Gang Violence

Essay Instructions:

New Orleans, Louisiana will be the community that is being written about. Propose a feasible solution to this problem, and justify your solution with reasons and evidence. To brainstorm ideas, think about what is problematic in your community or what seems to be a pressing problem, what has been done so far to resolve it, what solutions have been suggested, what your solution is to this problem, and why your solution is the best one. Part 1: Specifics of the Proposal: 1. Your argument should have the following features: - Description of a problem (Persuade your audience that this is a genuine problem that needs solving; give it presence; explain why it is a serious problem that needs to be resolved.) - Description of a solution (a proposal for action) that will help alleviate the problem (Show your audience that your solution is logical, feasible, and practical; give details as to how it will be executed.) - Justification of the solution (Give 2-3 reasons why your audience should accept your proposal and act on it; what reasons would they be more likely to accept?) - Description of the alternative solutions that have been suggested by others previously, followed by an explanation of why yours is more effective than those in resolving the problem - Summarization of the concerns and objections that may be brought up by your audience, followed by your rebuttal (Address 2-3 counter-arguments.) 2. Since proposals aim to bring about change, your audience should be decision-makers, people in power who can implement your solution and make that change happen. Remember that your voice, justifying reasons, and evidence should be geared towards this specific audience. 3. You must use at least four academic and credible sources to support your opinions.

Does the essay have a clearly identified audience who are decision-makers and have the authority, resources to implement the solution? Who is that audience? How do you know? The author’s audience are the citizens of New Orleans, Louisiana. The author identifies the community and government of New Orleans as the sole people relied upon to resolve the problem.
Does the essay clearly identify the problem and demonstrate a need for change? The author needs to better identify the problem which needs to be resolved. It begins with mentioning gang violence, but later identifies drug cartels and police corruption as the major problems too.
What is the problem (write it here)? Do you believe it is truly a problem? How could the author be more convincing? The author identifies gang violence as running rampant in the city of New Orleans, and that poverty and desperation are major causes to it. After reading about un-enforced gun laws and desperate people resorting to violence to survive, I do believe it truly is a problem. I would like to know, besides murder, what kind of crimes constitute “gang violence,” and who their victims are. I think showing the brutality of these gangs helps convince the reader how much impact it has on the community of New Orleans.
Does the author suggest one solution, indicating it is the most feasible/reasonable/well-thought out? How could the discussion of the most feasible solution be expanded upon? The author states that education is the best solution to fighting violence. The author’s solution could be better emphasized and expanded on if it is described how lack of education causes gang violence.
Does the essay demonstrate sound reasoning and logic with well-supported documentation for the solution? Some logic in the paper needs better supported documentation. Maybe include existing education programs and the impact they have made, and show the correlation between education and income with some other studies. Evidence showing how education is the key would strongly support the arguments.
Does the essay discuss some alternative solutions, indicating that the author's solution is the most effective one available? The author mentioned the attempt by the federal government to intervene by making arrests. It is also mentioned how and why it was ineffective. It might strengthen your argument of education being the best solution by showing other lesser solutions.
Does the essay summarize counter-arguments, challenging the problem, author's solution, and justifying reasons? How well does he or she respond to them? The author does not mention counter-arguments to the solution. Showing why opponents who believe education is not the best solution, and then presenting counter arguments further strengthens your argument.
Does the conclusion motivate the reader toward action? Provide a suggestion or an alternative suggestion for a call to action from the audience. The author ends by mentioning education’s effectiveness on other problems and reiterates the importance of educating; however, I think the conclusion can end even stronger by calling upon every member of the audience to do their part. Mention the importance of coming together as a community and showing pride in their city of New Orleans.
(Answer either 9 or 10 depending on if the author created an ad/a flyer OR a video for the multimodal portion) For the ad or flyer, has the author considered layout (organization of and balance between the written and visual text), spacing, font and image size, font type, color, and clarity of the argument? Make suggestions for improvement. The visual presentation was good. It showed the balance between gangs and community. Perhaps clarify what is “a good outreach” you are referring to in the short paragraph on the bottom right.
For the PSA, has the author considered technical quality (accessibility and viewability), engagement, timing, and completeness? Make suggestions for improvement.

