Crime and Criminals by Clarence Darrow

Unless assigned, all sources for this assignment must have an author (first and last name) and must have a full date (day, month, year) unless the source provided by the instructor does not. As stated in the “Instructor Addendum to the Syllabus,” a Week 1 reading assignment, the sources must be online, and I must have unfettered access to all sources. Avoid using an online copyright year as a date. Copyright dates, just like URL’s on many websites are not static.
The grade on this single essay assignment counts as ten percent of the course grade (a potential letter grade). Identify this assignment as “Formal Essay 3.”
Read Clarence Darrow’s “Crime and Criminals: Address to the Prisoners in the Chicago Jail.” This handout is a condensed version of a lengthier online reading. Access the handout here. (Links to an external site.)
Compose a persuasive response (500 words minimum) that expresses your opinion about Darrow’s ideas. Specifically address the following three assertions in Darrow’s speech.
“The people here [jail] can no more help being here than the people outside can avoid being outside. I do not believe that people are in jail because they deserve to be. They are in jail simply because they cannot avoid it on account of circumstances which are entirely beyond their control and for which they are in no way responsible.”
“There are people who are born with the tendency to break into jail every chance they get, and they cannot avoid it.”
“Kidnapping children is not a crime, it is a profession. It has been developed with the times. It has been developed with our modern industrial conditions. There are many ways of making money — many new ways that our ancestors knew nothing about. Our ancestors knew nothing about a billion dollar trust; and here comes some poor fellow who has no other trade and he discovers the profession of kidnapping children.”
Develop a thesis for Formal Essay 3 and underline it in the introductory paragraph of your essay. Before developing a thesis (argument, opinion) for your essay,review “A Word about the Thesis.” (Links to an external site.)
Agree or disagree with Darrow’s three assertions, but take a firm stand in your thesis.
NOTE: Assume that Darrow is speaking in this century (twenty-first). This is absolutely not a history of jails assignment.
For the Works Cited section and the essay, use the information in the Darrow source above and one other source of your choice that supports your thesis. When choosing the additional source, make sure that it complies with Item #8 in the "Instructor Addendum to the Syllabus," a weekly review assignment.
Since this is an online course, the sources that you choose for all essays that require research must be online and must conform to the requirements of the “Instructor Addendum to the Syllabus,” Ask the instructor about exceptions. (Links to an external site.)
Below is an image of the full Darrow citation with the correct components. The example below is correctly formatted but is not necessarily capitalized or punctuated correctly.
Week03_Darrow.jpg
The textbook, Canvas, and Google Drive are never outside sources.
Your secondary source used must list an author (both first and last name) and must be fully dated (day, month, and year). Review Item #8 in the “Instructor’s Addendum to the Syllabus" concerning sources.
The Works Cited section does not add to the word count of the essay; however, it counts as 10% of the essay grade.
CAUTION: It is acceptable to use the Bible, other sacred documents, and reference sources but only as tertiary sources, not primary or secondary sources.
If the Bible is used, the formatting must conform to the example in-text citation and full citation shown on this handout. (Links to an external site.)
If a different citation format is used, it will not be credited, and the appropriate grade for that citation will be reflected in the final grade of the assignment.
PARAGRAPH REQUIREMENT:
The paragraph requirement for Formal Essay assignments is introductory paragraph, a minimum of three body paragraphs, and concluding paragraph.
Paragraph divisions provide transition, clarity, and organization to an essay.
To view a helpful, short video about composing an introductory paragraph and concluding paragraph navigate to Module 1, Week 1, Daily Writing 1.2 and view the videos in that module.
PARAGRAPH DEVELOPMENT:
Paragraph development: In journalistic and some other styles of writing, a paragraph can be just about anything that the writer composes as long as it effectively holds the reader’s attention. A paragraph in EH 1301 and EH 1302 must be attention-getting, but more structured, consisting of a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence.
QUOTATION REQUIREMENT:
When you review the model essay, notice that there is one short, direct quotation (from research) in the paper. Most of the writing in the paper is created by the student, not quoted from another source. (Links to an external site.)
Do not submit essays or a research paper in which a large part is quoted material. I want your writing based on your research.
This assignment requires a minimum of two direct quotations from the Darrow source. and one quotation from a secondary online source that you select. Each quotation must be at least two complete lines of text but not more than four lines of text, placed in separate paragraphs, and must pertain to the content of that paragraph. Your source selection must conform to Item #8 in the "Instructor Addendum to the Syllabus."
A quotation may never form its own paragraph; it must be included within a paragraph and directly relate to the content of that paragraph.
It is important to click here for quotation examples. (Links to an external site.)
Quotations in this assignment may not include more than twelve lines of text, accumulative, unless otherwise instructed.
IN-TEXT CITATIONS: No matter how many times a source is used in the essay, an in-text citation must be provided when a quotation by that author is used. Other instructors’ guidance may differ.
Access this handout for an example of an in-text citation in this course. (Links to an external site.)
CAUTION: It is acceptable to use the Bible, other sacred documents, and reference sources but only as tertiary sources, not primary or secondary sources.
If the Bible is used as a tertiary source, the citation formatting must conform to the example in-text citation and full citation in the course that can be accessed here. (Links to an external site.)
POINT OF VIEW: Compose the essay from one of the following first-person points of view.
A metropolis law enforcement officer in the United States.
A currently incarcerated convicted felon in the United States.
A metropolis mayor in the United States who wants to defund the police.
The thesis, however, must always be written from a third-person omniscient point of view.
Just a reminder for anyone who needs it: When writing from the first-person point of view of a law enforcement officer, mayor, or a convicted felon, the voice in your entire essay must be evident in all paragraphs as the voice of a law enforcement officer, mayor, or a convicted felon, and the voice must be especially strong in the introductory and concluding paragraphs. Do not write about the voice, be the voice. Remind your audience in every paragraph from which point of view you are writing Write from only one point of view except for the thesis.
The language in assignments that require writing from a particular point of view must conform to the “English Composition Checklist.” For example, a dirty rotten scoundrel would probably use some unsavory language filled with inappropriate expletives, but if an English Composition student were writing from the point of view of a dirty rotten scoundrel, the voice must be that of a dirty rotten scoundrel, but the writing (usage, grammar, language mechanics) must be suitable for English Composition classroom expectations.
For help with first-person point of view, navigate to Module 1, Week 1, Formal Essay 1 and access the video about first-person point of view.
Save this file submission as FE3YourLastName.
I will return all assignments to you with a grade and my comments written directly on the assignment. If you do not read my comments on the graded assignments, you are missing half the class. Submit Formal Essay 3 NLT the due date.