Is Death Penalty an Effective Crime Punishment and Should It be Upheld?

Touchstone 2.1: Evaluate a Source
ASSIGNMENT: For this essay, you will select one of the sources you have found through your preliminary research about your research topic. Which source you choose is up to you; however, it should be substantial enough that you will be able to talk about it at length, and intricate enough that it will keep you (and your reader) interested.
In order to foster learning and growth, all essays you submit must be newly written specifically for this course. Any recycled work will be sent back with a 0, and you will be given one attempt to redo the Touchstone.
The introduction of this paper will involve introducing the source: Provide the author, the title, and the context (where you found the source, where it was originally published, who sponsored it, etc.)
You will then go on to evaluate the source on two levels:
Credibility: Using the information in this unit as a guide, evaluate the source’s authenticity and reliability. Look at all the information that you can find about the source to establish the author’s (or sponsor’s) trustworthiness.
Usefulness: Using a combination of summary and analysis, examine the source on a critical level. Determine what the source’s purpose (thesis) is, and how it arrives at that goal. Examine its value to you and the project you are working on. How will it help you prove your own points? How might it come in handy to back up a claim (or address a counter-claim)?
Finally, you will include a conclusion which shows your final assessments on both counts.
Sample Touchstone
A. Assignment Guidelines
DIRECTIONS: Refer to the list below throughout the writing process. Do not submit your Touchstone until it meets these guidelines.
1. Source Identification
The introduction of this paper will be introducing the source:
❒ Have you provided the author's name?
❒ Have you provided the source title?
❒ Have you provided the context (where you found the source, where it was originally published, who sponsored it, etc.)?
2. Source Evaluation
❒ Have you provided a judgment on the source's credibility?
❒ Have you used specific examples from the source to illustrate your judgment on credibility?
❒ Have you provided a judgment on the source's usefulness?
❒ Have you used specific examples from the source to illustrate your judgment on usefulness?
3. Reflection
❒ Have you answered all reflection questions thoughtfully and included insights, observations, and/or examples in all responses?
❒ Are your answers included on a separate page below the main assignment?
B. Reflection Questions
DIRECTIONS: Below your assignment, include answers to all of the following reflection questions.
What types of questions did you ask yourself when evaluating the credibility and usefulness of your source? (2-3 sentences)
How do you feel this evaluation practice will help you as you continue to move through the research process? (2-3 sentences)
C. Rubric
Advanced (90-100%) Proficient (80-89%) Acceptable (70-79%) Needs Improvement (50-69%) Non-Performance (0-49%)
Thesis Statement
Provide a clear thesis statement with sufficient support.
The thesis statement consists of an original observation that is clear, focused, and well-supported. The thesis statement consists of an original observation that is adequately supported. The thesis statement consists of an identifiable main idea that is generally supported. The thesis statement consists of an identifiable main idea, but it is not well supported or does not match most of essay's content. The thesis statement is missing or completely unsupported.
Evidence and Analysis
Evaluate a single source based on the characteristics of credibility and usefulness.
The analysis includes specific examples from the text as support; claims for credibility and usefulness are fully developed. The analysis includes examples from the text as support; claims for credibility and usefulness are adequately developed. The analysis includes some examples from the text, though they are of a potentially vague or abstract; claims for credibility and usefulness are established but need further development. The analysis includes one or two examples from the text, but they are of a vague, abstract nature; claims for either credibility or usefulness are missing. The analysis includes little to no examples for support; there are no established claims for either credibility or usefulness.
Organization
Exhibit competent organizational writing techniques.
Presents all of the required components of a source evaluation essay, including an engaging introduction with background information and a clear thesis, a body paragraph or paragraphs addressing the source's credibility, a body paragraph or paragraphs addressing the source's usefulness, and a conclusion with a concluding statement. Presents all of the required components of a source evaluation essay, including an introduction with background information and a clear thesis, a body paragraph or paragraphs addressing the source's credibility, a body paragraph or paragraphs addressing the source's usefulness, and a conclusion with a concluding statement. Presents nearly all of the required components of a source evaluation essay; however, one component is missing. Presents most of the required components of a source evaluation essay, but is lacking two components; sequences ideas and paragraphs such that the connections between ideas (within and between paragraphs) are sometimes unclear and the reader may have difficulty following the progression of the essay. Lacks several or all of the components of a source evaluation essay; sequences ideas and paragraphs such that the connections between ideas (within and between paragraphs) are often unclear and the reader has difficulty following the progression of the essay.
Style
Establish a consistent, informative tone and make thoughtful stylistic choices.
Demonstrates thoughtful and effective word choices, avoids redundancy and imprecise language, and uses a wide variety of sentence structures. Demonstrates effective word choices, primarily avoids redundancy and imprecise language, and uses a variety of sentence structures. Demonstrates generally effective style choices, but may include occasional redundancies, imprecise language, poor word choice, and/or repetitive sentence structures. Frequently includes poor word choices, redundancies, imprecise language, and/or repetitive sentence structures. Consistently demonstrates poor word choices, redundancies, imprecise language, and/or repetitive sentence structures.
