<<Back to Materials <<Back to Assignments

Sample Class Arguments for "Slip or Trip?"

5th Period  |  7th Period  |  8th Period  |  9th Period

 

 

5th Period's "Slip or Trip?" Argument, 3/18/03

            In “Slip or Trip?”, a man named Charles was found dead lying on the floor in his house with his feet on the stairs.  His wife, Margaret, found him there.  At least that’s what she said.  She said Charles slipped and fell on the stairs and that he was coming down to get another drink because he still had the glass in his hand.  How did she know that if she wasn’t there?  I believe Margaret murdered Charles.  Not only did she have motive and opportunity, she lied and the evidence points to murder.

            Charles was found on his back with his feet on the stairs and his head on the floor.  Margaret said that Charles had been “coming down for another drink.”  If you walk downstairs and trip, then when you fall either you’ll land on your front or you’ll roll and land on your back with your head on the stairs.  Charles did not fall this way.  This suggests that the body was staged, and it also suggests that Margaret lied.  She wouldn’t need to lie if it was an accident.  Therefore, she killed him.

            Furthermore, the glass was still in Charles’s hand, unbroken.  If you fall while carrying something downstairs, you will drop what you’re carrying to try to stop your fall.  In this case, Charles didn’t drop his glass, so once again we can’t believe he fell like Margaret said he did.  The glass had to be planted which means this was no accident.  Margaret’s lying, and she killed Charles.

            Finally, we also know that Margaret arrived home ten minutes before her friends arrived.  In addition, Margaret and Charles had gotten into a fight earlier that night.  This suggests that Margaret had both the opportunity and motive to kill Charles.  This just makes her more of a prime suspect in this case.

            In conclusion, all our evidence shows that Margaret is a vindictive killer.  This woman should not be allowed to freely roam the streets.  Arrest her and convict her!

 

5th Period  |  7th Period  |  8th Period  |  9th Period

Back to Top  |

 

7th Period's "Slip or Trip?" Argument, 3/18/03

            In the story “Slip or Trip?”, Margaret and her husband, Charles, had a fight.  Margaret left and came back some hours later.  When she got home, she said that her husband was coming down for a drink and he tripped, fell, and died.  I conclude that she killed Charles because she’s lying, she was mad at him, and she had the opportunity to do it.

            To begin with, Charles still has his glass in his hand.  If you fall down the stairs while carrying something, then you will drop what you’re carrying to stop your fall.  There is no way Charles could have fallen and held onto his glass like that.  The glass must have been planted.  Therefore, he was murdered.

            Secondly, Margaret and Charles had a fight earlier that night.  Also, she arrived home ten minutes before her friends did.  This evidence shows that Margaret had the motive and opportunity to kill Charles.  Therefore, Margaret should be considered a main suspect in this callous murder.

            If that wasn’t enough evidence already, the position of the body makes an even better case against Margaret.  Charles was found on his back with hi legs on the stairs.  Yet Margaret said Charles had slipped while “coming down for another drink.”  If you fall while coming downstairs, then you will either fall on your front or land on your back with your head on the stairs.  As we can clearly see in the picture, Charles did not fall this way.  This suggests that Margaret was lying about how he fell.  You wouldn’t lie if it was just an accident.  She must have killed Charles.

            Finally, there is a skillet cooking on the stove at one o’clock in the morning, and we know Charles died of a head wound.  We believe Margaret used the skillet to kill Charles.  She would then want to destroy the evidence which would explain why someone is cooking at one A.M.   This only adds fuel to the idea that Margaret is a callous killer.

            In light of all this overwhelming evidence, only one conclusion is possible:  Margaret murdered Charles.  We ask that you give her what she deserves—a life-long punishment that fits this terrible crime.

 

5th Period  |  7th Period  |  8th Period  |  9th Period

Back to Top  |

 

8th Period's "Slip or Trip?" Argument, 3/18/03

            A dead man, a suspicious woman, but was it a murder or an accident?  That’s the tough decision of the mystery “Slip or Trip?”  After having a fight, Margaret found her husband, Charles, lying dead on the floor in a position that would suggest that he had fallen downstairs.  After looking at the picture, this theory seems impossible and therefore, I believe that Margaret murdered Charles, since she had the time and motive.

            First of all, Charles was found holding an unbroken glass in his hand.  If you fall while coming downstairs, your reflexes will cause you to drop what you’re holding to grab onto the railing.  However, in this case, even though the railing is on Charles’s left, he didn’t drop his glass to grab onto it.  The glass had to be planted which means this was a murder.

            In addition, Margaret and Charles had a fight earlier that night, and she had been upset.  This evidence proves that Margaret has a motive to commit this foul murder.  Also, Margaret arrived home ten minutes before her friends.  This shows she had the opportunity to commit this heinous crime.  Therefore, she is a prime suspect in this case.

            Finally, and most damaging to Margaret’s feigned innocence, we have the suspicious way Charles is laying on the stairs.  Margaret said Charles slipped while “coming down for another drink.”  This clearly shows that Margaret was home when it happened.  Moreover, Charles’s body is lying face up and his legs are on the stairs.  If you fall while coming downstairs, then you will fall on your front or you will land on your back with your head on the stairs.  Charles is not in either of these positions, so he could not have fallen like Margaret said.  Margaret is a liar and a murderer.

As a result of all the evidence we’ve found in our investigation, we have no alternative but to accuse Margaret of killing Charles.  Her pathetic attempt to cover her crime only made her foul act more obvious.  It’s time to put this murderess behind bars!

           

5th Period  |  7th Period  |  8th Period  |  9th Period

Back to Top  |

 

9th Period's "Slip or Trip?" Argument, 3/18/03

            In the story “Slip or Trip” we found out that Margaret and her husband Charles had a fight. Later, Charles was killed, but we don’t know if it was a murder or if it was an accident.  By looking at the clues in the picture, we think that Margaret killed him because she had a motive and she was the only one in the house.  We believe that Margaret murdered Charles because of how Charles is holding the glass and how he is positioned on the stairs.  Also, she was cooking at 1:00 A.M.

            One piece of evidence we found was the glass Charles was drinking from.  Charles was found with this glass still in his hand.  If you fall while coming downstairs, you will drop what you’re holding to grab onto the railing.  Since the glass is still in his hand, we don’t think Charles fell down the stairs, or someone must have planted the glass.  That suggests murder.

            A second piece of evidence was the position of Charles’s body on the stairs.  Charles was found face up with his legs on the stairs.  Yet Margaret said he fell while “coming down for another drink.”  If you fall while coming down the stairs, then you will fall face down or land on your back with your head on the stairs.  Charles isn’t in either of these positions.  This suggests that Margaret is lying.  Therefore, she must have killed him.

            As if that wasn’t enough, we have even more evidence against Margaret.  We know that Margaret arrived home ten minutes before her friends.  Also, Margaret and Charles had been fighting earlier that night.  This evidence shows that Margaret had the opportunity and motive to kill Charles.  This only gives more weight to the idea that Margaret should be considered the prime suspect in this murder.

            Last but not least, we have a possible murder weapon in this case.  In the picture, there’s a pan on the stove cooking, and we know that at that time, it was one in the morning.  Furthermore, Charles died of a head wound.  We believe Margaret killed Charles by hitting him with the pan.  This explains why someone is cooking so late and how he got the head wound.  We think she put the pan on the stove to destroy any evidence left by her insidious crime.

            In conclusion, all the clues in this case clearly point to one answer:  Margaret killed Charles.  This is no accident.  Arrest her immediately!

 

5th Period  |  7th Period  |  8th Period  |  9th Period

Back to Top  |