Reducing Crime by Introducing Employment: A Closer Examination

you will continue your paper by presenting two opposing views and then conceding or refuting those views.
Counterarguments, or opposing views, are a common feature of composition courses. They can also be used to strengthen essays for other classes. Professors want to know if a student has thought a topic through from multiple points of view. This is known as critical thinking: examining an issue from all sides before accepting a conclusion as true.
Yet many students resist the idea of counterarguments. “If my position is correct,” they say, “why do I have to bother with other views?” The problem is that very few issues have one answer that is universally accepted as “correct.” No one, for example, would reasonably argue that murder is good. However, when students write about hotly debated issues such as abortion or same-sex marriage, they often think that their own view (either for or against) is already the correct one
Reasonable Disagreement
Counterarguments force students to research the “other side” of the issue. This, in turn, forces them to consider how reasonable people of good will might disagree with their views. (Of course, unreasonable people of ill will might also disagree.) It could even force them to question their own deep-rooted beliefs—beliefs shared by parents, friends, clergy leaders, or previous teachers.
Although researching other views may seem risky, doing so is essential for students to truly understand a topic, particularly a controversial one. Without such an understanding, students often write papers with one-sided, illogical, or emotional arguments.
Where do students find counterarguments? Most college libraries have access to online databases such as Opposing Views Resource Center. Another option is to type a topic (such as “same-sex marriage”) and “opposing views” into a search engine. Be forewarned: Many Internet sources rely on biased coverage or unreliable information. Students should examine their sources carefully before using them.
A third option is to ask a college librarian for assistance. Librarians are skilled at research, and their primary job is to assist patrons.
Conceding and Refuting
Once students have found counterarguments, what exactly should they do with them? Some students make the mistake of simply “plopping” a counterargument into an essay by writing, for example, “Some say that abortion should be legal because women have the right to choose what to do with their own bodies.” Period.
But this doesn’t address the counterargument. Students must still show that their own position is worthy of consideration by conceding or refuting other views.
To concede means to admit that the other side has a valid point. To refute means to disprove.
Conceding and refuting opposing views helps students understand their target audience. Students can use such strategies to persuade the audience to take their views seriously, whether they are writing for a professor, a class, or an external audience.
Best of all, students can emerge from studying counterarguments with a deeper understanding of their own views and which ones they wish to keep and discard.
Guidelines:
Write a 1.5-2 page paper (500 words minimum) that addresses the opposing views of your argument and responds to (conceding or refuting) those views. This paper will not feel like a real paper with an introduction and conclusion. This is fine.
For a proposal paper show that your solution stands up to objections (opposing views).
Use the information below to help organize your paper. Use sources as much as needed, and be sure to cite your sources using parenthetical notation – APA style.
No first person (sometimes "we" is functional and fine)
Include correctly cited quotes and paraphrases (at least one strong quote and at least one paraphrase)
Turnitin similarity does not exceed 15-20% (if it does, your paper may not be reviewed/evaluated)
Use your e-book as a guide.
Include a references page with a list of the sources used in this section of your paper (10% of your grade).
No conclusion needed.