Josh - argumentative essay example

Good morning from Melbourne!

I told you all that I would give you a sample essay based in the template I gave you in class on Thursday, so here it is. As you all saw, I wrote this quite quickly so if you find any errors please leave a comment on this post.

By the way, I do not believe a word of this; I think Sunday trading is awesome!


PERTH TRADING HOURS


Perth has a different lifestyle from the other capital cities in Australia. It's shopping hours are an example of this. Most of the shops are closed on Sundays, and many close at 5pm on weekdays. This essay will explain why this is a good thing for our families and for society. It will also talk about workers' rights and why Sunday should be a holiday for everyone. Finally, it will refute the ideas of those who support extended trading hours.

Keeping trading hours as they are in Perth will benefit everyone in the city, especially those with families. Parents already work very hard, and the possibility of making them work on Sundays or late at night is unfair. According to a recent study, parents living in cities with extended trading hours are 50% more likely to work overtime, often without being paid extra for their trouble. This is clearly unreasonable and can only lead to worse situations in the future. Sunday has been the day of rest for a long time in our society, and this means that people have more time to enjoy themselves, which benefits family life as well as the economy. Researchers at the University of Western Australia claim that people who enjoy their Sunday leisure time with their family and friends are twice as productive at work as those who must work on the weekend. Clearly, having a day of rest on Sunday is a better option than working. As we can see from these arguments, extended trading hours would be bad for society, so keeping them as they are is the best choice for everybody.

The common 9 to 5 work week is something that did not exist before the union rights movements of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It stated that the common work week should be forty hours, and allocated two days - Saturday and Sunday - as leisure time. These rights have been fought for and it would be misguided to just give them up for the sake of being able to go shopping on a Sunday. While convenience is something that is becoming more and more demanded in the new digital age, basic workers rights must not be forgotten. "The citizens of countries which have embraced the fast-paced 24/7 lifestyle work an average of 25 extra hours per week than those who have strongly guarded the rights of workers, so keeping a cap on how long we give to our employers is of the utmost importance", Dr Ken Ludwig, professor of Politics at the University of Manchester, said in a recent lecture at a Union forum. It seems that Perth has been correct in keeping Sundays as a day of rest for its inhabitants, and now is not the time to change our minds.

Many visitors to Perth would disagree with these arguments, saying that the city is a 'backwater' and losing relevance in an ever-changing modern world, but they are clearly misleaded. Visitors from Melbourne, for example, may complain that not being able to go shopping at the trendy Claremont Quarter on a Sunday is an ridiculous idea, because during their holidays in Perth they are not able to take advantage of the excellent choice of boutiques and department stores, which some advertisements have compared to Rome, Paris and New York. This may seem unfair, but it is in fact ensuring that the people of Claremont and surrounding areas can make their shopping centre all the more efficient and glamorous when they open it on the six other days of the week. Others would protest that opening stores on Sundays would be good for the economy, for Sunday trading in the eastern states is the busiest day of the week and therefore the most profitable. This may be so in places like Sydney and Brisbane, but the culture in Perth is different. Perth residents would much prefer to enjoy their beautiful beaches and amazing weather rather than being stuck in a busy shopping centre. Others simply complain that they can't buy their groceries at 10pm at night. The response to this complaint by Perth residents, rightly, is 'Why don't you just do your shopping earlier?'

All in all, Perth's trading hours are perfect as they are, and despite what others may say, this city does not require extended trading hours 'in order to drag itself into the 21st century.' Family life is more important than convenience, as is the rights of workers. Keeping the shopping hours as they are and not introducing extended trading hours is the best choice for society, and those who think differently have unfortunately been misguided by the false promises of a consumerist society.