Friday, March 31, 2017

How To Write Introductions

The purpose of an introduction is to tell the reader what the article is about and to make them interested enough in it to continue reading. The writer should also state the thesis, either directly or indirectly. When you write an introduction, you are making a promise to the readers. You are telling them what the essay is about and in what direction you are going. Be fair to the reader. Keep your promise by doing what you say you will do in the introduction.

  Several different types of material can be used in an introduction:

  • A story or anecdote that illustrates the problem. Be sure that you do not offer your story as proof. It is not proof, it is merely an illustration of a problem.
  • An interesting quotation or fact that encourages readers to consider the problem.
  • A question
  • A strongly stated opinion

Below, I offer several different introductions for the model paper on the death penalty.

A story or anecdote: 

     In 1963, Freddie Lee Pitts and Wilbert Lee, two Florida men, were convicted of the brutal murder of a convenience store clerk and sentenced to death. They spent nine years on death row, avoiding execution because the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty as it was then applied was cruel and unusual punishment. They were resentenced to life. In 1975, they were exonerated after another man confessed to the crime. Ted Bundy was also sentenced to death in Florida. He had escaped from a Colorado jail where he was awaiting trial for murder and had traveled to Florida, where he killed two female college students asleep in their sorority house. Later, he kidnapped a twelve-year-old girl from her middle school, raped her, and murdered her. While he was on death row, prison guards did a routine search of his cell and discovered that he had managed to saw through the bars of his cell window, gluing them back together with a mixture of soap and dust. If he had managed to escape, he almost certainly would have killed again.  These two cases illustrate the difficulty in deciding whether or not to apply the death penalty. Society risks either executing innocent prisoners or allowing  dangerous prisoners to live and possibly harm others. However, prison security has improved greatly since Ted Bundy's time: no one has ever escaped from a supermax prison (Smith 21). Therefore, the risk of executing an innocent man outweighs the advantages of the death penalty.

Quotation or fact:

Since DNA evidence became available, 120 prisoners (at last count) who have been sentenced to death have been exonerated and freed because of this new technology. All were innocent. All were nearly killed by the state for crimes they did not commit.

Question:

If your nine-year-old honor student had been kidnapped while on the way home from the bus stop, raped, and then beheaded, would you oppose the death penalty? This scenario is not a hypothetical one: it happened to Jimmy Ryce. The guilty man not only took a child's life, he devastated the family:  Jimmy's older sister, who was eighteen at the time, felt so guilty about not protecting her little brother that she fell into a deep depression and later committed suicide. Thus, the parents lost two children because of this murder.


Strong statement of opinion:

a. Life is sacred and must be protected. For this reason, the death penalty is necessary to a civilized, functioning society. It is society's way of saying that some crimes are so heinous and such an affront to the value of life that the death penalty is not only allowable but necessary.


b. The death penalty has always been unequally applied. The case of Karla Faye Tucker, a white, Christian, articulate, attractive female who was executed by the state of Texas is an anomaly that highlights the true nature of this punishment. If Tucker had been male, African-American, Muslim, inarticulate, and unattractive, the execution would have garnered almost no notice from the general public. Those sentenced to death are disproportionately likely to be poor, African-American, and male. Furthermore, these inmates almost never receive the avalanche of sympathetic publicity that Tucker received. These disparities make the death penalty unjust.

Monday, March 27, 2017

Link to Lesson About Prepositions

Information about Prepositions

synthesis




[sin-thuh-sis]
noun, plural syntheses
[sin-thuh-seez] (Show IPA)
1.
the combining of the constituent elements of separate material or abstract entities into a single or unified entity (opposed to analysis, ) the separating of any material or abstract entity into its constituent elements.
2.
a complex whole formed by combining.

3.
Chemistry. the forming or building of a more complex substance or compound from elements or simpler compounds.

Synthesis of Death Penalty Arguments

A large part of what you will be doing in your argument paper is synthesizing material from various sources. You will take material in two or more articles and use it to craft a particular argument for your paper. To illustrate how this is done, I will be using two sources about the death penalty, the first a Time article about the costs and the second a position paper from the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). Both sources are on this blog.

  • What the Time article claims: The death penalty is six to eight times more expensive than life without parole. The sources for this information include a reporter's research, a federal commission, and a university study.

