6.4 Analyzing Audience in Race, Crime, and Punishment in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries

The main point of this article is to display the different aspects of racial discrimination within the criminal justice system. The author uses multiple statistics throughout her work to support her thesis. The audience of this paper are people seeking more information about the racial aspect of the criminal justice system. People reading this article may need a general understanding of up to date events and also have some knowledge of the topic.

Steven

6.2 Cultural Analysis of Race, Crime, and Punishment in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries

This article displays many different cultural events. A majority of these events are famous cases earlier in the twentieth century that impacted our criminal justice system. One important keyword that is repeated within the article is 'discrimination'. The main focus of this article is about racial discrimination within the criminal justice system and ways to reduce such discrimination. The author attempts to get the reader on their side by explaining how racism has been occurring throughout our nation for decades.

Steven

6.5 Analyzing My Own Assumptions.

Within the article, there are certain cultural and social beliefs that could be different from the readers. The article provides the belief that is similar to mine in that I believe that the information provided by the article is accurate. I believe that the criminal justice system discriminates against minorities more than it admits. One belief that I have that is different than the authors, is that the author believes in abolishing the death penalty. Some of the citations that the author uses is well before our time, but acknowledges the time difference and accounts for the fact that our society is always adjusting our beliefs.

Steven

5.7 Developing a Research Question

Throughout our criminal justice system, many different topics come up during debates that are controversial in our society. 

One of these controversial questions is: What are the pros/cons of the death penalty?

-The death penalty has been around for ages, and it is still a question of concern to this day. I find this question interesting because knowing the pros and cons of the death penalty can help decide on which side of the issue a person is.

Another controversial topic is about gun control. What makes/what are the details about being pro/against gun control?

-Gun control is an interesting topic because it is already written within our Constitution what the government feels its views on gun control are, but some citizens disagree with what the Constitution says. 

Lastly, this question is similar to my first question. Does capital punishment actually deter crime?

-Criminologists are constantly studying our society, attempting to figure out numerous issues, one being what makes people commit crimes. An opposite approach to that question would be what prevents people from performing crimes? Is it the possibility of capital punishment? 

Steven

5.6 Reflection on Project 1

• What challenges did you face during the Quick Reference Guide project and how did you deal with them?
• What successes did you experience on the project and how did they happen?
• What kinds of arguments, rhetorical strategies, design choices and writing practices did you find the most effective for your project? Why?
• What kinds of arguments, rhetorical strategies, design choices and writing practices did you find were not effective for your project? Why?
• How was the writing process for this project similar to other school writing experiences you’ve had in the past?
• How was the writing process for this project different from other school writing experiences you’ve had in the past?
• Would any of the skills you practiced for this project be useful in your other coursework? Why or why not?

-One of my challenges that I faced was that for me it was difficult to equally represent both sides of my controversy. Not because I favored one side or the other, but because I found it difficult to find the same amount of information on both sides.

-Some success that I experienced during the creation of my project was finding a topic that was known by our whole society. I felt my topic was quite popular as it has been on the news multiple times and has impacted many cities across the nation.

-I found it effective to tell both sides of my controversy one after another instead of listing both sides one after another. I also found my cluster map to help with my organization of thoughts as I was writing the QRG

-This QRG has been similar to how I would conduct other projects by being able to display both sides of an argument within the paper. By doing so, I was able to show where each side of the controversy was coming from and explain their reasoning.

-This QRG was different from other projects because I’ve never had to just give an overview of a topic and discuss both sides. Normally for most of my other projects, it would be multiple pages and I would have to deeply analyze both sides of the controversy.

-Some skill I learned from completing this project could be useful in the future. One of these skills would be the ability to give the general or important issues of a specific topic. This could help me conduct my introductions and conclusions more effectively.

Steven

Project #1 Final Draft

Who Matters?

Many people believe that the criminal justice system is unfairly treating minority groups. Due to constant discrimination, citizens have began to voice out their concern for the community. Others claim that the police are properly protecting its citizens, despite being criticized for their behavior. In response to a group of citizens proclaiming ‘Black Lives Matter’, critics have responded with the slogan ‘All Lives Matter'.

