Writing A Compelling Police Brutality Essay: Tips And Tricks
Police brutality is a serious and highly controversial topic for an essay. Using excessive force is still a common practice in certain police departments, so it is not at all surprising that people write tons of reports on this subject, hoping to draw media’s and government’s attention to this pressing issue. It is as well important to understand that police brutality does not necessarily imply applying excessive physical force. Verbal abuse is, too, a part of this problem. So, writing an essay about police brutality is supposed to get students ready for standing their ground and learning to make complaints against unjustified violence.
Still, given how complicated and controversial this topic is, it is not always easy to write a police brutality paper that would be unbiased and convincing at the same time. In the following paragraphs, we will give a couple of suggestions on narrowing down this topic and structuring the paper. But, before we start on that, students will have to understand what makes a compelling police brutality paper.
First and foremost, it should highlight the topic and say why this problem is so relevant for our society. Of course, to make your work more convincing, you will have to do a lot of research and support your arguments with real-life stories. However, stories of unjustified abuse will not be enough. If you really want to make your paper credible, you will have to include stats, reports, etc.
Next, any complex assignment should have an easy-to-follow structure that somehow compensates for its contents. Here, students should, first of all, consider all the requirements specified by their professors. If none are given, they should follow standard writing rules accepted in the academy. We will discuss all of these below, so read on to nail that police brutality essay.
Structuring a police brutality essay
Any academic paper consists of an introduction, main body, and conclusion. The first part briefly describes the topic and its relevance. By the end of the introduction, a student is supposed to present a thesis statement, which is, if you put it simply, the primary argument one is about to prove in this paper. The main body part should have as many paragraphs as you need, but each paragraph should focus on one aspect of the argument. Besides, all of your reasoning should be logically connected. In some cases, it also possible to state a couple of counter-arguments for your thesis (also in separate paragraphs). Such an approach gives any paper a well-researched and unbiased look, even if the writer proves these counter-arguments wrong. The conclusion is the part that sums up all of the main points made in the paper and restates the thesis. Sometimes, it may also pose grounds for further research; however, such an approach is more suitable for complex research papers. In a short essay, students can simply sum up the main arguments and rephrase the thesis, proving it right.Ideas on narrowing down the topic
Police brutality is a complex notion, so it would be incredibly hard to write a compelling essay without narrowing this subject down a bit. Your professor may give several prompts to choose from, but if s/he doesn’t, here are some ideas you may find interesting:- Areas where police brutality is most common
- Can special programs help reduce police violence?
- Racism as a ground for police brutality
- Gender implications and police brutality
- What punishment should be introduced to prevent police violence
- Public riots and police violence
- Mental vs physical abuse
- Are there any ways to prove police violence
- Which crimes are mostly associated with police brutality
- How does police brutality affect modern society?
Police brutality essay prep work
Even if you have chosen the topic for your police brutality paper, it still does not mean that your prep stage is finished. Here are some other things you will have to take care of:- Research the subject to ensure you can find enough info and supporting evidence on this topic
- Think of a compelling thesis statement (it should not be too obvious, and people should be able to argue with it)
- Think of the main arguments (and possible counter-arguments) you will discuss in your work
- Draft a quick outline to help you stay on track as you write
- Think of the ways to grab your readers’ attention (normally, such hooks are placed in the introduction)
Making your main body arguments clear and easy to follow
Once you have defined your topic and your thesis statement, you should think of the main body arguments that would prove your point of view. As we already mentioned, you can choose to mention counter-arguments as well. For example, in a five-paragraph essay with an intro, three body parts, and conclusion, two of your body arguments may provide arguments that prove your thesis statement right and the third body paragraph may discuss a counter-argument. When working on a longer paper, you can include even more counter-arguments, but careful not to over-do. After all, you’re proving your point of view, not arguing with your opponents. To make sure this part of your essay reads smoothly, make sure to:- Include logical transitions between the paragraphs
- Support each argument with data and factual evidence (use quotes)
- Disproof your counter-arguments (if you have any)
Wrapping up a solid conclusion
The main tricks to writing an impressive conclusion are:- Highlighting the relevance of your paper
- Summing up only the most essential arguments and/or findings
- Restating the thesis and proving it right
- Making clear recommendations about solving this problem
- Keeping the paragraph short
- Avoiding any new info or questions