English 2X1

Joshua Geist - Spring 2018

Writing Project 3 - Phase 1

Introductions and Inductions

Draft Due

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Length

1-2 Pages

Note: for Writing Project 3, we’ll be taking a slightly different approach than we have for Writing Projects 1 and 2. Specifically, we’ll be approaching this paper in phases. The idea of this approach is that all of these phases will eventually combine to form a larger, more formal essay, which will incorporate writing from all of them, but will build on them in such a way as to make something new.

At this point in the process, we’re beginning to write a paper about a book that we’ve only begun to read. We don’t 100% know what story the book will be telling, let alone how that story will connect to the larger ideas about justice that we’ve been discussing in this class. But that’s okay! That doesn’t mean we know nothing. We’re not ready to draw any conclusions yet, but we can start with what we do know.

Your Task

For Phase 1 of Writing Project 3, please write 1-2 pages in which you do the following three things:

  1. Introduce the text to your readers—who won’t necessarily be familiar with it. This should include (as always) the title and author of the text, but it should also communicate something about the purpose of the book—that is, what is the writer trying to do in this book?

  2. Provide some context for the text by summarizing the writer’s statements about the background of the story. All of our authors give us something in terms of an Introduction or Author’s Note that connects the work of the book with the larger conversation about criminal justice. Please include quotations and specific examples from your book to support your summary.

  3. Make an educated guess about how this story might connect to one or more of the Philosophies of Justice that we’ve been working with this semester. Does this seem like a story about retribution gone right? Rehabilitation gone wrong? We’re not committing to anything at this point; rather, we’re just starting to think about how this book might be a part of the ongoing conversation we’ve been exploring throughout the semester.