[To somewhat help give a better understanding of where I stand in gun control I believe in my second amendment rights and I also believed in having background checks on buyers but I don\’t believe in restricting and taking away rifles and modded semi-auto parts…]

proposal argument paper instructions:

First, the format and length of the paper, as always, will be the same. Second, this paper will require you to pick out some crisis in the world, such as global warming, mass shootings, police brutality, terrorism, the North Korean missile crisis, a world killer meteor, the Coronavirus pandemic, teen violence, loss of religion, the loss of prayer in school, housing crisis, the loss of ethics, the loss of morality, racism, banking crisis, unemployment crisis, obesity, teen pregnancy, cancel culture, political correctness, bullying, etc…etc. There are many, many more. Third, in the first part of your paper, as an introduction, describe the crisis if it is not an obvious crisis. Basically, why is the crisis a crisis? For example, gay marriage may not be considered a crisis by some people, but considered a moral by other people. Therefore, you must explain why gay marriage might be a crisis. Find facts, statistics, and testimony from experts to support why it might be a crisis. Remember, a crisis is something that will cause drastic, long lasting, sometimes irrevocable and immutable changes. So, having a flat tire or losing a job is not considered a crisis, but a tire company that sells defective and dangerous tires to thousands of people, who does not warn them crisis or recall the tires, like Firestone did, does constitute a crisis. Also, one person losing a job, even though it may be a personal crisis to that person, does not constitute a crisis; however, if thousands lose their jobs due to an industry closing or moving, then this may be considered a crisis. This happened in the Carolinas and in many parts of the South when the textile companies closed and moved to other countries for cheaper labor. This was a crisis for many small towns whose major employer was a textile company. Again, there are many different crisis situations out there, but you have to explain and support your theory of why an event should be considered a crisis, and then you have to come up with the best solution for that crisis.

In the last 2/3’s of your paper, you should argue for one solution to the crisis. There may be many solutions to any crisis, but you must argue for only one, and then refute other solutions that are not the best solutions. In academic papers, you have to pick an idea and go with it; otherwise, the audience will lose faith and trust in you because you allowed yourself ways of squirming out of your argument. Many instructors, myself included, want to pin you down on an idea so that we can see how well you develop and support it. Be brave, be bold, and confident when presenting an idea. Therefore, you may only have one solution for your crisis. If you have many solutions, points will be deducted. Does this mean that there is only one solution to every crisis? No. There may be many. Do you have to address some of the others? Yes. However, you have to pick and argue for only ONE solution.
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EX.Ideas
In the last 2/3’s of your paper, let’s just say you are writing about teen pregnancy, you may find that there are many solutions to this crisis, such as abstinence, birth control, and education. All three may be logical, yet which is the most logical, most practical, the best correct solution? Yes, abstinence is great and fool-proof, but is it practical? Have people stopped having boom-boom out of the fear of becoming pregnant? No. Have people always used birth control properly or been able to afford it? Are there religious reasons why some people might not be able to use it? Are some people allergic to birth control? Are they embarrassed to buy or use it? Also, sometimes, it just does not work. So, maybe, the best solution is through education. Yes, arming yourself with knowledge may still not prevent a teen from becoming a father or mother, but, perhaps, you might find that statistics and experts agree that, beyond abstinence and birth control, education is the best weapon against teen pregnancy. Hence, you would argue, especially by explaining and using other possible solutions, that education is the best solution to the crisis of teen pregnancy. However, in doing so, you must also refute other possible solutions. True, other solutions may be good, but you are arguing for the best possible solution out of all of them. State your logical solution in your thesis statement. Argue for it. Lastly, make sure to quote and refute other solutions.

A possible thesis for this type of paper might be: Even though some disagree, education is the best solution for the crisis of teen pregnancy because abstinence is not always a choice, birth control is problematic, and because people have different faiths. In this thesis, you are locked into a solution, you have stated the crisis, and you have given at least three other possible solutions. These solutions may be good, and they may work, but you are locked into stating why education is the best solution to your crisis. Yes, I want to pin you down. One cannot be “wishy-washy” or a “flip-flopper” in academic papers, especially in argument papers. If one is, then one will lose credibility with their audience, and once that is gone, it is usually gone forever.
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Lastly, do not worry about being right or wrong or about winning or losing, just worry about having an opinion and supporting it well. Believe me, instructors will always want to pin you down to a single idea. See, if you have many different solutions to one problem or many different predictions about one future, then, in the end, if you advocate or endorse that anything could happen, you have left the audience in the same situation/position as when they started reading, with no concrete solution. In other words, they did not learn anything and there is no solution to a problem. They wonder why they even read the argument paper in the first place. Therefore, always pick one solution and run with it, for better or worse, right or wrong, good or bad, to win or to lose, but pick one solution and argue for it. The audience will trust you even if you did not convince them, and they will have, hopefully, learned something and gained a new perspective on the subject because of your in-depth, rational, logical, critical analysis of it.
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Two issues have come up concerning papers.