Conventions
Follow conventions for standard written English.
There are only a few, if any, negligible errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, formatting, and usage. There are occasional minor errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, formatting, and usage. There are some significant errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, formatting, and usage. There are frequent significant errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, formatting, and usage. There are consistent significant errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, formatting, and usage.
Reflection
Answer reflection questions thoroughly and thoughtfully.
Demonstrates thoughtful reflection; consistently includes insights, observations, and/or examples in all responses, following or exceeding response length guidelines. Demonstrates thoughtful reflection; includes multiple insights, observations, and/or examples, following response length guidelines. Primarily demonstrates thoughtful reflection, but some responses are lacking in detail or insight; primarily follows response length guidelines. Shows limited reflection; the majority of responses are lacking in detail or insight, with some questions left unanswered or falling short of response length guidelines. No reflection responses are present.
D. Requirements
The following requirements must be met for your submission to be graded:
Composition must be 2-3 pages (approximately 500-750 words).
Double-space the composition and use one-inch margins.
Use a readable 12-point font.
All writing must be appropriate for an academic context.
Composition must be original and written for this assignment.
Plagiarism of any kind is strictly prohibited.
Submission must include your name, the name of the course, the date, and the title of your composition.
Include all of the assignment components in a single file.
Acceptable file formats include .doc and .docx.
E. Additional Resources
The following resources will be helpful to you as you work on this assignment:
Purdue Online Writing Lab's APA Formatting and Style Guide
This site includes a comprehensive overview of APA style, as well as individual pages with guidelines for specific citation types.
Frequently Asked Questions About APA Style
This page on the official APA website addresses common questions related to APA formatting. The "References," "Punctuation," and "Grammar and Writing Style" sections will be the most useful to your work in this course.
APA Style: Quick Answers—References
This page on the official APA Style website provides numerous examples of reference list formatting for various source types.
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Paper related to this assignment
A Research Question, Thesis, And Outline
Name
October 16, 2022
A Research Question, Thesis, And Outline
Research Question: Is the death penalty an effective crime, and should it be upheld?
Working thesis statement: Since the death sentence does not serve as an effective deterrence against crime, it should be done away with.
Detailed Outline
• Working thesis in Introduction: Since the death sentence does not serve as an effective deterrence against crime, it should be done away with.
• Hook with descriptive statistics on the death penalty
• Introduce two concerns: human rights, the right to life
Body
Background
• When European settlers came into the new world, they brought with them the practice of putting offenders to death via the death penalty.
• Jamestown, a village located in Virginia, is credited as the site of the first known execution to take place inside the boundaries of the new British colonies in 1608. The deceased was identified as a guy by the name of Captain George Kendall.
Analysis
Arguments that Support the Thesis Statement
• There is always the risk that innocent people might be killed inside any judicial system, and this is something that cannot be avoided.
• There will never be a day when we will be able to eradicate the risk of the death penalty being carried out unjustly or arbitrarily.
• When the death penalty is in place, it is impossible to uphold human rights and human dignity simultaneously.
• The execution of a sentence death does not function as an effective deterrence for criminal behavior.
• The general population's perspective will not constitute a serious barrier to abolishment.
Source 1:
Why the Death Penalty should be abolished – International Commission against the Death Penalty. (n.d.).
Arguments against the Thesis Statement
• Those who support the death penalty argue that whoever kills another human being should lose all rights to their own life since they have taken the life of another.
• It has a particularly effective impact as a type of deterrent on potentially violent offenders for whom the threat of jail is not an acceptable kind of limitation. This results in a particularly effective impact as a form of deterrence.
• It is not inconceivable to conceive of the possibility of formulating laws and procedures that would make it possible to restrict the use of the death penalty to just those individuals who justifiably merit such a punishment.
Source 1: Canes-Wrone, B., Clark, T. S., & Kelly, J. P. (2014). Judicial selection and death penalty decisions.
Conclusion
• Restating the thesis statement
• Summary of the main points
• Call to action
Recommendations
• The imposition of the death penalty is a breach of human rights because it infringes on the right to life, which is the most basic of all human rights.
• Consequently, it is a violation of a person's right not to be subjected to treatment and punishment that is humiliating or severe.
• The use of the death penalty is a violation of the fundamental dignity that is inherent in every single unique human being.
• Because of this, we need to do away with the practice of using the death penalty.
Reflection Questions
1. Learning to conduct research is important because it is a skill you will use both in
2. academia and your professional life. It improves critical thinking and empowers
3. you to find information for yourself. Consider the process of researching as a whole.
