Causes of High Incarceration Rates Among African-Americans

This paper is in two parts, the draft, and the final paper. ( See the attached guide for information)
1) Final Copy: 1200+ words, double-spaced, 12-point standard font.
2) Writing Studio Draft: 600+ words.
Choose a topic that interests you. ( please choose an interesting topic)
For this assignment, you have complete control of the topic of your essay. However, please note this is not a PRO or CON essay. As a rule of thumb, issues like abortion, gun control, the death penalty, and global warming are all weak topics biased so don't write on any of these topics.
This essay must use at least three sources.
The final copy should adhere to MLA documentation style.
All sources used in your paper should be documented correctly according to your specific documentation style. In-text parenthetical citations for any material directly quoted, paraphrased, or summarized should correspond to citations on the Works Cited page.

Major Essay #3: Causal Argument The Assignment You will write a causal argument—a type of essay in which you explain and argue the causes of a situation (an event, a phenomenon, or a trend). The key here is to choose a topic that interests you and work from there. Narrow your topic enough to treat it in some detail, and provide more than a mere list of causes. When seeking causes, you will have to decide carefully how far back to go in your search for remote causes. Moreover, you must be sure to distinguish between the immediate causes and the remote causes of the situation you are analyzing. For this assignment, you have complete control of the topic of your essay. However, please note this is not a PRO or CON essay. As a rule of thumb, issues like abortion, gun control, the death penalty, and global warming are all weak topics biased unless you organize and focus them correctly for this paper. Topic Selection Work to narrow down your topic to a specific phenomenon or problem that has discernible cause(s) or effect(s). As an example, let’s use domestic violence for an idea. We know that trying to discuss all of possible causes of domestic violence would be too broad. Instead of focusing on domestic violence as a whole, you might narrow down your topic to examining the reasons why women convicted of violent crimes receive longer prison sentences than men. More to Consider Success with Genre Does your essay include the important features of a causal argument discussed in course material? Do you describe the causes or effects of the issue you are investigating? Do you discuss the stakes? Do you provide sufficient evidence to support your claims? Do you provide your readers with any background information they need? Organization Is your essay logically organized? Do you include an introduction in which you state your main point (your causal claim)? Do you have a strong conclusion? Are your paragraphs focused, and do you use transitions and topic sentences effectively? Use of Sources This essay must use at least three sources. Unlike with the definitional argument, I have not compiled them for you. You must locate your own. You can refer back to the HCC library link in the Getting Started module. After you have chosen your source material, does your essay appropriately and accurately paraphrase, summarize, or quote with relevant MLA-style citations? Refer back to the online textbook About Writing, the Purdue Online Writing Lab, and all of the MLA resources in the Getting Started module if you need assistance with MLA format. Writing Style and Mechanics: Is your writing clear and understandable? Is it concise? Is it well-edited and free from mistakes in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and word usage? You can refer back to the online textbook About Writing and the Purdue Online Writing Lab in the Getting Started module if you need refreshers on style and mechanics. Length Final Copy: 1200+ words, double-spaced, 12-point standard font Writing Studio Draft: 600+ words Format Final copy should adhere to MLA documentation style Citations All sources used in your paper should be documented correctly according to your specific documentation style. In-text parenthetical citations for any material directly quoted, paraphrased, or summarized should correspond to citations on the Works Cited page.