Civics and Economics

Honors
In Our Defense
Each student will be responsible for reading 10-15 pages per week and be responsible for
writing and submitting an essay on the given questions for that particular reading. Essays
will count as 25% of the quarter grade.
Essays are due at the beginning of the class period on the assigned date. Essays are to be
typed, Times New Roman, 12 pt font, double-spaced with 1 inch margins. They should
be a minimum of 1.75 pages, approximately five paragraphs, with:

a clear, concise thesis statement of the argument present in the first

paragraph, please note that there is to be a single thesis argument for each
essay,
clear topic sentences for each of the body paragraphs, and
a clearly stated concluding paragraph with evidence that the thesis argument
has been proven.

Please note that the minimum length requirement for essay #6 is 4 pages.
The essays must be free of spelling and grammatical errors, and without any 1st or 2nd
person pronouns. Evidentiary support must be cited properly using MLA in text
citations. Direct use of a resource is allowed with proper citation; if the resource is
greater that 3 lines of text, it must be type-set so it is double-indented and single-spaced.
Outside resources are acceptable but completely unnecessary for success with
assignment. Caution is given against using outside resources in place of the actual
assigned case. Students are strongly encouraged to schedule time with the teacher after
school to discuss any questions regarding the readings and the essay composition as
needed.
Once the initial essay has been graded and returned, if the essays scored less than 93%,
students are allowed to rewrite the essay for a replacement grade. All rewritten essays
will not be accepted unless they are accompanied by the original graded essay.
1. Due: 9/16/2015. Read pp 25-37, Freedom of Speech: Missouri Knights of the Ku
Klux Klan v. Kansas City (1989). Why should free speech be tolerated from and
granted to those people and groups who deny it to others? Explain and support
your position.
2. Due: 9/30/2015. Read pp 39-55, Freedom of the Press: United States v The
Progressive (1979). Which view is the most correct on the issue of government
information and free press the absolutist viewpoint or the national security
exception? Explain and support your position.
3. Due: 10/14/2015. Read pp 69-88, Freedom of Assembly: Hobson v Wilson
(1981). If, or when should the government be legally allowed to disrupt or
destroy organizations? When the government considers the reasons for those
organizations to exist when should the government be allowed to interfere to the
point where they disrupt or destroy that organization? Explain and support your
position.

4. Due: 11/4/2015. Read pp 89-103, The Right to Keep and Bear Arms: Quilici v.
Morton Grove (1982). Why have the courts said that states can allow
communities to ban handguns? In what context should handguns be allowed
self-defense in your home, or anywhere, or should hand guns be banned entirely?
Explain and support your position.
5. Due: 11/18/2015. Read pp 145-165, Right to a Grand Jury Indictment: Rudy
Linares, Double Jeopardy: Green v. United States (1957). Should all non-natural
deaths be considered murder? Do you agree with the Supreme Courts decision to
release Everett Green based on double jeopardy? What do you believe the
original framers (writers) of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights had in mind?
6. Due: 12/9/2015. Read pp 282-311, Cruel and Unusual Punishment: Tison v.
Arizona (1978). How did the Supreme Court decisions in Furman v Georgia and
Gregg v Georgia help to clarify the use of the death penalty? Do you believe that
persons who are convicted under the felony murder rule should be given the same
sentence (death penalty) as the actual person who did the killing? Explain and
support your position. Please remember that this essay must be a minimum of
4 pages.

Criteria
Organization

Content

Thesis

Support

A 90-100%
Excellent

B 80-89%
Proficient

C 70-79%
Competent

D/F 0-69%
Must Re-write

The essay contains a

logically developed
introduction, body, and
conclusion
Paragraphs have smooth,
effective and varied
transitions.
The essay effectively
argues a position on the
Bill of rights and contains
effective, detailed, and
relevant pro arguments.
Con position is
acknowledged.

The essay contains an

introduction, body,
and conclusion.
Most paragraphs
have effective
transitions.

The essay contains an

introduction, body,
and conclusion.
Paragraphs lack
effective transitions.

The essay only

addresses a few of
the comparison
topics.
Paragraphs do not
have transitions.

The essay argues a

position on the Bill of
Rights and contains
detailed, and relevant
pro arguments Con
position is
acknowledged.

The essay attempts to

argue a position on a
specific topic and
contains some vague
pro and con
arguments.

The essay altogether

fails to argue a
position on a specific
topic with detailed
and relevant con and
pro arguments.

The essay provides a

meaningful and
thoughtful thesis, which
clearly, concisely, and
persuasively states the
writers position on the
topic to be argued.
The body paragraphs
logically and effectively
support the thesis and
main arguments with
specific and convincing
details and examples.

The essay provides a

thesis, which clearly
states the writers
opinion and position
on the topic to be
discussed.

The essay provides

an unclear thesis,
which states the
writers opinion or
position on the topic
to be discussed.

The body paragraphs

logically support the
thesis and main
arguments with
specific details and
some examples.

The body paragraphs

may support the
thesis and main
arguments with
limited, if any,
details and/or

The essay provides a

weak, unclear
thesis, which might
mention the writers
opinion or position
on the topic to be
discussed.
The body paragraphs
fail to support main
ideas/arguments with
details and/or
examples.

Conclusion

Sentence
Variety

Audience and
Appropriate
Vocabulary

Standard
English
Usage

examples.
The final paragraph is
partially summative.
It contains some
evidence of a drawn
concluding concept.

The final paragraph is the

conclusion. It shows that
the thesis argument has
been effectively
made/proven. It suggests
both the significance of
the issue/thesis and the
impact of the case
decision on the
Constitution/American
people.
The essay contains varied
sentence types and uses
precise, appropriate
language.

The final paragraph is

not summative. It
suggests a concluding
concept with some
evidence of
significance.

The essay contains

varied sentence
types and uses
appropriate
language.

The essay contains

few types of
sentences, and uses
basic, predictable
language.

The essay contains

no sentence variety.

The writer demonstrates a

clear sense of audience
and uses the appropriate
vocabulary for that
audience. No over use of
expressions such as
like, a lot, and well.
No use of 1st or 2nd person
pronouns.

The writer
demonstrates a
general sense of
audience and uses
some vocabulary for
that audience.
Occasional use of
expressions such as
like, a lot, and
well.
The essay contains
some errors in the
conventions of the
English language.
(Errors do not
interfere with the
readers
understanding of the
essay.)

The writer
demonstrates little
sense of audience
and does not adjust
the vocabulary for an
audience. Frequent
use of expressions
such as like, a
lot, and well.

The writer
demonstrates no
sense of audience,
uses limited
vocabulary, and
makes no
adjustments. Over
use of expressions
such as like, a
lot, and well.
The essay contains
serious errors in the
conventions of the
English language.
(Errors interfere
with the readers
understanding of the
paper.)

The essay contains few, if

any, errors in the
conventions of the
English language. Proper
MLA footnote citation for
documental support.
No use of 1st or 2nd person
pronouns.

The essay contains

numerous errors in
the conventions of
the English language.
(Errors may
interfere with the
readers
understanding of the
paper.)

Lacks conclusion
altogether or is
simply a summary of
what has been
previously stated.