For your third essay, you are going to write an editorial-style essay in which you will aim to accomplish THREE tasks:

• tell (briefly) the story of the 1955 Emmett Till murder and murder trial
• explain to your reader why the U.S. Justice Department has reopened the Emmett Till murder case
• argue why YOU believe that the decision of the U.S. government to reopen this murder case is either a good or a bad idea

In order to accomplish these aims, you will need to think of your reader as someone like yourself (other students here at SIUE) who may not know anything about the original event. Therefore, first spend a little bit of time informing your reader about the details of the 1955 murder and trial (this is what we call "filling in the historical background"). Next, provide as many details as possible about the U.S. Justice Department's reopening of the case, spanning from May of 2004 (when the announcement was first made) to any information that has recently been reported about how the case is actually being developed (why did the Justice Department decide to reopen the case, who and what are they actually investigating, what leads are they following, etc.?). Be sure to be as DETAILED as possible in this part of the essay (remember the mantra of the journalist: who, what, where, when & why). Finally, argue why you believe the reopening of the Till murder case is either a good or bad thing for the government to do, being sure to explain the reasoning behind your opinion in as much detail as possible. Do not assume that this is the "no brainer" part of the assignment, as if the only possible argument could be is: of course it's a good idea. No, they weren't able to convict the two men who actually confessed later to the crime, and yes, there might have been other accomplices, some of whom might still be alive, and yes, there might be important evidence that was overlooked in the original court case, but deciding whether or not the reopening of this case is a good or bad idea should involve all sorts of considerations: will there really be enough compelling new evidence to get a conviction (?), is it fair (in your opinion) to dredge up such an old case (?), what are the possible moral, political, and cultural ramifications of reopening the case (?), what are the possible social or historical benefits (or lack thereof) to reopening the case (?), etc. I expect to see some DEEP THINKING in this essay--don't just point out the obvious.

    You must have at least FOUR sources for this essay, all of which must be culled from one or more of the following periodical databases (all accessible through Lovejoy Library's website): Academic Search Elite, JSTOR, LEXIS-NEXIS, Project Muse, and WilsonSelectPlus. Be sure to follow MLA-style citation in the main body of your paper, and to include a Works Cited list. For assistance with MLA-style documentation, go here. For a sample MLA-style paper, go here. Important Note: POINTS WILL BE DEDUCTED FOR NOT FOLLOWING PROPER MLA-STYLE DOCUMENTATION FORMAT! Keep in mind that, whether you are summarizing, paraphrasing (putting someone else's writing into your own words), or quoting directly, that you need to cite your sources within the body of your paper. When listing your sources on your Works Cited list (all of which will be articles located via periodical databases), follow the sample entries below:

Newspaper Article Without an Author:

"Till case recalls shameful chapter of history." USA Today 21 May 2004: 11a. Academic

            Search Elite. Dec. 2004.

[note: title of article first, name of periodical it originally appeared in, date of original publication, beginning page number, title of periodical database where you found article, plus month and year in which you located article--abbreviate names of all months except May, June & July; also, please note carefully where punctuation needs to go]

Magazine Article With One Author:

Baxter, Kathleen. "Justice Served." School Library Journal June 2004: 39. Academic Search

            Elite. Dec. 2004.

Newspaper Article With Two Authors:

Lichtblau, Eric and Andrew Jacobs. "U.S. Reopens '55 Murder Case, Flashpoint of Civil Rights

            Era." The New York Times 11 May 2004: A1. Academic Search Elite. Dec. 2004.

Radio Broadcast:

"Jet magazine's publication of pictures of Emmett Till's body." National Public Radio 23 June

            2004. LEXIS-NEXIS. Dec. 2004.

If you have any question or concerns about your citation and documentation style, do not hesitate to e-mail me with specific queries (or ask me in class).