Write a four-page informative essay (not less than 3.5, not more than 5) on one of the topics below based on the book Dreams from the Monster Factory by Sunny Schwartz. Format the essay in MLA style.
- Define and describe the Resolve to Stop Violence Program (RSVP), the restorative justice program that the SF jail undertakes. Track it through development and beginning to full use. Describe its ideas and principles; discuss the challenges it faced and identify the key figures in helping it get off the ground and succeed. Provide examples of inmate successes and failures. All examples must have page numbers noted where they are found.
- Discuss Sunny’s personal story and how it affected her work, perspective, and life. What events cause her to act? Give two examples of instances when her program work proceeded despite her personal challenges. Why does her telling her story matter to the development of the program and impact of the book? All examples must have page numbers noted where they are found.
This is an informative essay, rather than a persuasive one. You are not making an argument or trying to convince your audience to take a particular perspective. You are simply gathering and repackaging information related to a theme, picking out high points and significant events from the text and retelling them as if assembling pieces of a puzzle that give us a full picture when done. These passages are explanations of events or qualities and examples of them as shown by passages from the text, which will be told best by paraphrasing. You will refer to the text example by page number.
Think through what elements you want and need to include—what important pieces belong here? Hunt and gather: find those elements in the text, using (only) the best and clearest examples and passages. What logical order should your discussions come in? What must come first and what should logically follow, leading to what final discussion? Write an introduction and thesis that lays the groundwork and path for the body; write each body paragraph to highlight a particular event or quality, setting it out generally but distinctly in a topic sentence. Remember that your conclusion should remind us of your overall theme and summarize your main points. Refer to and cite the text by page number throughout each discussion.