 Gary Lauzon, Nov 25 2014, Flickr

Black Lives Matter

This issue of police discrimination has brought about a movement known as ‘Black Lives Matter’. This movement was created to remind Americans that black lives matter just as much as everyone else's lives, but is not being treated as such.  Despite what many Americans wish to believe, America is not as racism free as we care to admit. “History has shown consistent discrimination against black people across many aspects of American life” (Boboltz, 2014). Many African Americans still feel personal discrimination in their own nation and community. There have been plenty of articles that include statistics that explain what it is like to be black in America. The statistics reported in these articles display that African Americans are being discriminated against and treated with inequality within the criminal justice system. An article explaining that the criminal justice system is not colorblind despite what people say states “black teenage men are 21 times as likely to be the victim of a reported police killing as white teenage men, according to analysis of 2010-2012 data” (Cook, 2014). This frightening statistic is one of the reasons why African Americans are afraid of our police force these days and has decided to take a stand to end the discrimination.

The ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement has been on the rise, growing everyday by creating rallies, protests, and spreading the word. The racism experienced is meant to focus on the criminal justice system along with the the actions of police brutality. Many different statistics show that the black minority group has more incarcerations when compared to white citizens. ‘Also other statistics show that blacks are stopped more, convicted more, and show the least amount of confidence in the police (Cook, 2014). Ever since the Zimmerman case, each and every wrongful action by police has been shown as an act of brutality, enhancing the movement. Police are being monitored more closely as different events occur throughout the nation. In some instances, police even feel that there has been more of a violent approach towards police due to what has been happening, and this has started a counter response to the new protests.

All Lives Matter

Others have decided to act out, attempting to show that ‘All Lives Matter’, or even ‘Blue Lives Matter’. These are both remarks taken from the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, but with a different twist, meaning that all lives matter equally, and that police lives matter too. For example, a Miami Police Officer created a video (link to video within paragraph) in response to all the police brutality accusations, in favor of ‘Everyone’s Life Matters’. “Marquez wants the world to know that while police departments may have some "bad apples," officers care about protecting the public” (Mazza, 2015). After her little son had asked her why she was going to work, she responded with saying because she cares about the community no matter what color they are. And while police officers may be frightened of the dangers due the line of work they do, they still show up to help protect the community and try their best to be fair and equal.

Some people argue that it is not a race thing at all, but rather the police are doing their job and protecting their communities. One article writes “black male teenagers were nine times more likely to commit murders than similarly aged white males” (Lott, 2014). This would explain why police are incarcerating more blacks. In some cases, the police may feel it necessary to enact force on people committing crimes. And, with all the nervousness of police officers being monitored more closely, along with the possible increase of violence directed towards officers, they may retaliate with the same sort of hostility to protect themselves and the citizens around them. Others against the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement discuss that they just want the violence to stop altogether. No more police brutality, and more of all lives mattering equally. One article urges people to “stop the silence, end the violence...all lives matter” (Reis, 2015). The advocates of ‘All Lives Matter’ want to express the idea that everyone’s life matters just as much as the next, and that all lives are precious.

The ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement has become a popular subject throughout the nation. With more and more stories of incidents, protesters are pressing for improvements within the police force to change. While on the other hand, advocates of ‘All Lives Matter’ try to press their opinion, in favor of the police. Whether you believe in ‘Black Lives Matter’ or ‘All Lives Matter’, one thing is for certain, something needs to be done so our society can move past this situation.

Steven Duron

References

Boboltz, S. (2014). 16 Quotes to Remind America That Black Lives Matter. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/12/black-lives-matter-quotes_n_6277412.html

Cook, L. (2014). No, Justice is Not Colorblind. U.S. News. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2014/12/11/no-justice-is-not-colorblind

Mazza, E. (2015). Miami Police Officer Lydia Marquez's Facebook Plea: 'Everyone's Life Matters'. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/miami-cop-lydia-marquez-facebook_55ee6d35e4b093be51bbec44

Lott, J. (2014). The truth about young black men and police shootings. Fox News. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/10/22/truth-about-young-black-men-and-police-shootings.html

Reis, M. (2015). End the Silence, Stop the Violence. Wordpress. Retrieved from https://matthewreis812.wordpress.com/2015/07/24/all-lives-matter/

5.3 Identifying Basic Grammar Patterns

Here is the link for my longest paragraph in my QRG:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/18dFQQTCU-Kq4ZQGCZZfWd-NHISTCf1h1tzCYvYIzC4w/edit?usp=sharing

I would like to work on incorporating different sentence patterns into my document in order to enhance my paper. I found out that I tend to use compound sentences often within my paragraphs. Also I would like to add different sentence purposes in to help my QRG.