  • What the DPIC claims: Just 2 percent of counties in the US account for over half of death penalty cases while nearly all death penalty cases originate in just 20% of counties.

My own synthesis:

      A variety of sources indicate that the death penalty is far more expensive than life without parole. David van Drehle in his Time article opposing the death penalty argued that life in prison without parole is far less expensive than imposing the death penalty. His own research shows that, in Florida, the death penalty is six times more expensive than life without parole while a government commission found that imposing a death sentence is eight times more expensive than a life sentence. A study conducted at Duke University indicated that North Carolina could save 11 million dollars per year by abolishing the death penalty.

     Not only is the death penalty costly, those costs are imposed on taxpayers in an inequitable way. A position paper by the DPIC shows that just 2% of U.S. counties impose over half of the death sentences. Furthermore, all death penalty cases originate from just 20% of U.S. counties. Since prisons housing death row inmates are financed by the state rather than the county, taxpayers living in the 80% of counties that do not impose the death penalty are forced to share the financial burdens created by the 20%. Thus, money that could have gone to schools, hospitals, and prenatal care for poor women goes to pay the costs of appeals that are an inherent part of the death penalty process.

________________________________________________________________


Note the following:

  • Each paragraph has a topic sentence. In this sample, the topic sentences are the first sentences in the paragraph.
  • Note that the topic sentence of the second paragraph also contains a transition linking the two paragraphs. The phrase "The death penalty is not only costly," refers to the argument of the first paragraph but then leads the reader into the new idea that the death penalty is also inequitable.




Only 2% of U.S. Counties Responsible for the Majority of Death Sentences


2% of U.S. Counties Impose the Majority of Death Sentences

Contrary to the assumption that the death penalty is widely practiced across the country, it is actually the domain of a small percentage of U.S. counties in a handful of states. The burdens created by this narrow but aggressive use, however, are shifted to the majority of counties that almost never use it.
The disparate and highly clustered use of the death penalty raises serious questions of unequal and arbitrary application of the law. It also forces the jurisdictions that have resisted the death penalty for decades to pay for a costly legal process that is often marred with injustice.
Only 2% of the counties in the U.S. have been responsible for the majority of cases leading to executions since 1976. Likewise, only 2% of the counties are responsible for the majority of today’s death row population and recent death sentences. To put it another way, all of the state executions since the death penalty was reinstated stem from cases in just 15% of the counties in the U.S. All of the 3,125 inmates on death row as of January 1, 2013 came from just 20% of the counties.
Each decision to seek the death penalty is made by a single county district attorney, who is answerable only to the voters of that county. Nevertheless, all state taxpayers will have to bear the substantial financial costs of each death penalty case, and some of the costs will even be borne on a national level.
The counties that use the death penalty the most have some of the highest reversal rates and many have been responsible for errors of egregious injustice. As their cases are reversed, more money will be spent on retrials and further appeals.  For example:
  • Maricopa County in Arizona had four times the number of pending death penalty cases as Los Angeles or Houston on a per capita basis. The District Attorney responsible for this aggressive use was recently disbarred for misconduct.
  • Philadelphia County, with the third largest number of inmates on death row in the country, ranked lowest in the state in paying attorneys representing those inmates.
  • During the tenure of one district attorney in New Orleans, four death row inmates were exonerated and freed because of prosecutorial misconduct, bringing a stinging rebuke from four Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Some states have recently chosen to opt out of this process altogether, greatly limiting their obligations for its high costs and disrepute. As the death penalty is seen more as the insistent campaign of a few at tremendous cost to the many, more states may follow that course.
For more information or to read the full report, visit deathpenaltyinfo.org/twopercent.