Do not use an MLA citation engine. They are usually wrong. You should be typing your own Works Cited page using the current Simon and Schuster handbook or an official MLA Guidebook. MLA citation engines are almost always flawed or out of date.
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MLA citation in papers

Open a blank Microsoft Word document.

Do not type anything.

Change the Font style to Times New Roman.

Change the font size to 12.

Where you see paragraph in the center of the MS Word document tools, slightly move to the right and click on the little arrow.

A line spacing box will open.

Where it says Special, change it from none to hanging by clicking on the arrow in the box.

Change line spacing to double.

Place a check in the box that says “Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style.”

Click okay.

There should be no need to create a page number if you have already set the page numbers up in the paper.

The page is now properly formatted.

Center your cursor on the page and type: Works Cited

Press Enter.

Align the cursor to the left and begin creating citations.
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Finding academic sources:

To find articles in a scholarly journal with a print version: database (citation number 2), open the TCC web page, hover over Service and Support, click on Libraries, scroll down to Visit The Library Website, click on Articles, click on All Databases…now you are in TCC’s collection of databases. Use the database called Academic Search Complete; it is an easy to use database. Click on it. If you are on your own computer, you will have to log into TCC. If you are at TCC, you do not have to log into the system. Now you are in the Academic Search Complete database. Scroll down slightly. Place a check in the box that says Full Text and check the box that says Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals. Scroll back up. Type any subject into the search box using key words…omit small connector words. Press Enter. Now you will see a list of article titles. Pick any article title and click on it. Note: If you do not see pdf files in the article, you did not put a check in the box that said Full Text, so you will not be sourcing a print article. A print article means that the article is actually on physical paper, not just digital. After clicking on the article title, a page will open up with everything you will need to create a citation. All of the citation information needed is on this page.

College level courses and instructors will require you to use academic databases whenever you write papers, do projects, and, basically, for all work that requires research. Surfing Google, Bing, Youtube, Yahoo, Google Scholar, or using any other non-academic source will not be allowed when doing work in most, if not all, college level courses. In short, citation number 2 and college databases are going to become your best friends throughout your college career. When instructors require academic sources, they are requiring you to use college level databases. College databases should be the first places to go when doing college level work. You are expected to use them as a college student.

When you have found an article in an academic database, you can print it, save it, email it, or open the pdf and read it. Non-academic sources, even if sourced properly, will not be given credit as sources and will not be counted as sources. Basically, if a paper requires four sources and you only have three academic sources and a random source that is not academic, you should be prepared for a very low grade and/or possibly having the paper not accepted at all. The assignment called for four sources, the instructor expects you to know that sources should all be academic sources because you are a college level student, especially if you have already passed the first college composition class, and having a minimum amount of sources means having academic sources, so if a paper does not have all academic sources for the required amount of sources, then the paper or project did not meet minimum requirements to be graded or accepted. In simple terms, use academic databases to find articles for research. On the Works Cited page, list the sources alphabetically. Do not use numbers or bullets.
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Citing in the body of a paper

In the body of the paper, critically introduce a quote, put quotation marks around a quote, and use an in-text citation, which is placed at the end of the sentence and looks like this (Smith 42) or (American Cancer 42). Smith would be the author\’s last name and 42 would be the page number. American Cancer, being The American Cancer Society, would be the online source\’s name and, again, 42 would be the page number the quote or information was taken from. If I see (Smith 42) in the body of the paper, then that will refer me to the Works Cited page, at the end of the paper, where the full citation is written out. Here is an example of a quote and an in-text citation: According to Douglass Adams, author of The Hitchhiker\’s Guide to the Galaxy, “the answer to the ultimate question is 42” (166). You could also write: “The answer to the ultimate question is 42,” according to Douglass Adams, author of The Hitchhiker\’s Guide to the Galaxy (166). Both are acceptable and correct. However, if you do not introduce your source, you must place the author’s last name and the page number or paragraph number in the in-text citation. For instance: According to the author of The Hitchhiker\’s Guide to the Galaxy, “The answer to the ultimate question is 42” (Adams 166). I would prefer the former to the latter. One must always preface a quote or tell where it came from, put quotation marks around what is quoted, and then place the author\’s last name and page number in brackets with a period at the end. The only difference when paraphrasing is that you do not use the quotation marks, but you must still introduce the quote and use an in-text citation. Do not do this (Smith, 42). Do not place a comma in the in-text citation.