Steven.

4.10 Paragraph Analysis.

Here is my link of my paragraph analysis. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ATXn_UWPDwv3oNFUHhDym5ChQs_n6Yw80ZTGfYZ8BgY/edit?usp=sharing

After analyzing my QRG I found out that I do not provide enough details on my introduction and conclusion paragraphs. Also I need to work on my transitions between certain paragraphs. However, I feel I provide good details and sources throughout my body paragraphs. Also provide smooth transition along with staying on topic within my document.

Steven

4.8 Reflection on Project 1 Draft

The two students drafts that I reviewed were created by Chris and Oscar.

After reading the comments that other students said about my work, I realized that I need to work on a few things. Adding pictures and sub headings will be a big addition to my work. Also that I need to rearrange and add sentences to make my QRG flow smoothly.

Steven Duron

4.3 Thoughts on Drafting

1. What parts of the book’s advice on the above bulleted topics are helpful for writing in this genre?
2. What parts of the book’s advice on these topics might not be so helpful, considering the genre you’re writing in

I think that writing in PIE format would work well well writing in this genre. Dealing with two separate sides, a PIE format will help show both sides of the argument. I also think organizing information would helpful to equally show both sides within the genre and also inform readers of the information better.

Despite it being important, I think a conclusion would be difficult to show both sides of the controversy equally.

Steven

REFLECT: After reading posts made by Felicia and Deb, I realized that other students had similarities in thinking that the books information on intros were important. I also learned what I need to do to enhance my project. Three things come to mind when thinking about what needs to be improved in my draft.

1. Introduction
2. Conclusion
3. Proper pictures and sub headings. 

3.15 Draft of Quick Reference Guide.

Here is the link to my first draft of QRG. While you are reading, could you please comment on whether I equally displayed multiple sides of my controversy. Also if you guys had any ideas for photos I could add, I was having difficulty finding some, that'd be great. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QmsbwGE12Oe16l0dFoXszGydJ3e3Pz_UxM-uRPYWvM4/edit?usp=sharing

Steven Duron

“3.10 Practicing Quoting.”

Key:

1. Use appropriate signal phrases to mark the boundaries between your words and the sources’ words (Red)
2. Establish the authority of the people/sources being quoted (Blue)
3. Put the source material into effective context (Green)
4. And EITHER use the ellipsis mark to eliminate unnecessary words from the quote in order and/or force it to conform to your sentence’s grammatical structure OR use the brackets to insert your own words into the quote in order to clarify something and/or force it to conform to your sentence’s grammatical structure  (Orange)

Steven Duron

QRGs: The Genre

Jeffery James Pacres 2009, Flickr

The conventions of these articles are that the authors tend to put the material in a listing order. Or the authors type out questions readers might have about a topic and then answer them. The topics of these articles seem to vary, some about politics or economy. biology or past events. All topics however, seem to explain the specific topic in detail and include pictures or graphs to enhance the article. These articles are intended for different audiences. For example, one article is addressed to audiences who enjoy the olympics, another is addressed to scientific areas. Also if economy is a topic of interest, there is an article directed towards that as well.

Steven Duron

Reflection: After reading other students posts, I realized that I did not answer the question about QRG images. I agree with Anthony and Jon and their responses about the QRG images that they are about a specific topic and grab the readers attention. I thought that the other students understood what QRGs were.

3.5 Criminal Justice Inequality Controversy

I based the center of my cluster off of my controversy in my major. Then using the multiple sources that I have annotated, found major themes about my controversy and connected them together. Using these key words, I will relate them together and discuss both sides of this controversy within criminal justice.

Steven Duron

REFLECTION: After viewing other people's cluster maps, I found that their clusters were straight forward in depicting both sides of their controversy. I think that building a cluster map is a good way to see different ideas and how they connect. The clusters that I viewed were Debs and Oscars.