Friday, March 24, 2017

A Good Paper Illustrating the Difference Between Summary and Analysis


Eng-101
March 6,2017
Analyzing a journalist.
Today, the oil industry has been facing the deepest downturn since the 1990s because of the drastic oil price drops which have resulted in the downfall of the oil refinery industries with reported bankruptcy, and minimized employment opportunity. Why and how did the oil price drop? What will be the effect on the public and the economy? What is going on behind the scenes? This context inspires a level curiosity with a bold question mark. Therefore, through the column of The New York Times, in his article “Oil Prices: What’s Behind the Volatility? Simple Economics” published on December 12, 2016, Clifford Krauss addresses the above questions and explains the cause and effects of the decrease in the oil prices, some conspiracies, and future speculation related to it. Krauss has tactically drafted his article in the simplest manner possible to enlighten the public who are concerned about the oil market. Initially, the article covers a brief context and background about oil price drop. Further, the article addresses the general questions fragmented into multiple sections followed by a brief explanation which seems identical to the frequently asked questions tab found on websites of the service-based organization. Krauss has supported his argument by various statistical data, theories of microeconomics, and various annual reports. Krauss has mainly focused on cause and effects, mutual actions by committee[O1] , conspiracy theories, and prediction of economists. [NOTE THE EXCELLENT SUMMARY HERE]Therefore, Krauss has successfully explained the reason behind the volatility in the oil market with a simple language of economics optimizing its comprehensibility to the maximum. However, the article is vulnerable to criticism due to lack of complete evidence, and information about third factors that influence real world markets. [O2] [CLEARLY STATED THESIS]
Per the source, Clifford Krauss is a national energy correspondent of The New York Times based in Houston. He was previously the bureau chief of The Time’s Buenos Aires and Toronto bureaus, and has reported from the Middle East and North Africa. Based on qualification, experience, and current standing, Krauss seems to be a profound and credible journalist. Further, his article on oil price drop reflects his handful of experience, and mighty enthusiasm as a media identity. Today, politics and media represent a chess game where politics is a king checked by media as a mighty knight. Therefore, politics is influenced by media however sometimes media gets corrupt with the power and money from politics. But, journalists like Clifford Krauss holds an objective position within this sphere of influence from politics and outside sources. He mentions, “some oil executives are quietly noting that the Saudis want to hurt Iran, and so does the United States-motivation enough for the two oil-producing nations to force down prices. Dropping prices in the 1980s did help bring down the Soviet Union, after all[O3] ”. [GOOD USE OF EVIDENCE FROM THE SOURCE]] Krauss has fearlessly dragged the conspiracies related to poor diplomacy, and dirty politics which exists between oil producers without fearing the lords from oil industries. In a nutshell, Krauss maintains his credibility by being grounded on the norms and values of journalism.
In his article, Krauss’ approach to explain and relate the basic microeconomics theory with the current oil price drop is in my opinion, a masterpiece. Krauss has used a very simple and logical language which gives a clear understanding of the oil price drop to his audience who may have no prior knowledge of economics. In other words, Krauss has adopted an educational approach to enlighten his audience with the basic concepts of economics referring to an effective example of current oil price drop. The logical relations between supply, demand, and the price [O4] [O5] [NOTE THAT THE AUTHOR HAS PROVIDED ANALYSIS HERE. IN THIS PARAGRAPH, HE HAS NOT TOLD THE READER WHAT THE AUTHOR SAID BUT RATHER HOW THE AUTHOR SAID ITdetermined is exposed in detail. Krauss mentions, “Production in Venezuela, a portrait of political instability, is falling fast. Rebel attacks in Nigeria have also curtailed supplies in that region, and the continuing fighting in Libya has stymied efforts to get that country’s oil industry back on its feet.” [MORE EVIDENCE FROM THE ARTICLE]The use of such specific examples from the oil-producing nations and their current position in the oil market contributes to this article’s concrete and credible nature. Further, it aids to boost the general knowledge of its audience. Hence, the article is furnished with supporting evidence, graphical representations, and relative examples; however, the evidence is not equally distributed to every argument.
In conclusion, I believe that Krauss makes a compelling argument for media credibility in the face of economic corruption. Further, this article does an excellent job of addressing this information for individuals who may be familiar with oil price drop and unfamiliar with microeconomics principles. However, this article lacks complete information, and evidence. Therefore, those who are familiar with this topic will find this article leaves a lot to be desired.


 [O1]Summary
 [O2]Clearly stated thesis
 [O3]Note the author's use of evidence drawn directly from the source.
 [O4]
 [O5]Note the use of analysis. The author is not telling us what the author says, which would be summary. He is telling us how the author made his points. This is analysis. In fact, this entire paragraph is very good analysis.
 [O6]More Excellent Analysis
 [O7]More excellent analysis. However, a citation of a knowledgeable source would have improved the analysis. 

