Young people are often influenced in their behaviors and situations by others in the same age. This is called “peer pressure”. Do the advantages of peer pressure outweigh the disadvantages?

Many are of the opinion that teenagers are easily affected in their behaviours and circumstances by their
peers
who are mostly in the same age group, which can be seen as a
peer
culture.
Although
there would be partly positives with children developing themselves academically and emotionally, the downsides are greater than the advantages given that
friends
convince each other to commit crimes. Those emphasizing the merits of
peer
pressure
often claim that
friends
play a vital role in children’s improved academic performance. Individuals who often get
along with
high-achieving
peers
are more likely to work harder to get high scores on exams to outpace their
friends
. It is
also
common for them to ask for help when struggling with math or science questions and frequently engage in collaborative study sessions at the library after school. Through participating in extracurricular activities
such
as coding or art classes with their
peers
,
students
excel academically together. On top of
this
, exposure to
peer
pressure
can contribute to the development of social skills, including interpersonal and communication abilities among
students
. The presence of other children helps the young naturally form positive qualities
such
as honesty, patience, and politeness, widening the likelihood of establishing healthy relationships with others in adulthood. In spite of the positive aspect of
peer
pressure
, more negative opinions can be seen as social issues in recent years. Adolescents typically build stronger bonds with their
friends
and are especially vulnerable to the social pressures exerted by
peers
. In order to avoid
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a
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feeling of being excluded from their group, youngsters often follow anti-social behaviours and engage in juvenile delinquency. A salient example of
this
would be that some Korean
students
, in the late 2010s, posted their video bullying and physically hitting their classmates, other
students
who saw
this
just started to conduct the same behaviour even though they may know
this
is not socially acceptable. Like
this
, teenagers prevalently engage in petty crimes ranging from assaulting innocent classmates to drinking and smoking, potentially opening a pathway into more serious crimes later on. In conclusion,
peer
pressure
sometimes becomes a powerful source of motivation for children to study harder to stand against their
friends
and helps them improve social skills and positive characteristics.
However
, the negative sides outweigh the positives
due to
several cases where teenagers exhibit anti-social behaviours and participate in criminal acts.
Submitted by yeseulyou92 on

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Task Achievement
Make sure your introduction clearly outlines what the essay will discuss. A more definitive statement on your stance regarding the advantages and disadvantages of peer pressure would strengthen your introduction.
Task Achievement
To improve the clarity of your ideas, consider further elaborating on why the disadvantages of peer pressure outweigh the advantages, possibly by comparing the long-term impacts of both.
Coherence and Cohesion
Use a wider range of linking words and phrases to improve the flow between sentences and paragraphs. This will enhance your essay’s coherence and cohesion.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ensure each body paragraph clearly focuses on one main idea. This will help in maintaining a logical structure throughout the essay.
Coherence and Cohesion
In your conclusion, restate your thesis in light of the arguments made throughout your essay. This ties your essay together and reinforces your stance.

Fully explain your ideas

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For we to consider an essay structure a great one, it should be looking like this:

  • Paragraph 1 - Introduction
    • Sentence 1 - Background statement
    • Sentence 2 - Detailed background statement
    • Sentence 3 - Thesis
    • Sentence 4 - Outline sentence
  • Paragraph 2 - First supporting paragraph
    • Sentence 1 - Topic sentence
    • Sentence 2 - Example
    • Sentence 3 - Discussion
    • Sentence 4 - Conclusion
  • Paragraph 3 - Second supporting paragraph
    • Sentence 1 - Topic sentence
    • Sentence 2 - Example
    • Sentence 3 - Discussion
    • Sentence 4 - Conclusion
  • Paragraph 4 - Conclusion
    • Sentence 1 - Summary
    • Sentence 2 - Restatement of thesis
    • Sentence 3 - Prediction or recommendation

Our recommended essay structure above comprises of fifteen (15) sentences, which will make your essay approximately 250 to 275 words.

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Topic Vocabulary:
  • peer pressure
  • influence
  • behaviors
  • situations
  • advantages
  • disadvantages
  • positive
  • negative
  • motivation
  • excel
  • learning
  • skills
  • knowledge
  • bullying
  • risky
  • harmful
  • personal values
  • beliefs
  • outweigh
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