ENG 123 Milestone One Guidelines and Rubric
Overview: Persuasion is a constant in each of our lives. No matter where we look, what we read, what we see, or who we interact with, we are inevitably going
to encounter some form of persuasion. Advertisements want us to buy things. Newspapers and television want to convince us of how we should feel about
events. We are put into positions where we must defend our thoughts and beliefs to others, and the process we apply is typically some form of persuasion.
Persuasive writing is one of the most powerful forms of writing—it has the ability to influence one’s thoughts, and also the ability to change one’s mind about a
particular issue. The persuasive essay is an ideal tool for supporting an opinion on an issue using researched facts and information. It also gives you the chance to
recognize an opposing viewpoint and refute it, noting that those who hold the opposing viewpoint are the intended audience of the piece.
Prompt: For this milestone, you will submit a draft of your persuasive essay. At this point in the course, you have completed activities that will help you
transform essay into a draft. This milestone will help you address critical elements I–III below, which will ultimately inform your final submission of the
persuasive essay. You have until the deadline to work on this draft. Whatever is completed by the deadline will be submitted to your instructor for grading and
feedback.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
I. Introduction: This is where readers will get an idea of what your essay is about and what you will prove throughout. Do not give all of your information
away here, but give readers a sample of what is to come. Don’t forget to review your writing plan to make sure you are hitting all of the points that you
planned out while also stating your argument.
A. Provide an overview of the issue you have selected, briefly describing main points and your argument.
B. Compose an engaging thesis statement that explains the argument you will prove and support throughout your essay. This statement will give
direction to your essay and should be well thought out.
II. Body: The body is your opportunity to describe and support your argument in depth. Make sure your thoughts and evidence are clear and organized in a
way that is easy for readers to follow and understand.
A. Be sure that you write at least three paragraphs that support your key points and are focused, clearly state their intent, and move logically from
one to the other, building the thesis argument as the essay progresses.
B. Your body paragraphs should support your argument by combining thoughts and ideas with evidence from sources. There is no such thing as a
right or wrong argument; the key is how it is supported and the quality of the evidence used.
C. Address and refute any opposing viewpoints to your argument. This is your chance to discredit any opposing views, thus strengthening your
own.
III. Conclusion: Think of the conclusion as a review of your argument. Use this section to restate your argument and remind readers of your supporting
evidence. Think of this as your last chance to persuade readers to agree with you.
A. Review your argument. This section should be a review of the key points used to support your argument. Think of this as your last chance to
prove your point or your closing arguments.
B. Include insights about your argument established through your essay. This should follow logically from your essay, referring to key points or
quotes used to support your argument.
Rubric
Guidelines for Submission: Save your work in a Microsoft Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Then,
check your writing for errors. Once you have proofread your document, submit it via the Milestone One: Persuasive Essay Draft link in Brightspace.
