The 4 images are the sources kinda
themes pdf: the mese that i found within the sources
the engl 115 pdf: is the rubric or the requirements for this assignment
Assignment Overview
The second paper assignment for this class will be one that addresses the analysis of text. The phrase sounds intimidating, perhaps, but informally analyzing text is something we do every day. You may read reviews of a particular item you consider buying on Amazon and discover themes without even realizing it. What are the disadvantages or complaints about the product? What do people say about those features you value? In the end, you make a decision to purchase or not to purchase based on your analysis. You may do this with multiple items and then compare your analyses of them as a group. You might also do this with restaurant reviews, Yelp reviews, and other sorts of texts that evaluate a product or service.
In the field of justice studies, text of all sorts is analyzed to derive common themes that support decisions regarding investigations, arrest, prosecution, sentencing, and program recommendations (among others). A pre-sentence investigative report examines all the features of the crime through the crime reports and other reports (such as psychiatric evaluations) and summarizes them together to put forth a recommendation.
This assignment requires an examination of the texts of prisoners who write about a variety of topics including their life before prison, life in prison, and insights into themselves and their own understanding of their journey into prison. You will be examining one theme that you find in two or more pieces of prisoner writing. There are a large number of possible categories including such things as education/educational experiences, peer influences, abuse/neglect, poverty, and others. You will first find a category and then identify a theme; for example, there are a lot of different types of experiences prisoners might have in common related to education including teacher neglect, learning disabilities, stigma and labeling, and so forth. A single piece of writing can have more than one theme.
The second part of this will be to directly connect to your own experience. In this regard, it might be helpful to think in terms of comparison. In what areas do you relate or share a similar experience? How do you relate to the theme of what is said? Are there ways in which you differ? Why do you think there are differences?
Consider the audience for this paper to be an intelligent, educated, but otherwise non-specific group.
Assignment Goal
The goal of this essay is to give you practice in analyzing different kinds of writing (text) through finding common themes. This is a crucial skill for a variety of reasons. We will be practicing it using the actual writing of people convicted of crimes serving time in prison. A secondary goal of this essay is to expose you to the experiences of those who have been convicted of crimes. A final goal of this essay is to provide an opportunity to add to your insights into your own experiences and life journey.