Invention Exercise for Argument Paper

This exercise is designed to do two things: develop enough ideas to get a paper that is at least six pages long and to help you organize those ideas into a coherent, logical order.

1. Crumple up a large piece of paper.

2. Uncrumple the paper. There should be many creases on the paper.

3. On each crease, write an idea you have about the paper. These ideas can be:

     a. Facts contained in articles you read for your research.

     b. Questions you have about the topic.

    c. Any criticisms you have about the source.

4.  Now, take a second sheet of paper and write down the order you want to use in presenting these topics in your paper.



Friday, March 10, 2017

Example of Argument Analysis

Analyzing Arguments Worksheet
(based on the Toulmin Method)

What is the Claim:  The death penalty should be abolished because it is expensive, difficult to implement (botched executions) dwindling justifications, crime rates have plunged, and the Supreme Court is increasingly opposing it

How so? Switch to Life Without Parole

What are the exceptions? Author doesn’t admit to exceptions but should there be?

First Reason to Accept the Author’s Claim

What makes this reason relevant? Expense is a strong argument. This money comes from taxpayers

What makes this reason effective? Money could be spent on other things that strengthen society and help more people than the death penalty does.

What evidence supports this reason? The reporters on study plus that of a government commission
When I examined the cost of Florida’s death penalty many years ago, I concluded that seeing a death sentence through to execution costs at least six times as much as a life sentence. A more recent study by a federal commission pegged the difference in the costs of the trials at eight times as much. Duke University professor Philip J. Cook studied North Carolina’s system and concluded that the Tar Heel State could save $11 million per year by abolishing the death penalty. California’s system incurs excess costs estimated at some $200 million per year. From Kansas to Maryland, Tennessee to Pennsylvania, studies have all reached similar conclusions.

Is this evidence sufficient? Author cites his own studies, a federal commission, an academic study conducted at a prominent university.  This is good evidence.

Is this evidence credible? Yes. See above.

Is this evidence accurate? Presumably.  However—are there any competing studies that show opposite results? Reader must rely on the good faith of the reporter. However, these results are true of ordinary state prisons. Would the claim still hold true for Supermax prisons. Does it factor in costs related to recidivist killers.

Second Reason to Accept the Author’s Claim

What makes this reason relevant?

What makes this reason effective?

What evidence supports this reason?

Is this evidence sufficient?

Is this evidence credible?

Is this evidence accurate?

Third Reason to Accept the Author’s Claim

What makes this reason relevant?

What makes this reason effective?

What evidence supports this reason?

Is this evidence sufficient?

Is this evidence credible?

Is this evidence accurate?

Objections to the Claim
Name an Objection you noted:

What is the Author’s Rebuttal?:


Name another Objection you noted:

What is the Author’s Rebuttal?:


Is there a third Objection?:

If so, how does the author defend the claim?





Time Article on the Death Penalty

http://time.com/deathpenalty/

Grammar Review: Adverbs

Grammar Review: Adverbs

Analyzing Arguments Using the Toulmin Method

Analyzing Arguments Worksheet
(based on the Toulmin Method)

What is the Claim:

How so?

What are the exceptions?

First Reason to Accept the Author’s Claim

What makes this reason relevant?

What makes this reason effective?

What evidence supports this reason?

Is this evidence sufficient?

Is this evidence credible?

Is this evidence accurate?

Second Reason to Accept the Author’s Claim

What makes this reason relevant?

What makes this reason effective?

What evidence supports this reason?

Is this evidence sufficient?

Is this evidence credible?

Is this evidence accurate?

Third Reason to Accept the Author’s Claim

What makes this reason relevant?

What makes this reason effective?

What evidence supports this reason?

Is this evidence sufficient?

Is this evidence credible?

Is this evidence accurate?

Objections to the Claim
Name an Objection you noted:

What is the Author’s Rebuttal?:


Name another Objection you noted:

What is the Author’s Rebuttal?:


Is there a third Objection?:

If so, how does the author defend the claim?