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Gang Violence
Ricky Portier
Arizona State University
English 102
Gang Violence
Gang violence is an issue that is becoming common and widespread around the globe. In the community of New Orleans, Louisiana gang violence seems like a daily routine, a disaster that frequently leaves the residents startled and extremely vulnerable. The number of gang violence reports such as murder cases on the police register is increasing every year, showing the elevating level of insecurity in the city (Wolff, 2010). Violence in Louisiana involves guns, drugs, and murder. Numerous gangs have been faced with similar charges in courts of law and the chain continues. In order to assist in solving this issue, the possible solutions may include conducting workshops and forums and creating awareness in the community, among others.
Historically, New Orleans has embraced Jazz music, which was practiced mostly by semi-functional alcoholics. The Jazz experts in the city later imparted people from other places with this terrific talent. However, regardless of this fame the city is also known for continuous records in crime conducted through gang violence. The number of murder cases since the year two thousand and eleven, up to two thousand and thirteen is shockingly high (Mobile Reference, 2012). The situation seems to be out of hand despite of the efforts made by the police department. During the authorities’ operations in the city, numerous unlicensed firearms are recovered. The increased cases of gang violence are believed to be partly influenced by the social aspect of people living in New Orleans. Some families are very wealthy while others experience extreme poverty to an extent of living on the streets.
Illegal possession of firearms in the region is rampant because the means of obtaining them is quite easy. There is black market for the firearms where the gun dealers fail to follow federal laws. The firearms are easily purchased without any issuance of license or even the background checks. In addition, the follow up on these dealers is usually weak and only a few culprits are caught. Arresting the gangs may not be a complete solution because the inventory would still be on the street to be resold. Further, other possessions of firearms are attained by the break-ins that are conducted by these gangs in residential houses (Great Britain, 2012). The gang violence had resulted to death of many people in New Orleans including children. This includes a recent case in the year two thousand and thirteen on November, where gang warfare resulted to drive-by shooting which killed and infant, Deshawn Kinard and his father Butler. Moreover, on the same year of two thousand and thirteen during the celebration of mothers’ day, more than nineteen people were injured after a shooting conducted by two brothers, Shawn and Akein Scott (Leap, 2012). The killings happen during their operations, since some of them are normally under influence of drugs while others literally enjoy being brutal. This shows the extent in which public insecurity exist in New Orleans.
Besides the murder cases witnessed in New Orleans, the gang violence also involve the sale of illicit drugs which is operated by cartels. The cartels are comprised of teenagers, youths and other adults who are recruited and trained by the experts on how to operate the business. Most of these people are usually jobless and look for whatever means to survive, although some are not initially aware of the kind of work they are engaging into. When these youths, both male and females engage in selling drugs they are prone to drug abuse, and they eventually get addicted after continuous consumption (Carter, 2012). Some people are just introduced by spoiled peers and start taking drugs and stopping consumption is very hard. When people are under the influence of drugs, they tend to possess violent behaviors that might cause them to get engaged in even greater crimes. Moreover, Hurricane Katrina left numerous families in great poverty. This is because most the houses of most people were destroyed and as well as their businesses. This left some families homeless and desperate and this caused them to live in poverty, leaving them on the mercy of well-wishers on the streets. After this time, some families were left to suffer in the streets and struggled for survival, forcing them to engage in illegal crimes even though it meant earning in the wrong manner. The racketeers in the area really took advantage of this situation to enroll many young youths in to their illegal business such as drug peddling. This is evidenced by the numerous juvenile crimes that have been going around the area of New Orleans. To the addition of the crimes that increase day by day is the fact that some police are easily corrupted and thus fail to arrest criminals, where they are given bribes in return. This corruption acts have led to crime increase since most of the cartels behind these business, especially the most powerful ones have not been arrested and convicted in the court of law. Unless the proprietors are caught by the competent and ethical policemen, they continue to conduct their illegal business and causing chaos to the community through violence.
The government in conjunction with the police department has tried to end and prevent these cases in the past through numerous arrests. The racketeers within the Louisiana city are known because of the number of times they have been in and out the prison cells. Most youths who have been caught conducting crimes and have been found guilty by the court of law have been imposed with punishments such as serving in jail terms with other integrated disciplines. However, the crimes in the area continue to multiply regardless of the number of people in jail. After some people have been released from jail they carry on with their past crimes and even become fiercer than ever (Carter, 2012). The Federal Bureau of Investigation as well as Justice Department have tried through all means to target the gang groups of violence and the ring leaders but have not succeeded in the abolishment of the crimes. The efforts of these departments cannot be underestimated because in the year two thousand and eleven a sum of three hundred and fifty illegal and unlicensed firearms were recovered from these groups in a span of two months. As this shows the high extent of crime in...

Updated on January 26, 2024

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