-The format for a quote should be: Critical introduction, “the quote” (in-text citation). All quotes in the body of a paper must follow this format.

-Proper format

According to Douglass Adams, author of The Hitchhiker\’s Guide to the Galaxy, “the answer to the ultimate question is 42” (166).

 

-If a source does not use page numbers or have pagination, use a paragraph number. Count down the number of paragraphs to find the paragraph number. A normal in-text citation from a source with page numbers would look like: (Smith 33), (33), or (American Cancer 33). An in-text citation from a source without page numbers, using only a paragraph number, would look like (Smith p.4), (p.4), or (American Cancer p.4). p. means paragraph, not page. Again, p. means paragraph, not page. Only use p. for paragraphs. Do no use p. for pages. For pages, just use the number.

-If a source does not have a specific author, for example, American Cancer Society, then use the first word or two of the beginning of a citation on your Works Cited page for the in-text citation. In this case, the in-text citation should be (American) or (American Cancer). Depending on the type of source, you would have to place the page or paragraph number in the in-text citation. For a source with pages, (American 33) or (American Cancer 33). For a source with paragraphs and no pagination, (American p.5) or (American Cancer p.5). Remember, p. means paragraph, not page.

-To find out what word should be used in an in-text citation, look down the left side of your Works Cited page. Look at the beginning of the citation. There will usually be an author’s last name, so the in-text citation would contain that last name. Example: (Smith 33). The audience can then see an introduction, quote, and an in-text citation in your paper, look down the left side of your Works Cited page, see the beginning of a citation, and know exactly which source you are quoting from. If there is no author, follow the same rule. Look down the left side of the Works Cited page and use the first word or two of the citation in your in-text citation. Example: (American Cancer 33). The audience of your paper can quickly look at your Works Cited page, scan down the citations on it, see the citation that begins with American Cancer, and find which source the quote corresponds to on the Works Cited page. Do not create an in-text citation from information in the body of a source on the Works Cited page.

-If you introduce the author, just place a page or paragraph number in the in-text citation.

-Place in-text citations at the end of a sentence, not at the end of the quote

-Begin and end paragraphs with your words since it is your paper. Do not begin or end paragraphs with quotation or sentences that contain quotation.

-Whenever you quote someone, always try to say something in your own words about the quote. You should always try to interpret, explain, add to, subtract from, agree with, disagree with, point out faulty logic, or show the reasoning behind a quote. Try not to link too many quotes together. Use quotation for support, but do not let it write or dominate parts of your paper. Always place a comment after a quote…do not just go right into another quote. Writing a paper is not running or linking quotes together. 75% of a paper must be in your own words.

-Always say something critical about a quotation before moving on to a different topic, subject, or other quote. Always make critical comment on a quote. Never leave a quotation hanging. Never expect the quote to speak for itself.

-When quoting, always introduce a quote, use quotation marks around the quoted words, and place an in-text citation at the end of the sentence This must be done in order to protect yourself from accidental plagiarism due to improper citation

-When paraphrasing, which is not allowed in this course, always introduce the paraphrase and place an in-text citation at the end of it. Basically, the only difference between quotation and paraphrasing is the use of quotation marks. Everything else stays the same. It is especially important to introduce a paraphrase in order to let the audience know where it begins; otherwise, they will become confused about which are your words and which are paraphrased words from a source. Therefore, always clearly introduce paraphrases. Paraphrasing should not be done unless you are quoting from a chart or graph, unless you can write something better than the original author, or, sometimes, to capture the idea of an author by summarizing. Paraphrasing is a more advanced form of citation, so it should be used sparingly. Lastly, one cannot manipulate an author’s ideas in a paraphrase. Even though you are changing the words, the main idea of the paraphrase should not be changed. EX: According to Dr. John Smith, author of Duck Lovers, “Ducks love swimming in water” (42). This would be a direct quote. However, you might paraphrase it: According to Dr. John Smith, author of Duck Lovers, Ducks like paddling in water (42). See? Two words were changed, but the idea remains the same. This would be a proper paraphrase. However, you cannot say: According to Dr. John Smith, author of Duck Lovers, Ducks love swimming in water, which makes them easy to shoot (42). Paraphrasing does not allow you to change the ideas of an author.

