26 February 2020 “Reflections assignment”

“Even 14-Year-Olds Who Kill Are Not Adults”

1. An explicit position: From the headline, the explicit position is that minors should not be
tried as adults under any circumstances.
2. A response to what others have said or done: This article starts off with the murder case
of Tessa Majors. Rashaun Weaver and Luchiano Lewis are the 14-year olds who are
being charged with second degree murder as adults in the state of New York. This article
is a response to the previous trials of minors as adults and an attempt to gain attention to
the idea that minors should not be tried as adults.
3. Appropriate background information: There is background information provided on the
subject of Tessa Majors’ death and how this case isn’t groundbreaking in any way. It
gives more information on past cases where minors have been tried as adults and gives
history on how these laws came into place.
4. A clear indication of why the topic matters: The “so what” explains how it’s wrong to try
minors as adults in any circumstance due to the implications and circumstances that come
with it afterwards. The article is advocating rehabilitation instead of punishment.
5. Good reasons and evidence: There is scientific research that the article uses to show how
trying minors as adults creates a more dangerous society. They explain how there’s a
greater chance of crime if a minor is tried as an adult compared to if they were in the
juvenile justice system. Combining that with the depiction of the U.S. as a country that
relies on violence, the article uses that to create a more sympathetic standpoint.
6. Attention to more than one point of view: this article doesn’t really address other points
of view. There’s not a lot of talk on the opposition where people would say yes to trying
minors as adults. By not addressing the flip side of the argument and acknowledging their
views, it does weaken the argument.
7. An authoritative tone: It’s not that authoritative because I see the article as something
that’s trying to bring attention to an issue. It’s firm on a stance but it isn’t authoritative. It
calls for a change, but it’s not really pushing.
8. An appeal to readers’ values: The article does appeal to the sympathetic side of reader’s
values, because it’s calling for leniency for minors that commit major crimes.