2.17 Annotated Bibliography in APA Style

6 Annotated Bibliographies in APA Style

Article 1: 

Cook, L. (2014). No, Justice is Not Colorblind. U.S. News. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2014/12/11/no-justice-is-not-colorblind

-The purpose of this article is to express that the criminal justice system is not colorblind, meaning that the system is skewed in favor of non minorities. This article presents multiple graphs analyzing that african americans are facing police discrimination more than whites. The findings of this article via graphs show different statistics from scientific studies of african american incarcerations compared to other races. 

Article 2: 

Miller, J. (2015). FBI Director James Comey dives into debate over race, criminal justice. CBS News. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fbi-director-james-comey-dives-into-debate-over-race-criminal-justice/

-This article expresses the view that the police force acknowledges that some officers understand that the police force may be acting racially. The director of the FBI says that it is necessary for the police force to change in and become less one sided in the efforts in race equality. Despite some officers having difficulty being unbiased within the work force, he explains that not all officers are like this, and most started this career in an attempt to make the community a better place. 

Article 3:

Taylor, C. (2013). Introduction: African Americans, Police Brutality, and the U.S. Criminal Justice System. The Journal of African American History, Volume 98, Issue No. 2, 200-204. doi: 10.5323/jafriamerhist.98.2.0200

-Through multiple sources and scientific statistical studies, the article bases its info from the racial inequality and police brutality of the criminal justice system. According to the article, the criminal justice system is ineffective of being unbiased and that the African Americans are being targeted differently compared to other races. African Americans are starting to take a stand in its efforts to end police brutality. The article touches upon multiple topics ranging from police stops, incarcerations, and court inequality. 

Article 4:

Spohn, C. (2013). Race, Crime, and Punishment in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries. Crime and Justice. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy2.library.arizona.edu/stable/10.1086/681550?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=Race,&searchText=Crime,&searchText=and&searchText=Punishment&searchText=in&searchText=the&searchText=Twentieth&searchText=and&searchText=Twenty-First&searchText=Centuries.&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DRace%252C%2BCrime%252C%2Band%2BPunishment%2Bin%2Bthe%2BTwentieth%2Band%2BTwenty-First%2BCenturies.%2B%26amp%3Bprq%3DIntroduction%253A%2BAfrican%2BAmericans%252C%2BPolice%2BBrutality%252C%2Band%2Bthe%2BU.S.%2BCriminal%2BJustice%2BSystem.%26amp%3Bgroup%3Dnone%26amp%3Bso%3Drel%26amp%3Bwc%3Don%26amp%3Bfc%3Doff%26amp%3Bhp%3D25%26amp%3Bacc%3Don

-Similar to the previous scholarly article, this article touches on the African American discrimination when encountering the Criminal Justice system. The article uses different sources to show that statistically, African Americans are being treated differently when it comes to criminal justice. Also mentioned in the article are descriptions of different races compared to African Americans. African Americans have expressed concern about the inequality between their communities and different police forces. The scientific studies within the article show how disproportionate African Americans are incarcerated, along with all other aspects of the system, compared to other races. 

Article 5: 

Boboltz, S. (2014). 16 Quotes to Remind America That Black Lives Matter. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/12/black-lives-matter-quotes_n_6277412.html

-In this article, the author discusses 16 different quotes explaining the police brutality and what society has had to endure. From discrimination as a child to disproportional numbers of incarceration with African Americans. The article does not express scientific studies, however imports different pictures to help express her opinion. The author shows that African Americans are tired of the inequality and are taking a stand against the police brutality. The article focuses on the popular saying "Black Lives Matter."

Article 6:

Lott, J. (2014). The truth about young black men and police shootings. Fox News. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/10/22/truth-about-young-black-men-and-police-shootings.html

-This article expresses a different opinion when compared to the others, expressing that certain statistical data shows that it is not all about racism, and that certain statistics shows there is a reason for incarcerations. Most of the articles findings come from ProPublica, and goes into more detail about these statistical findings. The article also claims statements from other news papers may be wrong and urges the society to look into facts to help explain his case. 

