Assignment:
For your second assignment, imagine you are an intern for the Governor's state-wide Commission on Juvenile Justice. The Commission on Juvenile Justice has just spent the previous legislative session reviewing the empirical literature on best practices in juvenile justice and is preparing to issue recommendations to the public. Your task is to write an op-ed essay, to be published in the Oregonian, in which you craft an original argument advocating for an evidencebased policy, practice, program, or other strategy to address the problem of juvenile delinquency.
In making your case, you should draw on class and outside materials to provide evidence in support of your thesis, with the greatest emphasis on rigorous empirical (e.g. scientific) evidence reflecting scientific consensus.
To pass this assignment, your essay should do the following:
Content:
o Contain a clear thesis
A thesis contains an assertion and makes a debatable claim
o Support thesis with evidence and logic
- Empirical, or scientific, evidence is the most credible
- Anecdotal evidence can be used responsibly if it provides additional insight or understanding and is consistent with empirical evidence
o Demonstrate critical thinking and consideration of alternative viewpoints
Form:
o Is organized
Structured so that ideas flow logically and coherently
o Contains an introduction, body, and conclusion5
Introduction engages audience
Conclusion concisely summarizes arguments, reiterates thesis
o Contains professional, academic language
o Cites outside sources
o Contains minimal (less than 5) language errors (e.g. grammar, spelling, punctuation, use of abbreviation, incomplete or run-on sentences)
o Is formatted double-spaced, 12-point font and minimum 500 words
Revisions will not be permitted for this assignment. Instead, you may bring a completed draft of your paper for review (in hard copy) to my office hours (appointment recommended)