Contemporary Issues and Monster (McKnight)

Contemporary Issues Research Paper Assignment

Remember, your task is to "write an organized, well-developed essay in which you take a position on one of the following issues: wrongful conviction, youth and stereotypes, peer pressure, juveniles in adult court, race and criminal justice, race and the death penalty, or the causes of criminal behavior."

This research pathfinder will help you find concrete, authoritative evidence to support your original thesis statement. Remember to cite all sources you use, including at least two non-fiction articles and the novel Monster by Walter Dean Myers.

Assignment information from Mr. McKnight:

• • Contemporary Issues Assignment

  • Contemporary Issues Rubric

Note: Always check directly with you teacher for the most up-to-date assignment details and deadlines!

Recommended Non-Fiction Articles

Smart Research Tip: Before you can use the direct article links, you may need to first log on to the databases. Click on this link to Opposing Viewpoints in Context and Issues and Controversies and enter the password you received in class. If you forget the password information, you can retrieve it from this secure password website or by emailing Ms. Kitsis for help.

The following articles have been gathered for you by the librarian. Or, keep reading for advice to find more on your own!

Wrongful Conviction:

• Innocent People Could Be Executed by Lester S. Garrett

• The Chance of Executing an Innocent Person Is Very Slight by Richard A. Posner

• The Possibility of Wrongful Executions Does Not Justify Abolishing the Death Penalty by Francis Samuel

Youth and Stereotypes:

• Youth Gangs Are a Serious Problem by James C. Howell

• Young People Are Victims and Perpetrators of Gun Violence by Alfred Blumstein

• Youth Violence Has Been Exaggerated by Mike Males

• Juveniles Are Unfairly Blamed for Increasing Crime and Violence by Ira Glasser

Peer Pressure:

• Adolescents Join Gangs for a Sense of Social Belonging by Phelan Wyrick

• Parenting by Peers Explains Youth Violence by Gabor Mate

• Peer Pressure Is Not an Important Influence on America's Youth by Michael T. Ungar

• Peer Pressure Influences Gang Behavior by Dale Greer

Juveniles in Adult Court:

• The Criminal Justice System Should Treat Some Juveniles as Adults by James C. Backstrom

• Juveniles Should Be Tried as Adults in Certain Circumstances by Mary Onelia Estudillo

• Juveniles Should Not Be Tried as Adults by Wendy Kaminer

• More Teenage Criminals Should Be Tried as Adults by Linda J. Collier

Race and Criminal Justice:

• The Justice System Is Prejudiced Against Juveniles of Color by James Bell

• Racism Is Endemic in the Juvenile Justice System by Hugh B. Price

• Disparity in Prison Populations Is Not the Result of Racism by Stuart Taylor

• Racial Disparity in Prisons Is the Result of Racism by Glenn C. Loury

Race and the Death Penalty:

• Legislation Will Not Help Prevent Racial Bias in Death Penalty Convictions by Tara Servatius

• Legislation Will Help Prevent Racial Bias in Death Penalty Convictions by Desiree Evans

• Racism Influences the Administration of the Death Penalty by Jan Boudart

Causes of Criminal Behavior:

• Poverty Does Not Cause Crime by Eli Lehrer

• The Root Cause of Juvenile Crime and Violence Is Fatherlessness by Dave Kopel

• Why the Young Kill by Sharon Begley

Reading and Marking Up the Articles

Use the following tips from Mr. McKnight to read and annotate your articles:

1. Before you read, write or re-write the source citation. In MLA format, this typically looks like this:

2. Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Book. Name of Editor. City: Publisher, Year of Publication. Name of Database. Date of Access.

3. Each article listed above has an MLA citation at the end of it that you can work from.

   1. As you read, highlight the main point(s) of the article and of each section in green.

   2. As you read, highlight difficult or unfamiliar words in pink (and look them up in a dictionary).

   3. After you read, highlight details that could be useful in an essay in yellow.

Academic Integrity & Citation

As with any research assignment, this paper requires a works cited page listing all the resources you used for information. Yours should include Monster and a minimum of one non-fiction article used for evidence.

Remember to use your EasyBib account to easily and accurately create your works cited page with perfect formatting! You should have registered with Ms. Kitsis in your Freshmen Seminar earlier this fall, but if not just see her to get started.

Then go to EasyBib.com, log on using your school Spyponders account (click on Login and then Sign in using your account with Google), and start a new project:

If you enter each of your resources correctly, EasyBib will help you get a perfect score on formatting your works cited page.

Smart Research Tip: Remember that databases provide citations at the bottom of each article that can be copied and pasted into EasyBib with some minor modifications.

Additional resources for academic integrity and citation:

• Arlington High School Guide to Student Research Projects

  • Includes our school-specific criteria for academic integrity, a review of paraphrasing, and more.

• Research and Documentation Online

  • Detailed explanation of in-text citations and works cited entries in perfect MLA format for a wide variety of sources.

For Further Research

Use these databases to keep looking for more information:

• • Opposing Viewpoints in Context (Gale)

  • Explore today's hottest social issues with information and opinions from a variety of sources. Recommended for researching "both sides" of a debate.

  • Issues and Controversies (Facts on File)

  • Hot topics in politics, government, business, society, education, and popular culture. Recommended for researching "debatable issues."

  • Student Edition (Gale)

  • Periodical database designed especially for high school students, including access to a variety of magazines, newspapers, and reference books. Great for current events research.

A couple of pointers to get you started:

• • When searching for information, especially in databases, don't limit your search by using too many words. For example, try typing "race and death penalty" into the search bar instead of "What are the effects of race on the use of the death penalty?"

  • Instead of settling on the first terms that occur to you, try some synonyms. For example, when I looked for articles on wrongful conviction my search strategy included conviction, exoneration, exonerate, innocence, miscarriage of justice. Someone searching for information on the death penalty should also try capital punishment and execution.

  • If you don't get the results you expect, check your spelling. The databases are great for many reasons, but they won't correct your sloppy typing like Google will.