Essay #2 (Argumentative – Death Penalty)      

Assignment Overview: Essay #2 (Argumentative – Death Penalty)         

What You’ll be Doing for Our Second Essay Assignment

Now that you’re familiar with the basics of academic writing – gathering research, taking effective notes, documenting sources, and then organizing, drafting, and revising a piece of writing – it’s time to introduce another skill: making an argument.

Essay #2 will instruct you on the hows and whys of argumentative writing: in particular, taking a position on a stance. Instead of reading to only gather information, you’ll be reading to find evidence that a particular position is valid or is not valid. You’ll also begin evaluating the readings, taking into consideration such things as the bias of the speaker/writer and the basis (factual?/emotional?) of their arguments.

As the readings for assignment one suggested (particularly Delbanco’s essay), developing an argument – and more broadly, becoming a “college-educated” individual – means challenging preconceptions: what he described as moving away from the easy temptations of “demagoguery,” to more rigorous “responsible arguments” (29). For many, the most rewarding part of college is learning to see beyond accepted mindsets and using facts instead of assumptions to guide their thinking. Get ready to be challenged and thus, get ready to think.

On to more mundane matters. This will be the first essay you’ll write under a time constraint. I’ve incorporated this kind of writing into the course for two reasons: 1) the English Department requires a specific amount of the work be completed in class; and 2) it’s good training. There will be many times in your college and work career where you’ll have to quickly develop an effective piece of writing. Writing like this demands an understanding of the issue and a clear purpose – and is viewed (i.e. graded) differently than the kind of polished writing that goes through several drafts. That said, you’ll have two and half hours, which means you should have enough time (if you plan it right and do not try to write too much) to complete a rough and final draft.

Topic of Essay

I’ve been “talking” for a while now and haven’t addressed the topic: this is fitting because the emphasis of this assignment isn’t on the topic but on the argument. In other words, it’s not your position that’s important; what really matters here is how well you prove to readers that your thinking on the issue is clear and logical.

That said, our topic for this essay is the Death Penalty. You’ll be reading several sources on this topic and then developing your own position and arguments based both on the readings and your own thinking.

When reading an argumentative source, remember that it is essentially a sales pitch: and as we all know, the buyer has to beware. Thus read ALL of these essays with a very questioning, very skeptical eye. See “Argumentative Fallacies” on the course site for suggestions on what to watch out for.

Purpose of Essay

This essay is designed to develop your reading and analytical skills and develop your ability to communicate your thinking clearly and logically to your audience. Since it’s so closely connected to your thinking, writing this essay amounts to a peek under the hood of your brain, a chance for readers to see how the engine’s running. Thus, you’ll be trying out several arguments and positions, disregarding those that, to keep the metaphor going, cause misfires.

It’s this kind of malleable thinking, this sorting out of different possibilities and consciously choosing the ones which can be supported by evidence, that makes readers trust your judgment – and is thus the kind of thinking that you should strive for.

There are some common errors people make when developing arguments. Lucy, as shown below, has some problems with her logic.

Schulz, Charles. Peanuts. 18-21 January 1995, Fandom. http://peanuts.wikia.com/wiki/January_1955_comic_strips. Accessed 7 August 2017.

Lucy starts from a premise that seems to be a logical deduction based on her observation: the snow appears in the morning and it covers things up. She even trots out corroborative “evidence” – grass comes up, etc. – to support her argument. The problem is that what seems to be valid is often just that – an assumption. As Charlie Brown points out (ever notice that it’s always Charlie Brown, never just Charlie?), her logic is flawed and he “cements” (pardon the pun) his case with a specific example. Her response when confronted with an argument which concretely demonstrates her position is incorrect? She changes the subject and engages in an ad hominem attack (when you attack the person him or herself instead of the person’s idea). Taken as a whole, the cartoon demonstrates Lucy’s inability to fully reason through her beliefs and move to logic.

Of course, she’s just a kid………… though the “Intellectual Free Lunch” suggests that some people still operate on

playground logic. For more on avoiding logical errors, see “How Can I Tell Which Fact to Believe?” link on the course site and Chapter 4 From Inquiry to Academic Writing.

Moving from thinking to writing, remember that you are making an argument here, not just reporting information as in the last essay. This means that your thesis needs to make clear how you feel about the issue – even if you’re

wavering a bit yourself. The key here is to fully consider the pros and cons of the issue, choose a position (“should” or “should not” are words that come in handy) and choose reasons (from those pros and cons) that support that position.

Just as in essay #1, you should work on using “real-life” examples, either from personal experience or from the sources, to enliven your argument.

The idea of an argument is important to keep in mind here. Specifically, your goal is to take a position and present the logic of your argument to the reader. Instead of objectively reporting (as in essay #1), in this essay you’ll be presenting your own opinions.

Words to remember when thinking about an issue include “what,” “why,” and “how.” Keeping these in mind should help you develop reasons that logically consider the short and long term consequences of a particular issue.

Reasons, right? That’s the key to making an effective argument: developing persuasive reasons. How do you do this? For starters, think about the subject from different points of view – and again, ask yourself “why.” Why, for example, do you think capital punishment is a good or bad idea? Have you considered the costs of CP vs. life imprisonment? And are costs solely connected to dollars (i.e. political costs, social costs, etc.)? Asking these kinds of probing questions is crucial to developing a reasoned, well considered essay.

