H10A
Paragraph-by-Paragraph Identification of Main Ideas in “Driving Down the Drive-by’s” Position Paper
1. Introduction
2. innocent people are victimized by gang violence, which hits close to home
3. statistics and expert opinion establishing that gang violence has become an increasingly serious problem in the Los Angeles area
4. the high number of gangsters in the Los Angeles area and the culture of violence they’ve created
5. evidence (survey and expert opinion) of how strong a presence gangs have in the San Fernando/Pacoima area
6. evidence of the harm done by gangsters (personal injury and property damage) in the San Fernando/Pacoima area
7. evidence of the negative psychological effect of gang violence on residents of the San Fernando/Pacoima area\
8. evidence of the negative impact on students and their desire to get an education
9. presentation of one cause of gangsterism: the involvement of parents and other relatives gang activity
10. presentation of an idea for dealing with the problem of gang violence – legalizing drugs – and the names and titles of prominent people who support it
11. reason in support of the idea that legalizing drugs will solve the gang problem: that it would eliminate the black market
12. reason in support of the idea that legalizing drugs will solve the gang problem: that it would save taxpayers a lot of money
13. reason in support of the idea that legalizing drugs will solve the gang problem: the War on Drugs isn’t working, and It’s costing a lot of money
14. reason in support of the idea that legalizing drugs will solve the gang problem: that it would lead to the creation and sale of a “safer” high
15. presentation of counterargument – that legalization would lead to increased consumption of drugs – and a refutation asserting that alcohol use didn’t significantly increase after Prohibition was repealed
16. various criticisms of the proposal to legalize drugs: drug use will increase because of its power to addict; crime will increase; a black market will emerge for drugs that aren’t legalized
17. economic criticisms of the proposal to legalize drugs: taxes will have to be increased to treat all the new users; worker productivity will decline
18. suggestion that there are likely to be many more accidents in the workplace if workers are allowed to take drugs
19. writer’s proposal for dealing with the problem – hiring more police – and evidence that doing so works to lower crime
20. comparison of police numbers in LA and NYC to suggest that LA has far too few police
21. more comparisons of LA and NYC – as well as Chicago and Philadelphia - to suggest that LA has far too few police
22. evidence that LA can afford to hire more police, contrary to what some city officials appear to believe
23. evidence that LA residents can afford to pay higher taxes – necessary to hire more police
24. possible reasons for why rich LA residents may be less willing to pay higher taxes to hire more police
25. restatement of proposal, noting that LA actually has fewer police now than it did 10 years earlier
26. conclusion