a. Choose a topic and type it onto a document. * Drunk drivers should be imprisoned on the first offense

b. With whatever topic you choose, turn the topic into a question (or a series of questions). These questions serve as the guide for your essay, as your answer to these questions will become your argument (see the questions under “School”, “Community”, and “Work” on pg. 186 for examples of how to write out these topic questions). * Drunk drivers should be imprisoned on the first offense 1. Why do drunk drivers receive so many choices of how they can serve for their mistakes? What would be the negative effects of imprisonment on the first offense? What would be the positive effects of imprisonment on the first offense? Should there be any exceptions to this rule of imprisonment?

c. Free write for about 5-10 minutes on the issue: What you know about it, your initial thoughts on it, and anything else that comes to mind.

d. Respond to the following prompts for your topic: * “How does the issue affect different groups of people? What is at stake for them? * “What are the possible positions on the issue? What position or positions will my readers take on this issue? What do my readers know about this issue? In what ways might my opinion differ from others?” * List every reason you can think of as to why you hold the position you do on your topic. 2. The negative