A Complete Guide to Writing a Winning Death Penalty Essay

Many students face the challenge of coming up with a good death penalty essay. This should not be the case since it’s only the topic that makes the work sound hard to tackle. My guide will enable you as a writer to come up with an appealing essay. Tutoriage company will provide diverse steps that will guide your essay and offer recommendations to ensure your work is professionally written, and, in the long run, attain a desirable grade. The first step towards writing a death penalty essay is to understand its meaning. According to the dictionary definition, death penalty refers to punishment by death for a crime that accords such a comprehensive punishment. Another way you can refer to the death penalty is capital punishment.

Types of Death Penalty Essays

To successfully write this type of paper, you should first understand what type of essay you will be tackling. For aspects such as analysis and examination of elements related to the death penalty, an analytical essay will be more appropriate. If you embark on an effort to convince a reader about an opinion you believe and stand with, a persuasive essay will be more prudent. For aspects such as evaluation or investigating the death penalty, you should apply an expository essay. An argumentative essay would be appropriate if you are to provide an argument about the death penalty, which you want to convince the reader that it’s more factual, truthful, and firm than any other stated argument within the same theme and context.

Topics Relating to the Death Penalty Essay

After deciding on the essay type to apply in writing the death penalty essay, the next step requires you to craft an interesting topic and thesis statement. Remember that the type of essay you will write will be a determination of your thesis statement (and main idea). Here are some relevant topics that you can use in writing a death penalty essay.

• The effectiveness of the death penalty in reducing crime rates
• The various Systems of the death penalty, and the order of effectiveness.
• How the death penalty provides a warning to criminals willing to commit murder.
• Is the death penalty fairly or unfairly applied?

Thesis Statements on the Death Penalty Essay

A thesis statement offers an outline of issues to be discussed on your death penalty essay for the readers to have a hint of what to expect as they go through your essay. Here are examples of thesis statements relating to a death penalty essay.

• Only countries with inhumane legal systems still use capital punishment which is outdated and primitive.
• Capital punishment only applies to criminals who have committed ghastly crimes. Countries that do not endorse this system are only pampering their criminals.
• The death penalty is a sure way of restraining people from committing horrific crimes
• The death penalty is not effective enough to restrain people from committing murder.
• There is no fair way of administering the death penalty and thus should be eliminated.
• The death penalty is effective enough to assure people that justice is being served.

Reliable Sources for Death Penalty Essays

After you have come up with the type of essay, main topic, and your thesis statement, you are required to find reliable sources that can either support or argue against your statement. It should not be hard to find such sources as they are available in different books, articles, or magazines that you can access online or in a library. It is a requirement to use sources that have been published within the last 3 years because any other source outside this time bracket will be too outdated to support your statement.

Examples of sources for a death penalty essay include:

• An article on the death penalty from Wikipedia

Be mindful that some education centers restrict the type of sources you can use, number of online sources that can be used, or even the colossal amount of sources that can be used in your essay. Some time back, Wikipedia was discouraged as a source of information when writing an essay. This is because professors realized that the content was not well controlled, as anyone could post any topic even without the relevant expertise. This prompted the editorial team of Wikipedia to step up and gain control of the content posted on their website. The information added to a particular article should be correctly cited from a credible source. This has recently made colleges withdraw the restrictions, and the source can now be utilized.

• An article on the death penalty from Google Scholar

Google scholar is another reliable source for information regarding the death penalty essay. As a search engine, it offers a wide array of quality resources relating to all debatable issues; it provides an option of accessing resources, from scholarly articles, magazines, to books. Several of the books and articles are accessible for free; others only offer specified pages, as others require payment to access them. Additionally, you can access citations for the books and articles easily.

• An article on the death penalty from Encyclopedia Britannica

As a highly recognized source, the Encyclopedia Britannica has improved from a 5.25 disc to a CD-ROM and DVD. Currently, you can access its online website and find tons of resources relating to your work.

Citing Death Penalty Sources

To achieve this, you must research and acquire recently written sources on the death penalty. Additionally, you should have a good understanding and knowledge relating to the citation of sources within your essay, and filling up a well-formatted bibliography or reference page. The citation method should be in line with the specifications. Examples of citation methods include MLA – Modern Language Association, APA – American Psychology Association, or the Chicago, Turabian Style.

Here are examples of sample works with sources used within the essay on death penalty along with the required entry for the bibliography.

• MLA Style:

With a review of various denominations, each has its own view about the death penalty. For instance, approximately 69% of the Protestants support the death penalty. Moreover, 53% of the people with no specific religious association also support the death penalty (Son).

Source format for bibliography or work cited:

Son, M. “The support and praise the death penalty receive from the American people.” Legal Report, 201418(6), 67-85. Doi: 10.12940/jfb.2014.18.6.67

• APA Style:

“Criticisms of executions under the confinements of capital punishment to administer justice face consequences of it being applied, when the defense rests its case on retribution.” (Leotard, 2017)

Source format for bibliography or work cited:

Leotard Jean-François, (2017) “Review of the death penalty as it is in America today.” Manchester University Press, pp. 23-49.