-Do not quote small, insignificant passages like. Ex: According to Dr. John Smith, author of Duck Lovers, “pets are great” (42). This quote is not critical. Also, it could be applied to any pet in any context. Quote full length sentences and ideas.

-Never use a web address as an in-text citation

-Missing in-text citations count as plagiarism

-MLA citations should not be used in an introduction and conclusion. One should save most of the juicy details for the body of the essay. Do not quote or place research in introductions or conclusions. First and last lines of a paragraph should not be quotes. Place quotes in the body of a paper and in the bodies of paragraphs.

-There is no need to use quotation marks around a quote that has been indented. The indention shows that it is quoted. Quotes of more than four lines are indented. Also, the period jumps to the right of the in-text citation and the quotation marks disappear. Long quotes are used in longer papers. However, since our papers are short papers, I only want one or two quoted sentences per paragraph.

-Use your quotations to support your ideas, not to write the paper for you. For example, begin and end paragraphs with your own words, only use a quoted sentence or two in the middle of a paragraph, and then say something in your own words about your quotation. You can agree with, disagree with, add to, subtract from, or interpret the quotation. You do not want a series of linked quotes that write the paper for you. In other words, do not simply write the first and last sentences of a paragraph in your words and have the rest of the body sentences being quotation. Seventy five percent of a paper should be written in your words. Remember, it is your paper, so it should mostly be written in your own words.

-Say something critical in your own words about your quotation. You can agree with, disagree with, add to, subtract from, or interpret the quotation. Do not simply move on or into another quote. Do not just say a quote is right or wrong. In critical detail, explain why the information in a quote is logical or illogical, rational or irrational, and show some examples of how the logic, information, and ideas in a quote work or do not work.

-The use of footnotes is no longer needed or acceptable

-If a paper is cited improperly, it is very, very difficult for an instructor to pass a paper, even if the rest of the paper is perfect

-Make sure that the quotation marks are in Times New Roman, 12 pt. font in the body of a paper and on the Works Cited page. When you copy and paste information, the format and font of the quotation marks, sometimes, does not switch to your paper format. If this happens, just backspace the quotation marks out and put them back in. When you type them in manually, they change to the format of your paper, which should be Times New Roman, 12 pt. font.

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Date

Bear Or Not to Bear [Gun Control]

Introduction

Gun violence has taken a heartbreaking toll on many communities across the United States. Over the years, the US has had many people being killed as a result of gun violence. A good example is an incident that occurred in February 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland Florida. A former student by the name of Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and faculty members (Tatman 6). This was a terrible situation that led to twelve being murdered in the building, two died outside, one on the street, and two succumbed to their injuries in a local hospital. Development Services (1) suggested that there are about 33,000 gun-related deaths every year in the United States. These previous incidents related to gun violence have provoked various opinions around more strict gun control laws. There has been a crisis between the opponent and the proponents of gun control. Over three decades, the opponents of gun control have dominated the cultural, social, and economic disclosure in the U.S. Their domination has been promoted by the free market ideology; neoliberalism (Hudson and Watson 52). Gun control in the United States is rooted in the second amendment of the constitution. Even though some disagree, the second amendment is good, having a background check on buyers is good, but taking away rifles and semiautomatic devices should is bad.

