Essay Assignment 3 - Due May 8th

Unit 3 Essay Assignment: Disparate Impacts of the Law: Race and Incarceration
DUE Sunday May 8th (by midnight) via Canvas TurnItIn

Details
A 4-page (meaning no shorter than 3 and a half pages and no longer than 4 and a half pages), double-spaced essay in 12-point font, plus a separate list of any references used in correct APA format (for questions see the APA guidelines at the Purdue Owl Writing Lab: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/05/ )

Directions
This assignment is worth 20 points. Combined with the other two writing assignments it will make up 20% of your final grade. Writing this essay will help you better understand course material and prepare for the exam.
Answer the following questions using the readings from the Introduction, Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 of The New Jim Crow, Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander.

Questions
Michelle Alexander argues that it is important for us to understand that the “New Jim Crow” is the Prison Industrial Complex system which has disproportionately incarcerated black men at an alarming rate in the United State. She writes: “Like Jim Crow (and slavery), mass incarceration operates as a tightly networked system of laws, policies, customs, and institutions that operate collectively to ensure the subordinate status of a group defined largely by race” (p. 13).
Carefully consider the four key points that Alexander raises in the passage above. In your essay, define "Jim Crow" according to Michelle Alexander. What sources does Alexander use to support her claim that the prison system is a reincarnation of this old system adopted by our judicial system to exclude entire populations of American people from its democracy and due process under the law.
Carefully consider the four key points that Alexander raises in the quote above regarding Jim Crow. Discuss whether or not you support Alexander’s claims regarding mass incarceration in the Age of Obama. Provide examples from class reading, lectures, or recent news articles (if doing this make sure to cite this material appropriately).

Specifics:
• Remember to do the following in your essay: state your own position in your thesis statement, and support your thesis by discussing specific points that address Alexander’s main arguments. Your essay will include a combination of your own ideas, analysis, observations, and examples/details as they relate to the main points that Alexander makes.
• In citing Alexander’s arguments use one of each of the following citation forms in your essay: 1 free paraphrase, 1 shorter citation, 1 block quote. Each of these forms is discussed below (taken from The Purdue OWL Writing Center https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/02/

Free paraphrasing
If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference, but APA guidelines encourage you to also provide the page number if it is a specific idea that occurs on a specific page of the original text. This citation form is used to paraphrase an author’s ideas in your own words without direct quotations, for example:

According to Sullivan (2015), different citation styles are difficult for students to learn, as many have been taught only to use short direct citations in their writing.

Short Citations
If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and the page number for the reference (preceded by "p."). Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.

According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).

Long quotations
When quoting a long passage from a text (40 words, or longer) use a free-standing block of typewritten lines, and do not use quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, i.e., in the same place you would begin a new paragraph. Type the entire quotation on this indented margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout. The citation in parenthesis should come after the closing punctuation mark of the long quote.

Jones's (1998) study found the following:
Students often had difficulty using APA style,
especially when it was their first time citing sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students failed to purchase a style manual or to ask their teacher for help. (p. 199)