Death Penalty Structure

On this area, you are required to write an overview of that included the definition of the death penalty, how it is applied in law, and how many executions have been done in each state.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Death Penalty

It is important to understand the pros and cons of the death penalty, as it will help you argue for, or against the subject. Through this, you will be able to provide valid points with relevance to your chosen topic. Also, you should narrate the reason for your opinion based on your moral gauge concerning such issues, or financial and logistical aspects associated with capital punishment.

Global Perspective on the Death Penalty

The death penalty stretches its point of view across every country, with no single standard perspective carried out by all the countries. Most western countries have eliminated capital punishment, with others taking necessary steps to achieve this. For instance, many states using the death penalty have limited its application to specific scopes. This act of law can not punish Children, the mentally ill, and the mentally disabled. Below are several countries and their status on the death penalty.

The death penalty in America

While reviewing the actions related to the death penalty in America, highlight its historical perspective, socio-political arguments for and against capital punishment, and the current stance of America on the death penalty.

The death penalty in India

When you examine capital punishment in India, be sure to highlight aspects such as the historical outlook, socio-political arguments for and against the penalty and India’s current stance on this issue.

The death penalty in Australia

While trying to gain information about capital punishment application in Australia, examine the issue from an ancient viewpoint, socio-political opinions that are for, and those against the death penalty, and their status as per now on the same issue.

The death penalty in South Africa

Similarly, you should examine this issue in South Africa accordingly, utilizing dynamics such as historical perspective, socio-political arguments against or for the death penalty, and the current standpoint of South Africa on capital punishment.

Historical Outlook on the Death Penalty

As you give a historical perspective about capital punishment for a specific country, apply issues that concern the social, legal, religious and political perspectives. The death penalty evolution can be traced from the fatal corporal punishment which the public would be physically involved in administering the punishment, to provoke fear to those with the intentions of committing offenses with a magnitude high enough to be awarded such a punishment.

Social Judgment on the Death Penalty

When you are required to give your opinion concerning this type of essay, most people believe you are supposed to advocate for, or against the death penalty. This way of thinking is influenced by the moral obligation and orientation we have on human life. However, the moral balance as to whether capital punishment is wrong or right is not yet clear. However, different sources argue their viewpoint using justifiable factual data, and you can use them to gain enough information that will help you weigh in your stance about it.

Pros of the Death Penalty

Sources that provide information on the benefits of capital punishment examine rates of repetition of an offense, the costs to be incurred if incarcerated, and the immediate execution of the offender. Most of the sources argue in line with financial and logistical aspects; thus you can utilize such information to come up with your own argument that relates to your perspective.

Shortcomings of the Death Penalty

You can find such information in resources that offer anti-death standpoints. They cover aspects such as wrongful executions, the cost estimate of a single execution, the lack of a deterrent effect even after the penalty has been applied several times, and the religious and moral orientation that argue against the death penalty.

How effective is the Death Penalty?

While arguing about this dynamic, first define the judicial system goals in administering punishments to offenders. Criminal punishments focus its impact on a specific defendant while serving society with related functions. These functions may be retribution, punishment, and deterrence. How well or bad the death penalty fulfills these three functions will determine how effective capital punishment is.

Legalizing the Death Penalty

Even though it is considered an effective form of punishment, its legalization or use should focus on consideration of questions other than its effectiveness. Your argument about this aspect should be technical or offer personal reasons that support or opposes the death penalty. After achieving this relevant conclusion can be drawn whether it is right to legalize or reject incorporation of the death penalty into the law.

Death Penalty on Teenagers

While discussing the issue of application of the death penalty on teenagers, consider the stance of different states on this issue. Most jurisdictions bar the application of this law on teenagers and young adults, while others grant it in relation to the degree of their offense. Studies do suggest that the teenage mind has not matured enough to fully comprehend the degree of the harm their actions cause to the general public or an individual. This begs for a debate on the legality and appropriateness of such a law towards people of such age. In your essay, you should base your argument on such dynamics to come up with a first-class death penalty essay.

Death Penalty Essay Examples

To gain perspective on how to write a competent death penalty essay, going through another student’s essay or a professionally written essay would prove to be of advantage. Sample essays will help you outline quality topics, thesis statements, arguments and correctly cite resources related to your topic. Utilize online resources to gain a sample death penalty essay that you can go through to help you come up with your original work.

A point to remember: While writing a death penalty essay, there are various types of essays that can apply to this topic of discussion. The topic you choose should follow its specified outline template to ensure the work has structure and logic. The topic you choose has to address various aspects that this practice entails, and the arguments you put across should highlight a high level of authenticity, and backed up with reliable information to make it credible.