There should not be any problem with gun control laws in place, however, the limits or jurisdiction of gun control laws should be taken into consideration so that they do not take away the right to own a gun from the majority of the public. Gun control laws are meant to bring sanity and benefit to the people but not to take away the fundamental rights of protection and security (Hudson and Watson 52). The author of this paper believes in and supports the second amendment that states that “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed” (Masters p.1). This second amendment helps protect most Americans from criminals and other possible threats. Gun ownership in America is a tradition older than the country itself. The founders of the second amendment understood that the right to own and bear laws is as fundamental and as essential to maintaining liberty as are the rights of free speech, a free press, freedom of religion, and the other protections against government encroachments on liberty delineated in the Bill of Rights

However, like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited, as observed in the recent policies to curb gun violence. The policy advocating background checks on buyers is a good one because it prevents guns from falling into the wrong hands. According to The White House (p.9), the most important thing that can be done to prevent gun violence is to ensure those who are likely to commit violent acts do not own firearms. Keeping guns in the safe hands and taking them away or preventing them from getting into dangerous hands is the best solution. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) was established by Congress to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands. It is a critical tool in achieving safety by ensuring that guns are not sold to prohibited individuals. The main idea here is a background check on every buyer (The White House p.10). The American Bureau of Justice Statistics has indicated that the background check system has prevented over 2 million guns from getting into the hands of prohibited individuals.

Just access to guns does not promote violence. There are other several and more important, factors causing gun violence. “Family dysfunction, alcohol and drug abuse, and violent behavior from repeat offenders are central to this problem. Add to that mental illness that is not properly treated and the misuse of guns becomes obvious” (Ausman and Faria 11). These are known issues associated with gun violence. The federal government policy that requires a background check on buyers provides a certain category of people who should not be gun owners. These individuals include fugitives, people dangerous to society, and patients with mental disorders. Others include people who are categorized among those prohibited from owning guns include with prior felony convictions that include a prison sentence exceeding one year, or misdemeanors carrying sentences of more than two years. Federal law also blocks the sale of guns to people who have been found guilty of unlawfully possessing or using controlled substances within the past year (Ausman and Faria 11). This includes marijuana, which, though legalized in many US states, remains illegal under federal law. Therefore, the author of this paper supports background checks on gun buyers.

Today, in the USA, some people are advocating for the removal of guns from the citizens what they call Gun Control, which is a wrong move. Ausman and Faria (10) also do not support the move to take away guns from citizens. The authors stated that “This simplistic approach of eliminating guns is not the answer. People will find other means to express their frustrations or outright criminality” (Ausman and Faria 11). The authors stated further that “Although eliminating guns is a quick fix in response to this complex set of issues, it should be obvious to the reader that the solution to these issues is multifaceted and will take time” (Ausman and Faria 11). After disarming the citizen, clime is likely to escalate by use of illegal guns, or by substitution methods such as s knives, bombs, and vehicles plowing into crowds.

Taking away rifles or guns from innocent citizens does not end violence, but instead leaves them defenseless and vulnerable to attack. Guns empower innocent citizens to protect themselves, family, and fellow citizens from violence and preventable harm. Asking the government to solve the problem of violent crime with gun control (taking away rifles from citizens) will ultimately lead down the path to authoritarian and Tyrannical government (Ausman and Faria 11). Based on the explanation above, the author of this paper supports the second amendment and the policy to carry out background checks on buyers, however, the author of this paper is opposed to gun control, which involves taking away rifles and semiautomatic devices from the citizens.

Conclusion

Gun violence has resulted in a hot discussion regarding gun control. Some people do not believe in gun control while others are advocating for the action. Gun control is majorly understood as taking away guns from citizens. Many Americans are opposed to this move. However, there are other regulations put in place such as background check, which is much appreciated by many. The author of this paper appreciates the second amendment and the background check; however, the author is opposed to the act of taking away guns from innocent citizens who only keep guns for self-defense.

Works Cited

Ausman, James and Miguel, Faria. “Is gun control really about people control?.” Surgical neurology international 10 (2019). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6800291/

Development Services Group. “Gun Violence and Youth. Literature review”. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2016. https://www.ojjdp.gov/mpg/litreviews/gun-violence-and-youth.pdf

Hudson, Grayson and Watson, Blake. “Critical Review of Gun Violence Management in United States of America”. Journal of Public Policy & Governance, 2021, 5(2), 51-59. https://stratfordjournals.org/journals/index.php/journal-of-public-policy-governa/article/view/817

Masters, Jonathan. “U.S. Gun Policy: Global Comparisons” Council on Foreign Relations, July 14, 2021. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-gun-policy-global-comparisons

The White House. “FACT SHEET: New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and Make Our Communities Safer.” The White House, January 05, 2016. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/01/05/fact-sheet-new-executive-actions-reduce-gun-violence-and-make-our

Tatman, Lianna. The Gun Control Debate: From Classrooms to Congress. New York, Greenhaven Publishing LLC, 2020.