4. What was the most challenging aspect of the process for you?
For me, beginning research and subject a subject for study is challenging. A solid research subject is one of the most important building blocks of a productive investigation. On the other hand, this is not always as simple as it seems since you need a manageable study subject that is focused to the greatest extent feasible and clear and specific. However, it's safe to say that not everyone struggles in the same ways while trying to conceive a subject for their study. I normally discover the greatest subject after having a conversation about it with the research supervisor, and it is always helpful to engage in brainstorming.
At times and in some contexts, I am especially guilty of putting things off until later than I should. But procrastinating for an extended length of time puts you in danger since you have a certain amount of time to do your study. If you find it difficult to work on time and meet each objective within the allotted time, you should ask yourself what is causing the delay. There might be various reasons for this, including an inability to concentrate, a lack of self-control, an unachievable aim, an absence of discipline, etc. The important thing is to question yourself extensively before identifying the root of the problem.
5. The working thesis statement is a proposed answer to your research question. It
6. should identify a debatable topic and take a position on one side of that topic. Analyze the effectiveness of your working thesis statement.
In a piece of writing, the thesis statement will often be found towards the end of the paragraph that serves as the introduction. It provides a condensed summary of the primary argument or assertion presented throughout the essay, research paper, etc. In most cases, it is conveyed in a single phrase; however, the remark may be repeated in another context. The working version of my thesis statement is a single line that argues one side of an important and contentious debate. In addition to that, I tried to be as explicit as I was able to be. Instead of just stating, "People shouldn't eat beef," I explained that it was for reasons related to ethics and the environment. I suggested an alternate course of action that needed to be taken if folks would not entirely abstain from consuming beef. I exerted a lot of effort to explain why this matter was important and to discuss what steps might be taken to make the situation better.
7. A detailed outline is an effective tool for laying out the progression of an argument. It allows you to consider the arrangement and organization of your ideas and choose places to incorporate outside source materials. Review your detailed outline and summarize the argument you've presented
Before beginning to write the paper, it is important to create an outline of the subjects you want to talk about in the paper. Creating an outline will assist in constructing and organizing ideas in a sequential way and with an intelligent flow. By doing so, you will have the ability to choose pertinent material or quotations from sources at an early stage, providing authors with a stable foundation and groundwork as they begin the process of writing. Most significantly, working through these concepts will assist you in building your thesis.
I began by providing an overview of the subject matter that I had chosen. This served as a smooth segue into the statement of the thesis. The outline's overarching argument is summarized in the thesis statement, which also summarises the outline. After I had finished the paragraph that served as the introduction, I moved on to the body paragraphs, which included the arguments that supported and refuted the thesis assertions. All of the arguments were well thought out and presented, and they all brought up an important subject that needs further investigation. I provided a summary of the five most important arguments in favour of the thesis statement. Following the conclusion of the reasons that supported the thesis statement, I moved on to the three primary arguments that refuted the assertion. These counterarguments were presented just to state the opposing viewpoint to the argument. After I had finished writing the paragraphs that made up the essay's body, I moved on to writing the conclusion. In conclusion, I emphasized the thesis statement, summarized the important points, and provided a suggestion related to the subject and the thesis statement that I had chosen.
8. You will use the same topic on three of the remaining Touchstones in this course.
9. What kind of feedback would be helpful for you? What are specific questions you
10. might have as you go deeper into the research process?
Although I have a good deal of faith in the material that I have supplied, I would still need some further feedback on the organization of my essay. I believe that my outline is understandable, but I cannot say if it will be understandable to someone who is not as well-versed in the subject matter. In addition, I would appreciate any feedback on the way I've formatted my work. I did my best to adhere to APA standards, but I'm not as knowledgeable about them as others are.
Since it has such an important place in both society and politics, the death penalty is an issue that requires immediate attention. The enduring problems it raises about justice and equality, racial dynamics and power dynamics, and the coherence of legal practice are likely why it continues to get so much attention. Research demonstrates that the death sentence is useless since it does not curb criminal behaviour and is very costly to administer. Even while the vast majority of people in prison, including those on death row and others, are responsible for their actions, we cannot take the chance of putting those who have been wrongly convicted and condemned to death.
There is no correlation between the presence of the death penalty and reduced rates of violent crime or murder in states with and without such laws. And research conducted in states that have done away with the death penalty reveals no discernible shift in the overall crime rate or the murder rate. There is no evidence that the death penalty is an effective deterrent. The existence of the death penalty is a sobering and brutal reality that demonstrates the world is full of criminals and criminal activity. The number of murders and other serious offences has reached a point where the death penalty is the only effective deterrent.
References
Canes-Wrone, B., Clark, T. S., & Kelly, J. P. (2014). Judicial selection and death penalty decisions. American Political Science Review, 108(1), 23-39.
Why the Death Penalty should be abolished – International Commission against the Death Penalty. (n.d.). ICOMDP. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://icomdp(dot)org/why-the-death-penalty-should-be-abolished/#:%7E:text=The%20death%20penalty%20violates%20the,inherent%20to%20every%20human%20being.