Think back on your criminal justice or political science courses (based on which version of this class you are taking) and life experiences. Come up with an idea for an argumentative criminal justice / political science paper topic. In other words, pick something that could be debated both for and against. For example, you could argue that “Private prisons are good, and America needs more of them.” Once you have this idea in mind, write a well-developed (7 – 9 sentences) paragraph summarizing your argument. Next, write another well-developed paragraph outlining the best arguments that the “other side” of the argument could make.
Finally, Describe how you could write an objective, scientific paper about your chosen topic. Keep in mind that for the paper to be scientific, it must have a testable hypothesis that can be disproven using observations of the real world. If you can’t figure out how to do that, state why and pick another idea that works. This is the version that you’ll be working with for the rest of the term! Make sure it is something you are really interested in and want to write a LOT about.