Review “Thesis Statements” in the “Drafting the College Essay” section of “The Writing Process” media piece.

Create a thesis statement for your persuasive essay. Your thesis statement should be one sentence that includes three subtopics.

Write your thesis statement in the box below:

The death penalty should be abolished because it is leading to many cases of wrongful convictions even while ample research has found it does not deter crime, the main reason for which it is justified, and the law must not promote the ‘an eye for an eye’ mentality .

Thesis Statement Grading Criteria:
Consider the following questions when developing the thesis statement for your essay. These criteria will be applied when this assignment is graded. The answer to each of the five questions below should be yes if you have drafted a quality thesis statement.
1) Does the thesis statement respond to the writing prompt? Yes it does. The prompt asks that the thesis should take a clear stand and should include three subtopics. This thesis does.

2) Did you take a position that others may oppose? Many people may not agree the death penalty should because for them it offers room for people who have committed violent crimes to pay for it. To them, the death penalty makes sure that those who have committed violent crimes (like rape and murder) pay for it in kind. To this group, it may not be enough to argue that the death penalty is marred with many wrongful convictions and executions. To them, the problem, percentage wise, may be not be worth killing the whole system

3) Is the thesis statement specific? Yes. The thesis statement takes a clear stand (i.e. the death penalty should be abolished), in the process providing three key areas of discussion (the subtopics mentioned in the instructions above): the debate itself; the question of wrongful convictions; and the question of whether the death penalty deters crime, the main premise upon which it is defended.

4) Does the thesis pass the “So what?” test? Yes. The thesis passes the “So what?” test. Arguing against the death penalty, the thesis in this case should be able to show why ‘it’ takes such a stance. In this case, the questions of wrongful convictions and the fact that the system does not deter crime (as ample research shows) provide the answer to the “So what?” question

5) Does the thesis statement not leave the reader with questions? The only question the thesis statement leaves the reader with is, “Where is the proof?” The rest of the paper will address that answer. Otherwise, the thesis statement makes a clear stand and why that particular position- and not the other.

Part 2: Gathering Resources

Assignment Directions:
Review “Research and Sources” in the media piece “The Writing Process.”

Use the GCU elibrary to find three sources to use in your persuasive essay. Fill out the requested information in the table below about your sources.

Article 1 Article 2 Article 3
Title and Author(s) ‘The Death Penalty and Mass Incarceration: Convergences and Divergences’ by Carol Steiker and Jordan Steiker ‘Racism, Wrongful Convictions, and the Death Penalty’ by Bedau Hugo Adam ‘Another Look at the Deterrent Effect of Death Penalty’ by Jongmook Choe
Permalink (GCU Library permanent link) http://www.readperiodicals.com
/201404/3372686371.html https://litigation-
essentials.lexisnexis.com/
webcd/app?action=Docu
mentDisplay&crawlid=1
&srctype=smi&srcid=3B
15&doctype=cite&docid
=76+Tenn.+L.+Rev.+615
&key=f49930dafbf86f7c
810f8ecc5d28c2f4 http://econpapers.repec.or
g/article/srsjarle1/2_3av_3
a1_3ay_3a2010_3ai_3a1_
3ap_3a12-15.htm
Write a 50-word response to the following question:
How is this source relevant to your paper? This article focuses on the relationship between the death penalty and mass incarcerations. It examines both sides of the debate, looking at what each side says in favor of their divergent positions, and in what areas they agree. Its emphasis on mass incarceration furthers the thesis, citing evidence and reasons for the mass incarcerations This article also tracks the question of wrongful convictions associated with the death penalty. However, the article reviews this question along racial lines, seeking to show that the cases of death penalty-related wrongful convictions are not uniform for all people. For this thesis, this paper provides further justification for the abolition argument. This article focuses on another subtopic mentioned in the thesis, that of the crime-deterrence effect of the death penalty. In particular, the paper examines the death penalty against homicide rates (between 1995 and 2006) across a number of states. The author notes that the findings do not support the premise that the death penalty deters crime. This further helps the thesis.
APA 6th Edition Reference and Citation Steiker, C.S., & Steiker, J.M. (2014). The Death Penalty and Mass Incarceration: Convergences and Divergences. American Journal of Criminal Law, 41(2), 189-207 Hugo Adam, B. (2009). Racism, Wrongful Convictions, and the Death Penalty. Tennessee Law Review, 76(3) Choe, J. (2010). Another Look at the Deterrent Effect of the Death Penalty. Journal of Advanced Research in Law and Economics, 1(1), 12-15