Penalty of Death

Guidelines

Discussion Forums

In this class there will be a number of Discussion Forums in which you are required to participate. They are all now open; however, the Instructional Schedule in the Syllabus states the date that each Forum is due. You can find them under the Discussions tab. Forum participation requires that you post your comments about the Forum’s topic. Failure to post gets you 0 points and a possible semester grade of F.

Although you are invited to express your opinion, you must back up your opinion with good, solid academics that reflects not only what you are learning in this class, but which is worthy of a college student. I've provided you with an example of a good Forum post and a bad Forum post. Read those examples and insure that your Forum submission is a reflection of the good example and quite distant from the bad post example.

These Forums will provide an opportunity (read: requirement) for you to demonstrate your understanding and knowledge of their topics through the expression of your well-considered and researched opinion and to interact with the other students in the course in order to expand your knowledge of course material.

It is very important that your posts reflect an earnest attempt by you to discuss the Forum’s topic. Simply emoting or typing a few words or sentences does not constitute discussion. Remember! Your posts are supposed to reflect what you are learning in this class and your research. If they don’t, you could end up with 0 or, at most, just a few points. Don’t skimp.

Your post will be judged by several criteria including: academic support, length, grammar, punctuation, spelling, topic relevance, and syntax. You should consider your post to be a mini-topic paper.

Insure that your Forum post submission is a reflection of the good post example with which I provided you.

QUESTION!

DEATH PENALTY

There are any number of topics that can get us quite emotionally exercised and argumentative, The death penalty is one of them. The number of Texas executions since the mid-70s (when the US Supreme court reinstated the death penalty) leads the Nation. However, over the past several years that number has been declining due to changes in legislation, court rulings, and public opinion. Still, 60% of Texans support the death penalty. What about you?

Although we live in Texas, the death penalty is a national topic. So, while using Texas facts and figures for some input, address the topic nationally.

As stated above, the death penalty is a volatile subject, so expressing your opinion is fine. However, the primary purpose of these Forums is to solicit your well considered academic-backed opinion that reflects what you are learning.