Essay about Gun Control in The US

Minimum Length: 5 pages (not including the Works Cited page)

You will address the issue of gun control in the United States, taking a position for it, against it, or for/against some aspect of gun control (for example, you might argue in favor of more rigorous background checks).

First, collect the sources that you’ll reference in your essay. Read your sources before you begin to write. You should be completely comfortable talking about many of the issues surrounding gun control before you even begin to think about writing.

In the introduction, you should briefly discuss the topic and offer your thesis or main claim. The thesis should be a defensible position, something that another person might argue against. But remember, the point of academic writing is to think more deeply about a subject, not merely to argue for the sake of argument. You are trying to discover a new way of thinking about your subject.

The body of your essay should consist of 5 claims that support your thesis. Each claim should be supported by reasons and evidence (outside sources). What have other people said about your subject? How do their claims support your own? What more would you say about those claims? How do other people’s claims oppose yours? How would you argue against those people?

Remember, always ask yourself why and how about your claims and the claims of others, and then include your answers to those questions as part of your essay. Use the things you’ve already written to help inform what you’ll write next.

The bibliography (works cited) is a collection of at least 6 sources you will use to support the arguments you make in your essay. 3 of these must be academic sources. Academic sources are written by experts in the field and published in peer-reviewed journals. You should offer your own critical analysis of each source using the guidelines from previous critical analysis assignments.