Steven Duron

REFLECTION: I had to readjust some of my citations and change my link because the link would not proper display how to format APA style, After viewing other students work I realized that many students also work with APA format. It was difficult to find a student that had a different format than my own. Luckily Jon had a different citation style. The student I chose to comment on that had the same format was Felicia's blog because our topics are related to each other.  

Article 7: 
Kahn, A., Kirk, C. (2015). What It's Like to Be Black in the Criminal Justice System. Slate. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2015/08/racial_disparities_in_the_criminal_justice_system_eight_charts_illustrating.html

-The article displays multiple graphs explaining why African Americans are treated unfairly in the Criminal Justice system. The tables walk readers through the inequalities of being black through the system, starting with traffic stops and ending with parole.

Article 8:
Reis, M. (2015). End the Silence, Stop the Violence. Wordpress. Retrieved from https://matthewreis812.wordpress.com/2015/07/24/all-lives-matter/

-According to this article, police brutality has always been around. The article suggests that it is an issue of the police department, and not a black, white, male, or female thing. Reis writes that all lives matter and urges the violence to be stopped.

Article 9:
Petrohilos, D. (2015). Graphic: Debunking the 'War on Police'. Think Progress. Retrieved from http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/09/09/3699377/

-Mr. Petrohilos displays a couple graphs that go against the notion that there is a war against police. According to the graphs, police killings have been down, while civilian killings have increased. Also the article brought up an officer that faked his own shooting that happened recently.

Article 10:
Mazza, E. (2015). Miami Police Officer Lydia Marquez's Facebook Plea: 'Everyone's Life Matters'. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/miami-cop-lydia-marquez-facebook_55ee6d35e4b093be51bbec44

-Officer Lyda creates a video about what happened when her son asked her why she goes to wok. Her response is that she cares. She believes that when the police respond to an emergency, they do not ask about the color of their skin, they respond to help. She agrees that there are a few bad apples but the overall goal of an officer is to help the community. 

2.13 Ideology in My Controversy.

I feel this controversy is very important topic within our society. This discussion involves the nation as a whole, but mainly focuses on certain groups of people. Although most articles specifically talk about certain groups, our society should deal with this together as it effects our country everyday.

-The groups mostly involved in this controversy is African Americans and our Criminal Justice system. Some citizens view the police force as brutal to minorities and that this issue is very important concerning all African American lives. Others express an opposite opinion which thinks that the police are doing their job properly and protecting their communities.
-Multiple people have spoken up about the topic, many protesting and publicly voicing their opinions and different advice.
-This controversy mostly focuses on the social aspect of our nation, however political influence may be involved. The police force holds enormous power within the society, but some communities are speaking out about the inequality of African Americans and the poor treatment by police officers.
-Although the police force holds more power than citizens, if the right amount of citizens push back, reform may be possible if enough citizens deem necessary.
-Multiple police officers along with the FBI director have acknowledged the unbalance of racial equality, but some citizens think that more needs to be done.
-In my opinion I feel like the political representatives are listening to both sides, with different representatives agreeing with the different sides. As previously stated, the opposing sides have acknowledged police brutality along with the police force protecting the society.

Steven Duron

2.11 Evaluation of Social Media Sources

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/12/black-lives-matter-quotes_n_6277412.html

The first article is titled “16 Quotes to RemindAmerica That Black Lives Matter” by Sara Boboltz and is published by The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post is a credible newspaper. The material posted in this article about my controversial topic has been agreed with and posted by multiple sources. The article was written in December of 2014 which makes the article relevant to my current controversy. I think that The Huffington Post is a reliable source due to the amount of articles posted everyday. However, I do not think that the news source is considered a scholarly journal.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/10/22/truth-about-young-black-men-and-police-shootings.html

My second article found on Storify is titled “The truth about young black men and police shootings.” This article expresses a different side of the controversy covered by Fox News. The article is written by John R. Lott by Fox News, a popular news report, and watched across the nation. Millions of people follow their network ranging from scholars to famous people and the rest of society. This article was posted on October of 2014, which is within the range of when the controversy became a popular discussion throughout the nation. I would consider the source reliable despite it being a news group and not a scholarly article.

 

Steven Duron