Please notice the HEADER.
You must add this on your Final Draft.



Go to “Insert” and choose “Header.”
Then choose the “Page Number” option that places the numbers in the top-right
corner.
Then add your name before the number, and click out of the header box.
Mrs. Musick’s
Sample
Research Paper
In this packet you will find a sample for
every required section of the Research Paper.
Please proceed thoughtfully and ask questions
if you’re unclear on ANYTHING.
Musick 1
Musick 2
SAMPLE HEADING:
Mrs. Musick
1/30/15
5th/Musick
Research Paper Final Draft
SAMPLE TITLE:
Cruel and Unusual Punishment
SAMPLE INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH:
Daniel Wade Moore was convicted for the murder and sexual assault of Karen Tipton in 2002. At that
time he was sentenced to death when the judge overruled the jury's original consensus to spare his
life. However, Moore was later acquitted and released in 2009 when 256 pages of withheld evidence were
finally revealed (“Death”). Because of a broken and inhumane system of punishment in the United States, an
innocent man was almost killed. For the last 200 years, the American justice system has used various forms of
death by execution to punish the most severe crimes. While the death penalty was established to dispose of
society’s most dangerous criminals, executions present many moral, ethical, and even budgetary problems.
Capital punishment is a flawed method of punishing criminals that goes against the principles of equality and
justice upon which America was built. Although some citizens believe that the death penalty is a fair means
of punishing criminals, the use of this unjust sentence should be banned in the United States.
Step 1 =
Begin with Startling Information that you believe will do 2 things:
1. Get readers’ attention.
2. Convince readers that your opinion on the issue is right.
Step 2 =
Give 1 or 2 sentences of Elaboration explaining what your Startling Information
shows us.
Step 3 =
Give 1-3 sentences giving a broader view and explanation of the issue and your
stance on the issue.
Step 4 =
End the Introduction Paragraph with your Thesis Statement.
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Sample for Body Paragraphs #1 and #2–
Making YOUR Argument – Giving a Reason You Are Right
The federal government should abolish the death penalty because executions are unfairly carried out
at a staggering cost to taxpayers. Depending on the lifespan of a prisoner, it can cost more to maintain
machinery and administer the execution process than it does to keep him or her in prison for life without
parole, which shows that tax dollars could be saved in the death penalty was eliminated. A recent New
Jersey Policy Perspectives report concluded that the state's death penalty has cost taxpayers $253 million
since 1983, a figure that is over and above the costs that would have been incurred had the state utilized a
sentence of life without parole instead of death (Smith 24). This report clearly shows the excessive amount
of money being wasted to pay for executions. The current death penalty policies are punishing both the
convicted criminals and the innocent taxpayers by using more of their money than is necessary. While
some death penalty advocates believe that being killed is a more appropriate sentence for severe criminals,
if the life in prison was uncomfortable with no luxuries, life in prison could be both harsh and cheaper. If
the federal government forced all communities to choose an alternate punishment, such as life in prison
without parole, the criminals could be punished and taxpayers could keep more of their own money in their
own pockets. Not only is the cost of execution high, but the many appeals each convicted felon is granted
in death penalty cases are a drain on state and federal budgets. An article written by Richard C. Dieter,
Executive Director of The Death Penalty Information Center, states, “Before the Los Angeles
riots…California had little money for innovations like community policing, but was managing to spend an
extra $90 million per year on capital punishment appeals. Texas, with over 300 people on death row, is
spending an estimated $2.3 million per case…” (Dieter 1). As seen in Dieter’s article, some states that are
already in budget crisis are being further driven into the ground by an expensive judicial policy. This is an
unfair use of tax dollars, when, Dieter states, some communities are forced to spend millions on convicted
criminals, while neglecting other public services. Although some supporters of the death penalty may
argue that executions are worth the cost to punish the worst criminals, it is unfair to create a financial
hardships for the millions of law-abiding taxpayers in the US.The millions of dollars spent on the often
fruitless appeals could be much more wisely spent if the death penalty was banned and felons were given
an alternate sentence. The federal government needs to protect its taxpayers from this needless waste by
legislating a federal ban on the use of the death penalty.
THIS WAS ONE FULL PARAGRAPH –
After finishing this 1st body paragraph, you will need to write your 2nd body paragraph, giving a new
idea/argument to support your Thesis Statement (i.e. another reason your opinion is right).
