Marriage is a common practice that many people all over the world par-take in. It’s a bonding of two different souls becoming one and many get married to accomplish goals together and to share life experiences with one another. As Wikipedia claims it is a “social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship[M1] .” Marriage can be shared by any two people who love each other and share common interests or views, be it a man-man, woman-woman, or man-woman relationship. Marriage is defined as a bond between two loving individuals who feel that they want to share their futures together. However, it is evident that marriage is an evolving concept, and for many temporary commitment, but you cannot forget that even if it doesn’t last it was still meaningful.

The origin of marriage came about in the 12^th century where[M2]  the woman took the man’s last name because it was believed that she was starting the second half of her life. But it was common for men to be paid to marry another man’s daughter, it was called a dowry. Up until 1545, you need[M3]  parental and church consent to be wed, but in 1545 [M4] it was declared a mutual agreement amongst all parties. But [M5] in 1545 a priest or a witness was not needed, all you needed was to promise one another that you would stay together forever.  It wasn’t until the Marriage Act of 1753 that you needed a formal setting to be wed and it was required to have such ceremony conducted by a priest. Commonly through[M6]  the world the concept of marriage is seen as a voluntary contract between a man and woman.

Master-Webster’s dictionary states that:the [M7] state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law[or]: the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage. As of 2011, the concept has adjusted a little, to accept all commitments no matter if you are same-sexed or not.

However, what happens when you no longer share the views of your partner anymore? What is your next move? Divorce? Counseling? Today, 60% of marriages end in divorce. It seems that people are getting married for the wrong reasons or simply drifting apart.

Divorce is not a common thought while getting married and being married. It scares majority of Americans away from marriage. But[M8]  “Ms. Howley is correct that 20 happy years and two well-loved children aren't adequately described by the word failure. I'd even go so far as to say that lots of marriages are both meaningfulandend[M9]  in divorce,” as stated in the Atlantic. Marriage is becoming a temporary commitment and says a lot about the person[M10]  style and they[M11]  way they handle their personal matter. But, that is not the true meaning of marriage, and the current society is straying from that and seeing divorce as an option,[M12]  rather than a last resort. Many people jump ship when the going got tough, instead of working through problems[M13] . But going back to the quote from the Atlantic, not all divorces[M14]  are labeled as failures. In many cases, people simply grow apart and do not belief in the same things anymore and frankly, that’s okay.

What’s not okay,[M15]  is those who do it for the money or to gain materialistic objects. [M16] For example, Kim Kardashain is one of the biggest and latest wedding scam artists. Her recent marriage to NBA star, Kris Humphries was a sham. Kardashain was paid 17.9 million dollars for her wedding to be filmed for the E! cable channel. She made a mockery out the whole concept; people actually wasted their time to go to a staged wedding. Kim Kardashain is a celebrity and she isn’t the first celebrity[M17]  to have a quickie marriage, how can we forget Britney Spears 55[M18]  hour marriage? Or Dennis Rodman’s and Carmen Electra’s 9 [M19] day marriage? Do they actually expect fans to give them sympathy because their recent publicity stunt failed? According to the Daily Mail, “[Kim] wasn't really into him but she hoped she would be able to develop some feelings, but it never happened.” Is it weird that it happened the day before her mom’s book release or the new Dash store opened?  On what grounds does that constitute a marriage? Now girls who dream about their wedding day will do it for the money?[M20]  Thanks Kim.

Kim’s quickie marriage offended the gay community the most, simply putting “that it’s illegal for gay couples to be wed in 46 states but you can get a marriage to make a quick buck?” Gay marriages are the newest topic in the legislature. Should it be honored or shouldn’t be? Many claim that is tarnishes [M21] the idea of marriage set up by the states[M22]  and that if we allowed gay marriages we wouldn’t know where to draw the line of man and woman roles in society.  But this goes back to the basic definition of marriages, a contract between two loving individuals.

It then would open the door for polygamy, which is [M23] multiple partners in one relationship. How could we forget the “Sister Wives” on TLC? “Polyamoryis when one person has multiple significant relationship partners simultaneously, but is not necessarily married to any of them.” But in the state of Utah the idea of polygamy quietly exists and is practiced through small communities. However, it is illegal in the United States and frowned upon in most religions. But the recently popular Brown family “is currently challenging Utah's polygamy law, argues that it’s unconstitutional and unfairly applied to polygamists,” as the Today show reports.

 [M1]Link?

 [M2]Delete where, replace with ;

 [M3]Needed

 [M4]Delete highlight, replace with “in that year,”

 [M5]Too many buts

 [M6]Throughout

 [M7]…that: “the..

 [M8]Replace with: However,

 [M9]“meaningful and end”

 [M10]Person’s

 [M11]the

 [M12]no comma

 [M13]Different tenses in this sentence. Present vs. past

 [M14]Maybe replace with “Marriages that end in divorce”

 [M15]Remove comma

 [M16]Redundant. Consider “..for materialistic gain.”

 [M17]Omit

 [M18]Spell out.

 [M19]Omit the ‘s on “Rodman’s” and spell out 9.

 [M20]Doesn’t really sound like a question. Lose the qmark or make it sound more ‘question-y’

 [M21]It will tarnish [?]

 [M22]Who gives a flying Frenchmen about what the state thinks?!? =)Counter argument.

 [M23]Is defined as

 [M24]Nevermind the striking of the words….. I just want commas!!

 [M25]The future wife

1. Is the project clearly based on a definition? I.e., is it clear that the fundamental objective of the paper is based around a definition or series of definitions?
Yes
 
2. How strong are the criteria that the writer is using to compose their definition? Can you think of any items that also match the criteria used that the writer (as far as you can tell) would likely not want to be included the category being defined?
A variety of marriage-related topics have been listed. Maybe the adverse affects on children of divorce parents?
 
3. What is the strongest counterargument you can think of to refute the argument of this paper? E.g., what would you point out/argue for to suggest that the author has their definition wrong, has neglected to consider a certain issue, or has presumed too much in their definition argument?
The paper makes the implication that divorce isnt such a bad thing. I would refute that point by saying that it is the lacking sense of commitment felt by many people nowadays.
 

4. What do you take to be the strongest element of this project?
The many different takes on marriage that talked about.
 

5. What do you find to be the weakest part (most in need of improvement) of the project?
The argument for divorce.
 

6. On the sentence-level, did you find the paper to be well written? Does it contain poor grammmar or sentence-fragments? Does it include "run-on" sentences? Is it unnecessarily wordy at times?
There are small syntax problems but it's nothing spellchecker can't help with.
 

7. Does the author provide clear exigence for the project? I.e., do they make it clear why they think this is an important term/concept to be defined in the present moment? Do you get a sense of why this project would be interesting today rather than, for instance, 50 years ago?
Yes. Marriage is a hot topic these days. There are celebrity marriages happening, royal marriages(We miss you Dianna...), tv shows that glorify/horrify marriage, i.e. bridezilla, sister wives, etc.
 

8. What grade would you assign this project if this were the final draft?
B-. I like it, but it still needs a little development and grammatical fixes.