Revised Thesis

Thesis:
The use of recording devices for police will not decrease complaints on the police use of force tactics.


Sub topics:
Different types of recording devices.
Rates of complaints.
Rates of departments who use recording devices VS those who don't.
Different types of complaints on police use of [excessive] force


My claim is important because police officers and sheriff deputies are being shown in a negative light recently due to civilians recording their encounters with the police. However, most of these tapes do not show the entire story to the incident. Many people have stated that police need body mounted cameras to capture the entire story. Will that truly solve the issue at hand? Is there even an issue at hand? You will have to wait to read my very in-depth and captivating argumentative synthesis.

Tward a Policy on Drugs Outline

Narrow Topic:
Talking about the legality of drugs.

Thesis:
Legalizing drugs wont diminish drug problems.

Expectations in intro:
Law enforcement problem
Criminal justice system
What people want from the police and criminal justice system

Subtopics:
Financial burden to the state in order to incarcerate prisoners.
Defining legalization>legalization does not always mean deregulation.
Decriminalization of use of drugs.
Use of free-market
 Linking drug use to crime>harder drugs more crime



Conclusion:

Pulls all the information from the proceeding paragraphs. There is no set solution to a problem with multiple variables. We need to think before we act.

Angels in America

In John Tierney's writing piece the message he is trying to get across is human equality. He uses statistics to further prove his point that Mexican Americans make less money in the workplace than other workers. Most jobs they are given are also less than satisfactory. Tierney's style of writing is written to speak to a couple different audiences. The first audience he is writing to are the immigrant workers who are being paid less than minimum wage and are given jobs that most Americans wouldn't want to do. The other audience is the wealthy, and more specifically, the republicans in office. He pleads to them to understand most immigrant workers are not here in America for evil reasons. Most of them wish to work hard to give their family's a second chance. His tone throughout his article is both somber and stern. He is both showing us the sorrows of the immigrant workers and also how strongly he feels about this topic. 

 In "Our Brave New World of Immigration" the main topic that is covered is immigration. The author is a noted conservative who is writing to show the harm in allowing illegal immigrants to enter the country undocumented. He uses qualitative information to state most of his claims. At the end of the essay he uses quantitative information to support his claims. He wants more enforcement on illegal immigration in the U.S. and for the U.S. to be less complacent.

Exploring Narrower Topics

Broad Topic:

Police tactics

What’s involved?

Hiring process

Training requirements

Ongoing training after hired

Department standard operating procedures

Narrower Topic:

Use of Force

Police Brutality 

Who’s involved?

Police/Deputies/Troopers

Chain of Command

Media outlets

Social Media

Victims/Perpetrators

Government officials

Narrower Topic:

The link between police recording devices and police brutality

What do I Know about the topic?

There is a lot of controversial police tactics that many people disagree with

A lot of police/sheriff departments have implemented audio and video recording devices on Police/Deputies

There are many groups that believe police using force when it is not warranted

Ideas:

Is there a link between police brutality and lack of recording devices?

Is there a certain type of recording device that won’t interfere with police/deputies while they work?

Is there even a serious problem of police brutality and tactics today?

Question:

If police brutality is a prevalent problem in today’s society, will the use of recording devices yield such violent behavior?

Image Interpritation

The first image shown in class is in the shape of a seagull. However, the inside of the seagull is painted to look like it has been pieced together by different materials. While looking at this image I am instantly reminded of the beach. With the different colored and different textured pieces filling the inside of the seagull are very bright and vibrant. I believe the painter of this image is trying to portray a happy and sunny day at the beach. Their use of color and texture is easy on the viewer's eyes giving off the feeling of calmness. The bird's posture gives us the idea that the bird is not agitated witch also gives us the idea of peace. 


The second image shown in class is a magazine cover with no text other than the date. There is what seems to be a human jumping and preforming the splits in mid-air. The person appears to be wearing a tuxedo. I, as a viewer, feel a sense of happiness from the human jumping at the top of the page. The person is jumping and raising one hand in the air to possibly show his happiness. The creator of this image has kept it very simple.


The third image there is a vulture watching a small boy who is suffering from starvation. The boy is obviously starting due to his easily visible bone structure. He is hunched over almost in the fetal position. The vulture is waiting for the young boy to die so that it can eat what is left of the child. The image has a strong tale of how the strong pick on the weak. It also shows a level of selfishness because the vulture is only focused on what he needs to eat. This is translated into the human world every day. There are those who are powerful who are not helping those who are in desperate need of it.

Workshop Reflection

While reading my editor's comments I was thoroughly pleased. I was expecting the editor to tell me that I needed to transition my paragraphs better, but he said other wise. He stated the organization and transitions of the paragraphs were well done. However, he told me that my introduction paragraph needed more work. That I need to capture the reader's interest in the first paragraph, and this doesn't happen until later on. While reading my essay over I can completely see what he is taking about. I was also told to be more descriptive on my surrounding area during my experiences. I think this will add to my paper immensely, both in length and depth.  

Paper Workshop

Personally, I believe that I should work on my transitions between my paragraphs more. I feel like I jump around too much in my paper. I should put more into leading up to my story instead of jumping right into it. I think the editor of my essay will agree with my earlier points. They may also give me ideas on how to fix my transitions and inform me if there is enough content to the paper. Some questions I would ask them is if they have any problems with me jumping right into my story, or if I should include more background.