For this essay, you will investigate the issue of prison education and write a persuasive essay.  To help you in your search for information, there are lots of electronic resources at your disposal.

Ebscohost

You can read magazine and journal articles available through EbscoHost. Go to the Cerritos College Library Site, from there, click on "Databases" at the top of the page. Select EbscoHost (listed under Periodical Databases). If you are logging on from home, you will need a login name and password. Contact me for both. At the next screen, enter "EbscoHost Research Databases." You will be searching the MasterFILE Premier database, which is the default setting, so simply click  "enter." When you get to the search screen. Click on the box that says "full text," then enter in the search term "Prison Education." You should get about 30 hits. Each of these articles is available in its entirety. You can read the articles on screen, you can print them out, or you can send them to your email.

Internet Resources

You can also investigate a variety of web sites that will provide you information on the subject. Here are a few to get you started: Prison Education Resources Page.

You can also investigate any other library resources available to you  (such a books, videos, etc). As you collect information, take the time to read the information carefully and to evaluate the validity of everything you read. Don't assume that just because something is written down that it is true. Engage your critical thinking skills and question everything!

After you have spent some time investigating the subject, you will write a persuasive paper on the topic. There are many possible topics:

• What is prison education? Should prisoners be offered education programs?
• Compare/Contrast prison education in the U.S. and in another country--which has the "better" program/philosophy
• Compare/Contrast prison education for men and for women--is there equity? Should anything be changed?

There are other possible topics, just come and talk to me about your ideas.

Your essay will need to be a MINIMUM of THREE PAGES in length. I will be looking for a strong introduction that grabs the reader’s interest and introduces the topic. I will be looking for logical and reasonable evidence as you back up your claims.  I will be looking for a strong conclusion that leaves the reader thinking about what you have just said. 

You will need to develop a list of works cited (bibliography) page that follows MLA documentation. In addition, you will need to provide in-text citations documenting the source of any information you include in your essay. You will need to have a minimum of 5 sources. At least 2 of your sources need to be articles you have collected from Ebscohost. The remaining sources can be web sites. You will expect to see you use all five sources in your essay with the proper documentation. 

Essays will be returned unread and ungraded if they:

• do not meet the minimum page requirement
• do not meet the minimum requirement for secondary sources
• are not typed in MLA format (the format discussed in class)
• are not accompanied by strong evidence of the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revision, editing, proofreading.

Late papers (including those that are returned with any of the above listed problems) will lose one full letter grade (10 points). Papers that are submitted more than 15 minutes late on the day they are due will be considered late. Late papers will not be eligible for any revision opportunities that might be offered.

If you run into problems, remember there are many places you can go for help. You can go to the ASC or the Writing Center and ask the tutors or instructors for assistance. You can come and talk to me during my office hours. Remember that it’s okay to get stuck, but it’s not okay to stay stuck.

Also remember that you must submit your essay to Turnitin.com prior to submitting it in class.