Essay #4: What Do We Do with Our Prisons?
In America, the topic of incarcerating criminals has
taken many directions, including laws and policies enacted for the safety of
citizens, and, also, in accordance with political and societal shifts. For example,
the “War on Drugs” starting in the 1970s spawned legislation leading to stiffer
penalties for possession of certain narcotics; other examples, designed to
protect citizens, include stricter sex offender laws and definitions of hate
crimes for the purposes of increased punishment.
For our final essay this quarter, I’d like you to read
and consider a recent New Yorker article titled “The
Caging of America” by Adam Gopnik (Google is fine). Using this information
as a starting point, write an argumentative essay supporting your stance on an
aspect of how the U.S. system of incarceration should be changed; if you think
all is fine with our current system, then your essay would defend this and
persuade the reader accordingly.
After reading Gopnik’s article, you
will need to gather three or four additional credible college-level sources
from academic originations; possibilities of these include EBSCO, periodicals
from the library, personal interviews, or other (see me before using “other”). Then,
formulate an essay in which you argue for your stance. Remember to use the
argumentative structures we have been discussing in class.
In grading this paper, I will look at all six criteria on
the “What Makes a Good Writing122 Essay?” section in the syllabus: focus,
development, audience awareness, organization, correctness, and citations. I
expect your paper to be word processed, using 11 point type, double-spaced, in
an academic font such as Times New Roman, and proofread. Note, by the way, that
proofreading is different from spell checking: your paper is likely to have
more spelling and grammar errors if all you do is turn on the spell checker
after writing your paper. Regarding grammar, I will be evaluating your
performance on all of the issues we will have talked about in class by the time
the essay is due: complete sentences, comma use, subject-verb agreement, punctuation and sentence variety, and pronoun
reference. Regarding citations, both the in-text citations and works cited page
should appear in correct MLA format. The paper is to be double-spaced and
word-processed in 12 point Times New Roman font with standard margins. It is to
be 1800 – 2000 words in length not including the Works Cited page. No title
page is required.
Due _____________
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