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Isaac Lopez

Brett Johnson

English 101

6 October 2021

Divorce and its Downfalls

In today’s society, divorce is more common than ever, and the number of divorces con-

tinues to increase each year. There are many factors that play into a divorce such as lack of com-

munication, mental struggles, and incompatibility. These struggles lead to disagreements within

the marriage that eventually result in the spouses splitting up. Divorce has many negative long-

term effects on the couples and other individuals that are involved. 

Marriage is difficult; , it has ups but it can also have downs that many people cannot get

through. During the downs it takes both spouses working together for them to stay together, but

oftentimes during the downs they tend to spread further apart and create unneeded space. The

spouses do not take the time to speak with each other or spend time with each other when it is

needed. When communication is weak, disagreements tend to spark since the spouses are not on

the same page and are not close with each other. Communication also creates a chemistry be-

tween the spouses, and without this chemistry, they will not work well together. Marriage is like

a team sport where the team needs chemistry to work. Otherwise, it will not flow, which will

cause struggles throughout the marriage, and some of the struggles hit the marriage harder than

the spouses can take. In an interview, a divorce lawyer speaks about his own split with his wife.

McCurley states that devotion to work does not need to cause a marital divide, but couples are

usually unequipped to break the patterns of negative behavior they learn over several years in a

marriage (Lifestyle Editors). Although McCurley is an expert in divorce and sees all the reasons
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for divorce, his guard was let down after not spending enough time focusing on his own mar-

riage. For their marriage to thrive, more time had to be spent focusing on them and simply just

communicating with each other. Their lack of communication led to uncertain times for them

and ultimately the end of their relationship. 

Another root cause of divorce is mental struggles in one or both spouses. In some cases,

people struggle with things that they cannot control. They need the help from the spouse, but

sometimes the spouse does not understand what they are going through. Mental battles are tough

in marriages because they are often not spoken about enough. Spouses cannot read each other's

minds, so they have no idea what their partner could be going through with work, school, or fam-

ily issues. Marriage can deteriorate mental health because of some of the issues that go on. With

divorce rates rising comes mental issues such as “suicide and suicide attempt rates are higher

among divorced men and women in countries around the world. For example, in a study in Aus-

tralia, separated men were six times more likely to commit suicide than married men.” (Clarke-

Stewart and , Brentano). There are often many negative effects on a person’s mental health after

their divorce since at times they feel that they are alone. Depression and suicide rates tend to rise

after a divorce, which can be a long-term struggle for many individuals. My parents went

through a divorce in 2013, and while neither of them were depressed or suicidal, they were both

sad and they were both affected by it. To this day it still has effects on them whether it be we

cannot see both all the time, or we cannot do something with them if we are with the other. 

Incompatibility is another cause of divorce. If the spouses do not have a connection, then

the marriage will not work. The spouses spend the rest of their lives together, and for them to

stay close they must work together. Marriage requires effort from both partners, otherwise the

marriage would be one sided and would end quickly. Speaking after the divorce is often difficult
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and “one common obstacle derives from parents' tendency to distance themselves from aware-

ness of ex-spouses’ good qualities because being in touch with positive features of the ex-spouse

stirs painful longings” (Ehrlich 51). The main cause of my parents separating was that they could

not work together at all. There was constant arguing and unease in the marriage which eventually

built up to the point where they could no longer deal with each other and could no longer be to-

gether. My parents are now on speaking terms and are okay with each other, but they will never

have the same connection they once had, and will never be able to work together like they used

to. My father went through the negative effects of this incompatibility because he knew that his

last relationship was not good. He knew that if he was going to get married that he had to find

someone who he could work well with and not argue with constantly. My dad is remarried but he

continues to struggle with being compatible with others because he is more of an independent

person after his divorce. 

Divorce rates are continuing to rise throughout the world, and with the rates steadily in-

creasing, the negative effects of divorce such as lack of communication, mental struggles, and in-

compatibility impact more couples each year. This can eventually lead to other problems like

time with kids and future dating or marriage for both people involved.
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Works Cited

Clarke-Stewart, Alison, and Cornelia Brentano. Divorce: Causes and Consequences, Yale University

Press, 2006. ProQuest eBook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/tctc/detail.action?

Docid=3419862.

Joshua Ehrlich, Joshua. Divorce and Loss: Helping Adults and Children Mourn When a Marriage

Comes Apart. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2014. Ebscohost, search-ebscohost-com.li-

boc.tctc.edu/login.aspx?Direct=true&db=e025xna&AN=783308&site=ehost-live.

Lifestyle Editors FEATURE. “FEATURE/Workaholism A Leading Cause of Divorce; Stern Divorce

Underscores Effect of Work Obsession on Marriage.” Business Wire, Business Wire, 1999, p. 1–

SCORES and COMMENTS

Introduction: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
effective title
attention device
overview of the topic
effective thesis
Pretty good, looks like. The point of the intro comes across, the title is appropriate, and the thesis is presented

Thesis Quality 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
appropriate for adult audience
appropriate for assignment type (Illustration, Compare-Contrast, etc.)
involves fresh/topical thinking
clearly phrased with direct/implied intention

An examination of the long-term effects on divorce seems quite fitting

Organization: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
effective, clear main points
involves appropriate strategy for the assignment
clear explanations
effective ordering of claims
central idea developed
I don’t see a strong indication why this essay is ordered the way that it is. The last point is your strongest, and
that’s important, yet the previous paragraphs don’t appear to have a reason to be presented as they are
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Collection of Claims: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
consistent in delivering on thesis’s promise
maintains focus toward three distinct claims
adequately utilizes reason and logic
has a strong balance involving the claims as compared to each other

They seem quite fitting—the last two, anyway. The first one forgot to talk about the long-term effects of divorce,
and that’s why we are here

Composition of the Body: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

claims support and/or develop the thesis
involves and develops at least three distinct claims
 the evidence is well-used
reasoning is sound and considerate
The evidence looks like it’s fitting enough and used where it needs to be

Presentation of Style: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
appropriate use of perspective (first person, second person, etc.)
involves attention to the readers’ needs
involves attention toward being appealing to the audience
 uses varied words and sentence length
 maintain a credible persona
Some of the connections are weak or unestablished. The persona you’ve adopted isn’t bad since you definitely
involve personal experience to show your position on the matter, but you don’t’ give us a lot of detail in that or in
any of these. It’s a lot of telling, little showing

Supporting Material: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
acceptable quality of sources
adequate balance between author and sources used
sources clearly identified
well-incorporated within the paragraphs
It seems alright from what I can see

In-Text References and Works Cited Page: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

well developed
properly formatted with header, pagination, title, and double-spacing
MLA 8 standards

The effort is there. A few missteps are present, but nothing to greatly concerning

Conclusion: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
satisfying
gives context to the essay’s material
gives an adequate feeling of completion
Weak stuff, to be frank. It’s brief, repeats what you’ve already said, and leaves a phoned-in impression

Overall Grammar and Punctuation: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

proper treatment of the parts of speech
clear, reader-focused phrasing
 colloquialisms and informal phrasing/construction kept to an appropriate level
good balance of proper pause punctuation (periods, commas, semicolons, etc.)
clauses and phrases given proper attention for a clear reading experience
No major causes for concern here.
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Final Score: 80