Public statements of opinion come from a variety of places such as talk shows on television,

social media stars, political figures, and much more. These opinions can have both negative
and positives effects on society but they play an important role. Public statements of opinions
are important to express as it allows us to follow through with the democratic values we are
built on, create unity and spread awareness.

Our democratic values are our natural rights such as freedom of speech. With being able to
express ourselves in any way other than in a hurtful, damaging way, we are able to speak our
minds whenever and wherever. This doesn't mean that everyone will agree with us, but it is part
of our natural rights. Listening to other people's way of thinking is important for everyone as
we gain so much knowledge on an infinite number of topics. It benefits us to have other people
listen to us and to listen to others and therefore makes stating opinions worthwhile either
negative or positive effect. A lot of people are known to learn through observing what is
around them, and statements of opinions can help reach others. With this, opinions do foster
our democratic values and helps us move forward.

With following through with our freedom, stating opinions publically can be a little intimidating
at first knowing that it will change others' thoughts of someone's persona because they may
not agree. However, when someone agrees with your opinion it creates a sense of unity. A
sense of unity is very comforting and invigorating. During the election, everyone was eagerly
waiting for the results. Watching the votes go up and down was so frustrating, but finally
reaching that announcement of our next president was a relief. People were out in the streets
jumping, dancing, and screaming with joy knowing that the next president of the United States
was going to be someone who will always remember to put out democratic values first. The
sense of unity made among strangers because they agreed on a certain political opinion
brought so much happiness and pleasure. With this, stating opinions can bring positive
benefits such as unity.

Furthermore, expressing opinions can spread important awareness. Television may not only be
the only place to hear troubling events going on around us but social media has influencers
posting various images of current events. It helps many people gain more knowledge on
something and even potentially donate money to a fund for that event. Hearing about different
parts of our planet and seeing how another country may be dying from world hunger or
environmental issues is very important and it takes someone to state that. It takes someone
strong enough to remember that they can make a difference. On the other hand, some
opinions may cause chaos around the world. With our 45th President Trump stated an opinion
on Twitter about the capital making their final votes for the election, he told his community to
do something to them. Since President Trump is very powerful and credible many people took
it the wrong way and started destroying the capital. This was very harmful and had a negative
impact. Even though it was a crime, it was spread to many people and was put to an end by
officials. With this, it is overall important to share opinions.

These public statements may be taken the wrong way sometimes, but the positives outweigh
the negatives as it has done a lot more good than harm. In conclusion, public statements of
opinion are worthwhile and follow through with our democratic values.

Scoring Guidelines

Row A - Thesis

Row B – Evidence and Commentary

Row C – Sophistication

Row A - Thesis

Select a point value to view scoring criteria, decision rules, and scoring notes, and to score the
response.

Notes for this rubric row:

· The thesis may be more than one sentence, provided the sentences are in close proximity.

· The thesis may be anywhere within the response.

· The thesis may establish a line of reasoning that structures the essay, but it needn’t do so to earn
the thesis point.
· A thesis that meets the criteria can be awarded the point whether or not the rest of the response
successfully supports that line of reasoning.