Critical Elements Proficient (100%) Needs Improvement (75%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Introduction:
Overview
Provides an overview of the
issue being analyzed and briefly
describes main points of
argument
Provides an overview of the issue
being analyzed and briefly describes
main points of argument, but there
are issues related to accuracy
Does not provide an
overview of the issue being
analyzed
10
Introduction: Thesis
Statement
Composes a thesis that states
the argument that will be
supported and proven
throughout the essay
Composes a thesis, but there are
issues related to clarity or relevancy
Does not compose a thesis 10
Body: Intent Writes multiple paragraphs that
are focused, clearly state their
intent, and build the thesis
argument
Writes multiple paragraphs, but
writing does not build the thesis
argument
Does not write multiple
paragraphs
10
Body: Body
Paragraphs
Communicates argument in
body paragraphs by combining
thoughts and ideas with
evidence
Communicates argument in body
paragraphs but does not combine
thoughts and ideas with evidence
Does not communicate
argument through body
paragraphs
30
Body: Opposing
Viewpoints
Addresses and refutes opposing
viewpoints in a way that
strengthens the argument
Addresses and refutes opposing
viewpoints, but not in a way that
strengthens the argument
Does not address or refute
opposing viewpoints
10
Conclusion: Review Reviews claim and summarizes
key supporting points of essay
Reviews claim and summarizes key
supporting points, but there are issues
regarding alignment to the intent of
the thesis
Does not review claim 10
Critical Elements Proficient (100%) Needs Improvement (75%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Conclusion: Insights Articulates insights about
argument established through
the analysis, following
argument logically and referring
to key points or quotes used to
support argument
Articulates insights about argument
established through the essay, but
does not follow argument logically or
does not refer to key points or quotes
used to support claim
Does not articulate insights
about argument
10
Articulation of
Response
Submission has no major errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
Submission has major errors related to
citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or
organization that negatively impact
readability and articulation of main
ideas
Submission has critical
errors related to citations,
grammar, spelling, syntax,
or organization that prevent
understanding of ideas
10
Total 100%
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Police Brutality
Your Name
Your Institution
Police Brutality
Protests are spreading like wildfire in the US as police portray targeted bias against minorities instead of whites. For decades, disparities have been evident between various races in America, and the police have seemed to side with white people. At the moment, the number of people murdered by police is constantly on the rise. While it is spread across all races, African Americans are the most oppressed as they constitute a lower percentage of the general population. People such as Latinos and especially African Americans have had to live with stigmatization from the police as they endure rooted discrimination that has forced them into disadvantaged situations.
America has a history of African-American slavery that will most likely not wash away with ease. As much as the nation may have fought to end slavery, the white supremacist notions did not end. Black people are still looked down upon because they are considered inferior. In 1919 when a young black boy was stoned to death by white people, protests began all over Chicago, resulting in 38 people (North, 2020). While investigating the reason behind those many deaths, it was found that there was systemic participation in mob violence by the police. So, police brutality against minorities not only began today but over a century ago.
Poverty is one of the major reasons why minorities are attacked by police more frequently than white people. Underlying issues due to the discrimination against minority groups result in a lack of employment, fewer tax benefits, adequate resources, and lack of education. Slavery created a community of people who are faced with the deepest economic disadvantage and poverty (Pazzanese, 2020). The disadvantage of minorities not only focuses on financial but also the perspective police have. Police officers are more likely to impose the most arbitrary forms of justice on African Americans because they already know they are disadvantaged. Black people are over-policed and under-policed at the same time (Pazzanese, 2020). Over-policed due to the violence police have over them and under-policed due to police’s unlikeliness to respond to their grievances on brutality.
Some may say that police brutality is spread across all races since statistical data shows those police killings are represented across whites, blacks, and Latinos. However, such claims are without a concrete basis since African Americans make up the least percentage in the US population. About 13% were African-American in the US, but their deaths were represented by an overall 26% nationwide (Matthews, 2020). Scholars have risen to point out that African Americans are killed at double the ratio. Just the other day, protests spread globally due to a police officer’s video, slowly killing George Floyd. This year alone, Fata Encounters (a website that documents police-related deaths) showed that since the year 2000, there had been 28,139 police killings with 7,612 of the victims being Black people.
Overall, police injustices against minorities are deeply rooted in history and the current disadvantages faced by such communities. African American’s and Latinos are more susceptible to police brutality since they have been looked down upon for ages. On top of the discrimination, they have been plagued with poverty and no one to turn to. The same police departments that are supposed to protect these communities end up turning against them and leaving them with no place to seek refuge. It is indeed worrying how police brutality continues to escalate in America with no justice being served.
References
Matthews, A. (2020). African Americans face deadly endemic police violence in US. Retrieved from https://www.dw.com/en/african-americans-face-deadly-endemic-police-violence-in-us/a-53646354
North, A. (2020). How Racist Policing took over American cities, explained by a historian. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/2020/6/6/21280643/police-brutality-violence-protests-racism-khalil-muhammad
Pazzanese, C. (2020). The Fire This Time. Retrieved from https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/06/lawrence-d-bobo-examines-police-killings-of-black-men/