 Analyzing Arguments Worksheet
(based on the Toulmin Method)
What is the Claim:
How so?
What are the exceptions?
First Reason to Accept the Author
s Claim
What makes this reason relevant?
What makes this reason effective?
What evidence supports this reason?
Is this evidence sufficient?
Is this evidence credible?
Is this evidence accurate?
Second Reason to Accept the Author
s Claim
What makes this reason relevant?
What makes this reason effective?
What evidence supports this reason?
Is this evidence sufficient?
Is this evidence credible?
Is this evidence accurate?
Third Reason to Accept the Author
s Claim
What makes this reason relevant?
What makes this reason effective?
What evidence supports this reason?
Is this evidence sufficient?
Is this evidence credible?
Is this evidence accurate?
Objections to the Claim
Name an Objection you noted:
What is the Author
s Rebuttal?:
Name another Objection you noted:
What is the Author
s Rebuttal?:
Is there a third Objection?:
If so, how does the author defend the claim? Analyzing Arguments Worksheet
(based on the Toulmin Method)
What is the Claim:
How so?
What are the exceptions?
First Reason to Accept the Author
s Claim
What makes this reason relevant?
What makes this reason effective?
What evidence supports this reason?
Is this evidence sufficient?
Is this evidence credible?
Is this evidence accurate?
Second Reason to Accept the Author
s Claim
What makes this reason relevant?
What makes this reason effective?
What evidence supports this reason?
Is this evidence sufficient?
Is this evidence credible?
Is this evidence accurate?
Third Reason to Accept the Author
s Claim
What makes this reason relevant?
What makes this reason effective?
What evidence supports this reason?
Is this evidence sufficient?
Is this evidence credible?
Is this evidence accurate?
Objections to the Claim
Name an Objection you noted:
What is the Author
s Rebuttal?:
Name another Objection you noted:
What is the Author
s Rebuttal?:
Is there a third Objection?:
If so, how does the author defend the claim?

Monday, March 6, 2017

Annotated Bibliography: Sample

Orwell, George. "A Hanging." The Call to Write, by John Trimbur, Wadsworth, 2014, 93-97.

This short essay is a first-person account of a hanging carried out in Burma in the 1920s. The language is spare and unemotional. While the essay is not overtly political, it raises questions about power imbalances in a justice system and about the attitudes of authorities toward subject populations. The article contains descriptions of the effects the death penalty had on officials carrying it out. Another relevant point is that the hanging itself was done by an Indian colonial subject rather than by a British person, which raises the issue of outsourcing "dirty work."  While not directly relevant to the death penalty in 20th century America, the essay is useful because it points out several issues that should be considered in evaluating the appropriateness of the death penalty including racial disparities, power imbalances,  and the effects of capital punishment on persons carrying out this procedure.

Choosing Appropriate Topic Sentences

Choosing Appropriate Topic Sentences

Friday, March 3, 2017

Exercises in Paragraph Development

The Four Essential Parts of a Paragraph

Grammar Lesson: What is an Adjective?

lLink to Grammar Revolution article on Adjectives

From the Grammar Revolution Website:

Brief Definition of an Adjective: Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns: the tall boy, sixteen candles.

If a word is an adjective, it will answer at least one of the four questions.


1. Which one.

the brown dog; a tiny child; the tattered book.  Note that some grammarians consider the , a, and an to be adjectives while others do not.


2. What kind?

a furry rabbit; the plastic glass.





3. How many?

many people; twelve children; few men.


4. Whose

Joshua's hockey puck; Charlie's garden. Its collar.

Word of the Day

hydra

[hahy-druh
 
nounplural hydras, hydrae 
 [hahy-dree] (Show IPA), 
for 1–3, genitive hydrae 
 [hahy-dree] (Show IPA), 
for 4.
1.
(often initial capital letterClassical Mythology. a wateror marsh serpent with nine heads, each of which, if cutoff, grew back as two; Hercules killed this serpent bycauterizing the necks as he cut off the heads.
2.
any freshwater polyp of the genus Hydra and relatedgenera, having a cylindrical body with a ring oftentacles surrounding the mouth, and usually livingattached to rocks, plants, etc., but also capable ofdetaching and floating in the water.
3.
a persistent or many-sided problem that presents newobstacles as soon as one aspect is solved.
4.
(initial capital letterAstronomy. the Sea Serpent, alarge southern constellation extending through 90° ofthe sky, being the longest of all constellations.