Sociology: The Death Penalty

 The death penalty is never justified.

In your response, please describe and evaluate arguments in favor of and against the death penalty before articulating your view on this form of punishment. Also take into account the general trend in public support of the death penalty and the effectiveness of capital punishment in comparison to long prison sentences or other forms of punishment.

The length of the essay should be no less than 4 full pages and cannot be longer than 6 full pages. One full page consists of about 23 lines with double line spacing on US letter size, not including the question. Points are taken off if the length is less than the minimum amount of full pages.

Use at least 2 scholarly source for your essay (in addition to any of the scholarly texts that are part of the course materials) and cite all sources correctly;
Use Times Roman, 12 (or similar);
Double line spacing;
Standard margins (1 inch on top and bottom, 1.25 inches on left and right side);
Use a separate cover page which includes your name, the course, the title of the essay. Do not put this info on any other page but the cover page. The cover page does not count towards your minimum of 4 full pages;
Use a separate page for your reference/bibliography (you may choose the style: APA, MLA, etc.);
Upload your work as ONE document to Turnitin on Blackboard in a format that Turnitin accepts + hand in one HARD COPY in class
I cannot accept emailed essays.
Write clearly and pay close attention to spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, the structure of your answers (paragraphs), and accuracy in general. If you suspect your writing skills can be improved by a visit to the Writing Center, do not hesitate to make an appointment or to drop by the Center’s office. Remember that extra credit is offered for attendance of a workshop or a 50 minute individual session.

The thought behind the essay is to test your ability to show an understanding of the course material IN YOUR OWN WORDS. Make sure that at least 80% of your writing consist of your words and your analysis. Thus, NO excessive quoting and NO excessive paraphrasing. When you think a short citation from a text could strengthen your analysis, it is important to be accurate with the citation. In order to prevent plagiarism, whenever you use a theory, an idea, or data in general (including from graphs and tables) that are not yours, you need to give the correct source of your writings.