How do you come up with these probing questions? Glad you asked. Read, think, talk to others, and try the categories in “How Do I Come Up With Reasons” on the course site to trigger these kinds of questions.

Oh yes, you can use the dreaded “I” in this essay — just be careful of overuse.

Discourse

We discussed the importance of entering the academic discourse of topics for the last essay. If you remember, the assignment quoted the 20^th century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein who noted, “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”

For this assignment we broaden our world by entering the discourse of law and criminal justice. Thus, you’ll use terms such as “trial,” “defendant,” “prosecutors,” “justice,” etc. Because this will involve society, you’ll also use words like, well, “society,” and associated words such as “citizens” and “justice.” The repetition of justice is deliberate: it means one thing in a legal setting – and another in a society.

For starters, here’s a word you’ll encounter in several of the essays: Habeas Corpus. It refers to a judicial process, set out in the constitution and enforced by the federal court system, which ensures that all defendants in a criminal proceeding are given a fair trial.

There’s another word you’ll encounter in the essays: moratorium. What does it mean?……….. That’s what dictionaries

were made for.

The Writing Assignment: Essay #2                                                                

Write an essay which argues that capital punishment helps or hurts America. Another way to look at this question is to ask whether the death penalty is good for our legal system and society or if it harms them. Use statistics and facts to support your claims/opinions. Your facts should come from the required readings on the death penalty.

Your goal is to convince readers that your position is reasonable and valid by using specific reasoning, evidence to support it, and then explanations of that reasoning. Your audience doesn’t necessarily have to agree with you: your goal is to show them the thinking that is behind your opinion. Thus, this essay uses opinion, but opinion based upon logic – opinions that are tested and considered before they are offered to the reader. People aren’t persuaded with only one reason, and thus you will offer several different reasons to support your position. You will be using examples (both personal and from outside sources), descriptions, and stories to explain how these reasons support your position.

You will probably have mixed feelings about this issue – which is as it should be. Complete some pre-writing to begin forming your own opinion.

Remember, I’m not a mind reader – it’s your responsibility to put your thinking into words.

Requirements

Your essay needs to include at least six (6) paragraphs: an introduction with an argumentative thesis; at least three body paragraphs, offering different reasons to support your position and which use examples, descriptions and stories to prove that these reasons are valid; a counter-argument (one paragraph which brings up the opposing view, and then rebuts this view); and a conclusion.

You must include a minimum of three facts, statistics, or quotes from the readings, but remember that the main basis of this essay is your own argument; you need to develop your own reasons and examples, not merely parrot what was discussed in class. That said, don’t stick to your opinions if they are not rational – remember that your goal is to use logic and reasoning to show why your position is correct.

Follow MLA documenting guidelines when citing sources.

Learning Objectives

After successfully writing this essay you will have learned how to

1. examine and question generalizations
2. choose a specific stance/position on a controversial issue
3. use examples to illustrate your points
4. explain how the examples prove your point
5. explain the reasoning behind your stance
6. effectively use argumentative discourse
7. use counterarguments and rebuttals
8. evaluate sources
9. cite sources correctly
10. plan effectively to write an in-class essay

What you can bring in

1. Completed Outline/Reasons and Evidence worksheet
2. Completed Thesis/division statement
3. Completed Works Cited sheet
4. Dictionary/Thesaurus
5. Textbook and any additional readings for essay #2
6. An Oreo cookie to supply a much-needed sugar rush NOTE: all work will be collected at the end of each

Directions

Begin at home!! (Ignore at your own peril)

• Plan out essay –see the “Planning an In-Class Essay” page on the course site for step-by-step suggestions; review chapter 9 “From Ethos to Logos” in From Inquiry to Academic Writing for suggestions on argumentative approaches
• Keep all scrap papers and hand in with essay
• Write in ink
• Write on one side of the page
• Double-space
• FINAL DRAFT will be TYPED in class

Budget your time. Work on finishing a draft in the first class and then revising it next class. Leave at least 30 minutes to carefully proofread. Read your essay backwards to catch any errors.

Reminder

All work on the essay itself needs to be completed in class, either by hand or on the college’s laptops. You cannot bring in paragraphs from home nor can you take a draft of the essay home to revise. Planning will be done outside of class; all drafting and revision will be during the class times we’re working on the essay. Bring in printed copies of your Reasons and Evidence sheet – you will not be able to use your own flash drives to keep a copy of this essay.

Grading Criteria

To receive a passing grade, you must successfully complete the following:

Organization: A thesis statement which clearly states the subject, your position and the divisions of your essay. A counter-argument and rebuttal.

Content: Clear and balanced arguments, developed with examples, descriptions and stories, and a full and persuasive development of the reasoning behind each of the examples.

Proofreading: Sentences that are clear and no more than 5 major errors (Sentence fragments, run-on sentences, verb-tense error, subject-verb agreement error, unclear phrasing, documentation error and spelling/wrong word error).

LOGISTICS:
-Thesis draft due: 10/24 at start of class                       
-First draft due: 10/26 at END of class

-Final draft due: 10/31 by END of class

-Length: 6 paragraphs minimum