples, oranges, cashews, sweet potatoes, kale, and even chocolate just to name a few, all help improve the mood and keep you energized/focused throughout your normal day. “Chocolate is one of the richest sources of magnesium on the planet! Magnesium helps to calm anxiety and improve mood, which is one reason chocolate is craved during times of stress. Though high in fats, pure chocolate is cholesterol-free. Chocolate is also rich in iron, fiber, and even contains a little protein.” (OGP Nutrition, Web). Although it is candy, OGP Nutrition claims it still has benefits due to the magnesium which helps to alleviate anxiety in stressful situations like school. Fruits are also crucial to a better mood and brain function. “Oranges are rich in B vitamins that boost brain health, specifically Vitamin B6 and folate (Vitamin B9). They’re also hydrating, which keeps your fluids balanced and prevents dehydration. Dehydration is one of the most overlooked causes of a foul mood, hunger, and even headaches. Oranges also offer a large Vitamin C boost, and are low on the glycemic index.” (OGP Nutrition, Web). Conclusively, maintaining a healthy diet and eating the proper foods are absolutely necessary to relieving stress, staying focused, and having energy especially when going through your long day of classes daily. Diet and nutrition is definitely a major factor when it comes to being a student here at the University of Arizona.

The second piece of beneficial knowledge prescribed for an easier life at school is proper exercise. Mirroring nutrition and diet, exercise is also very beneficial when it comes to helping with school. I’ll even use myself as an example. Whenever I feel like I need a productive break from the books and need to get a good sweat on, I’ll turn to exercising in the gym. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), states that physical activity reduces stress. “Exercise is considered vital for maintaining mental fitness, and it can reduce stress. Studies show that it is very effective at reducing fatigue, improving alertness and concentration, and at enhancing overall cognitive function. This can be especially helpful when stress has depleted your energy or ability to concentrate. When stress affects the brain, with its many nerve connections, the rest of the body feels the impact as well. So it stands to reason that if your body feels better, so does your mind.” (ADAA). Working out helps immensely because not only are you able to take your anger and stress out through physical exercises but you get the benefit of a nice looking physique with an addition of sleeping better that same night. You will be so tired both physically and mentally that you will sleep like a baby which brings me to another piece of guidance, sleep.

The other two pieces are great but sleep I feel sleep is the most important of all. Obviously you have to eat food to live but if you do not sleep, it can affect everything you do not just school in particular. A study done by Pierrick J., Arnal shows that “Six nights of extended sleep improve sustained attention and alertness, limit the degradation of these two parameters during total sleep deprivation and improve their recovery speed.” (Arnal 1935). Without sleep (sleep deprivation) you lose attention, alertness, sense of awareness, and an ability to function physically. Your body just starts to shut down. If you’ve ever been super tired and have not had much sleep, you know exactly how it is. You feel slow and tired like you cannot even move or function. Scientists at Harvard discovered that sleep is absolutely crucial in everyday performance. “Sleep plays a critical role in immune function, metabolism, memory, learning, and other vital functions.” (Harvard University). Without the ability to memorize, learn, and stay awake how are you possibly going to do well in class or even do anything in life? Sleep is a huge necessity, so if you get plenty of good sleep you will presumably have better health, be in a better mood which then translates to good grades.

Last but not least, an essential tip to less stress and a better life here at the UA is a healthy dose of social interaction. As a student, you are behind your laptop, in your notes, sitting behind a desk, and studying all day on the daily. It is unquestionably undeniable that having friends and a good social circle helps with getting through school and overcoming all of its obstacles. Having a solid foundation of friends is very beneficial to reducing stress and doing well in class because not only can they help tutor you in that specific subject if you need help but having comrades also lightens the mood up. If you are feeling depressed and stressed out from school, having close friends helps you get through it all. You can vent to them, you can go party with them, or do any type of activity to take your mind off of school. If you have somebody to go through it all with, it makes getting through school a lot easier. “New research shows that our innate ability to bond, both by words and by touch, has a calming effect on the body.” (Young, Web). Showing a little compassion goes a very long way, “Studies show that a simple gesture of empathy and concern makes us feel more connected. The review of published clinical studies examines how feelings of trust, safety, and comfort lower the body's stress-related responses and in turn improve heart health.” (Young, Web). Human social interaction plays a complementary role when it comes to making life easier on yourself as a college student. In addition to that, we are all college students which means we are here for an experience and to also have fun. Being social and establishing relationships with others goes a long way. It is beneficial in the short and long run. As a result, having a sturdy network of friends helps a lot and reduces stress with an additional benefit of getting good grades because they could also tutor you if they know the subject on hand.

In conclusion, the key to managing and reducing your stress as a college student comes from a healthy diet/nutrition, proper physical exercise ,much needed sleep, and a solid foundation of friends and companionship. Doing all these will help you succeed and survive in school while ultimately getting you what we are all here for, that diploma/degree.

Sincerely,

RJ Mosqueda

University of Arizona Student





Explication:
*My open letter to UA students uses the writing skills learned throughout this course. I use rhetoric mainly through ethos and pathos. Ethos because I have credibility through my admission as a UA student just like every other student. Pathos by an emotional response because we are all going through stress and different types of emotions regarding school. I mostly applied ethos and pathos by putting myself in the other student's shoes. Meaning we both can relate because we are going through the same thing with finals, school work, etc. I used quotes and citations from ".org" websites for authenticity and also pulled a scholarly peer reviewed article/journal for further credibility. I addressed the crowd I wanted. The cool thing about my letter is that it can be applied to ANY type of student going through stress and unhappiness with school. It does not necessarily have to be a college student going to the UA. The overall purpose of the letter is to help make life and college easier on yourself as a student. Nobody ever said college had to be stressful and boring, when it comes to the school work/academic part of it. I acknowledge that my thesis may be controversial which is totally fine with me because the whole goal of the paper is to "persuade" someone to do otherwise. Overall, I would say my statements/arguments are based on facts and reality because all of this stuff ACTUALLY happens with students in real life. If we were to do a survey or a study, I would hypothesize that 85% of students say that they go through some type of stress and or anxiety throughout there years here at UA.

Works Cited:

McClees, Heather. "Elevate Your Mood and Get Happy With These 11 Foods!" Elevate Your Mood and Get Happy With These 11 Foods! One Green Planet, 2014. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

"Physical Activity Reduces Stress." Exercise for Stress and Anxiety. Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA, July 2014. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

Arnal, Pierrick J. et al. “Benefits of Sleep Extension on Sustained Attention and Sleep Pressure Before and During Total Sleep Deprivation and Recovery.” Sleep 38.12 (2015): 1935–1943. PMC. Web. 8 Dec. 2016.

"Benefits of Sleep." Benefits of Sleep | Healthy Sleep. Harvard University, n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

Young, Jeffrey B. "Find a Doctor." How Human Connection Can Relieve Stress. Dignity Health, 05 Sept. 2015. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.