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Sample for Body Paragraph #3 –
Rebuttal – Proving that an argument from the “Other Side” is Wrong
Although many death penalty supporters argue that the threat of being executed discourages people from
committing serious crimes, in reality the death penalty does not effectively deter criminals. Many murders in
the United States are spontaneous crimes of passion during which the murderer is not thinking through the
possible consequences of his behavior; thus, the threat of death is not a factor in his decision-making process.
In an article by Margaret Howard, entitled, “Husband-Wife Homicide: An Essay From a Family Law
Perspective,” Howard cites research showing that sixty-six percent of spousal homicides result from a family
quarrel or altercation, and in most of these cases the murders are spontaneous “crimes of passion.” In these
cases, there was no premeditated plan to kill (Howard 2-5). This study illustrates that in many cases the threat
of the death penalty made little difference on the criminals’ decisions to kill. The threat of death as a
consequence for murder did not discourage these “passion killers,” and now they are unfairly faced with the
punishment of lethal injection. Rather than continuing to use the ineffective threat of death to deter crime,
perhaps tax money could be better spent on other, more effective, methods of crime prevention, such as
counseling violent offenders to better control their rages. Furthermore, states without the death penalty have
historically lower murder rates than those that do carry the death penalty, which proves that the threat of death
has not been an adequate crime deterrent. For example, the New York Times article, “States Without Death
Penalty Have Lower Homicide Rates,” found that, in 1998, the murder rate in West Virginia [no death penalty]
was 30% lower than that of Virginia [death penalty]. Similarly, the murder rate in Massachusetts [no death
penalty] was lower than Connecticut, which had six people on death row (Bonner). This evidence disproves the
argument that the threat of capital punishment discourages crime, showing that, in reality, it seems to do the
opposite. Based on these numbers the justice system might be better served by looking into the causes of
capital offenses and developing policies that curb people’s desire to kill. The United States cannot continue to
rely on the illogical belief that the death penalty will scare away potential murderers, when clearly that is not
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always the case. Because murderers have proven that their violent instincts will win through without regard to
legal threats, the federal government must do away with the death penalty.
SAMPLE Conclusion Paragraph:
To prevent future injustice in American society, the United States government needs to legislate a
federal ban against the use of the death penalty. A 2000 study out of Columbia University found that between
1973 and 1995 70% of death sentence verdicts were reversed due to "serious error" that left the reliability of the
trial outcome in doubt (Walker). Clearly, such a heavily flawed and unreliable system of justice should not be
allowed to take human life. If the federal government continues to allow the death penalty as a possible
punishment for first-degree murder, then lives of wrongfully convicted felons will continue to be endangered
and tax dollar will continue to be wasted. America should ban capital punishment to create a fairer and more
humane justice system.
Step 1 =
Begin with a reworded version of your Thesis Statement
Step 2 =
Offer new Startling Information that you believe will do 2 things:
1. Get readers’ attention.
2. Convince readers that your opinion on the issue is right
3.
Give 1 or 2 sentences of Elaboration explaining what your Startling Information
shows us.
Step 3 =
Step 4 =
End the Conclusion Paragraph with 1-3 sentences giving a broader view and
explanation of the issue and your stance on the issue.
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SAMPLE WORKS CITED FORMAT:
Works Cited
Bedau, Hugo Adam, and Cassell, Paul G. Debating the Death Penalty: Should America
Have Capital Punishment? The Experts on Both Sides Make Their Case. New
York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Glazer, Gwen. “Declining Support.” National Journal. 10 June 2006: 74-74.
Nason, David. “US Courts Ban Death Penalty for Juveniles.” The Austrailian. 11 Mar.
2005. Newspaper Source. EBSCO. Lincoln-Way Central High School Lib.;
New Lenox, IL. 6 Mar. 2007 <http://www.epnet.com.>
***This is just a sample of sources and how they should look when you put them on the page.***
Requirements:
1. Every source that you use and cite in ( ) in your paper MUST appear on the works cited page.
2. Sources should be listed alphabetically based on the first word that appears in the citation.
3. Sources are written down with a “hanging indentation” – meaning, the first line is NOT indented,
but then the subsequent lines within that citation are “tabbed” in 1 time.
4. Citations should be double-spaced, just like the rest of the paper.
5. Use citationmachine.net to be sure that you ACCURATELY cite your sources.