injustices experienced by Walter McMillian and by the five boys who were accused raping Trisha Meili in Central Park

Essay 3
In order to write this essay, you must have read and understood section 3.8 in Successful College Composition. If you did not read this section, you must. This essay is a test about how well you understood section 3.8, so please study it. Your grade will be based on how well you use techniques from this section. If you never read this section or are unclear about some aspects of the persuasive or argumentative essay, I added it once again to this week in Moodle.
Essay 3 requires you to write persuasively which means to move your reader toward your opinion or, at least, to get your reader to respect your opinion on a given subject. In writing, the word “argument” is often used interchangeably with the word “persuasion.” An argument is an essay that expresses a reasoned opinion or thesis and is supported by credible evidence from sources. For Essay 3, you will move beyond the injustices experienced by Walter McMillian and by the five boys who were accused raping Trisha Meili in Central Park. You will do research on the Innocence Project website where you will find stories of unjust convictions from around the country, and you will use library databases to find one additional source on unjust convictions.
Your assignment is to answer this question: In what ways are wrongful arrests and convictions a problem in the United States, and what can be done to solve this problem? You will write about 5 cases for this essay: one from Just Mercy, The Central Park Five case, one case from The Innocence Project, and one case that you find through library research. That’s 4 cases. The 5th case can come from Just Mercy, The Innocence Project, or library research.
Your job in this essay is to use the four sources above to write about 5 cases of unjust convictions. You will use these 5 cases to argue about the ways in which wrongful convictions are a problem. You have to use the four sources above. You will be able to use some of what you wrote for Essays 1 and 2, but you will have to adapt this material to Essay 3. In other words, you should use some of your evidence from these essays, but you will have to rewrite some of it so you are explaining how the evidence proves unjust convictions are a problem in the US. Since this is the final essay and a research paper, it must be 5-7 pages in length and must contain a works cited list. The works cited list is the last page of the essay and is not included in the 5-7 pages above. It is extra.
You will write two drafts. Draft 1 will be commented on by me but not graded. Draft 2 will be graded by me.
Essay Structure
The structure of an argument must take a specific form. Again, this is discussed in section 3.8, so please study it. Your argument about wrongful convictions must use the structure below. You must write 8 paragraphs as explained below.
Paragraph 1: An engaging introduction with a thesis. The introduction is usually a paragraph long. Write your introduction so it applies to all of the cases you will discuss, not just one. This does not mean that you must preview all of the cases. This will take too much space. What it does mean is that the generalizations you make, or the statistics or facts that you use, must apply to all of the cases you discuss. You must use a 5-point thesis in this essay. You may use 1-2 sentences to express your thesis.
Paragraph 2: Respectful acknowledgement of the opposing side of your argument; in other words, a view that is opposite to your thesis. An argument implies two sides so after your introduction, acknowledge what the other side believes about your topic. What do you think that those who do not believe unjust convictions are a problem would say in defense of their side? What might they believe about the people who were convicted in the cases about which you read? What was their motivation to believe the unjustly convicted were guilty? This does not need to be an exhaustive discussion. Based on your research, come up with a point or two or three from the other side and discuss them in a paragraph. Avoid writing about one case entirely. In other words, avoid writing ONLY about Walter McMillian, the Central Park 5, or the case from the Innocence Project website. Instead, try to generalize your points from the other side that could apply to all of the cases. You may use your imagination for this as well. In other words, you may write about a common sense argument from the other side based on what you now know about this topic.
Paragraphs 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7: Strong evidence in support of your thesis. This evidence must be specific and must come from your sources. There must be 5 paragraphs here. Each paragraph must discuss 1 case of unjust conviction. In other words, you must write about Just Mercy, the Central Park Five, the Innocence Project, and two additional cases. At least one must be found through library research. The other can be found through library research or you can use a case you did not discuss from Just Mercy or the Innocence Project. Each paragraph must discuss one specific case at a time. Each paragraph must provide evidence for one point from your thesis. Use lots of details from the case! Use the directed summary approach here and use quotes! Again, you must use one case from Just Mercy (Walter), one case from The Innocence Project website, the case of the Central Park Five, and one case from your library research. This equals 4 cases. Your 5th could be a second case from Just Mercy, a second case from The Innocence Project, or a second case from library research.
Paragraph 8: A compelling conclusion that summarizes the evidence in the essay in different words and reinforces the thesis. In addition, you must discuss possible solutions to the problem of wrongful convictions. To do this, think about all the things that went wrong in all the cases you studied. When you think about this, you will realize that you know a lot!! Use the knowledge you have about what went wrong to discuss ways to make the justice system better. Don’t simply list 2 or 3 solutions. Discuss and develop them!!
You must use 5-6 sandwich quotes in your entire essay.
You should not use “I” in an argumentative essay unless you are discussing personal experience, which you are not. Instead of writing, “I believe Walter McMillian is innocent because he was at a family party at the time of the murder,” you should aim to be more objective, less personal, and write, “Walter McMillian is clearly innocent because he was at a family party at the time of the murder.” No “I” in the previous sentence.