Presenting A Case

In a well-written, well-organized, and thorough essay of approximately three (3) double-spaced pages, please respond to the following prompt.
Imagine that there was a student initiative brought to the CSUN administration. Students (cheerleaders, pep teams, sports teams) have requested that they be permitted to publicly perform and/or lead prayers before or during CSUN sporting events. They argue that their inability to do so violates both their right to free speech and their free exercise of religion.
Your job is to present a case either in favor of (an amicus brief) or against their initiative.
To do this, you should thoroughly understand the First Amendment materials assigned in the Rodman text book. You might consider examining also both Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.and the more recent Greece v. Galloway case (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Furthermore, you should consider what is called the “Lemon Test” (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (because of the name of a litigant in an earlier case) used by the Supreme Court to determine whether a case violates the Establishment Clause or not.
In-text Citations
If from a book: (Rodman 172)
In-text citations for court cases: Basic format: Name the act or case either in a signal phrase or in parentheses. Italicize the names of cases but not the names of acts.
• Example of a Court Case: In Brown v. Board of Education the United States Supreme Court outlawed segregated schools.
• Example of an Act: The Clear Air Act regulates emissions to protect the air quality of the United States.
Works Cited for books follows this format: Burke, Kenneth, ed. Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1966. Print.
Works Cited for court cases: Basic format for a Court Case: Name v. Name. Volume Name Page Number of the Law Report. Court Name. Year of Decision. Publication Information.
• Example: Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe. 530 US 290. Supreme Court of the US. 200. Oyez.org., n.d. Web. Nov. 12, 2018.
Rules of the Road
• Use only third-person. When you use first-person (“I think,” or “In my opinion” or “We Americans” or “Our country,” you weaken your authoritative voice into mere opinion. Present instead a well-reasoned argument with strong examples using only third-person (he/she/it).
• The key to success is RE-reading. The more capably you understand and use the texts in your writing, the stronger your argument will be.
• Grammar, spelling, syntax (sentence order and structure) all count.
• Pay attention to the organization and flow of your essay. Use an outline to structure your thinking. Use transitions to move the reader from one paragraph to another.
• For an essay like this, a standard five paragraph approach works well. Begin with an introductory paragraph with a thesis. Support the thesis with three substantial points, each of which directly refer to relevant readings or quotes. Conclude your essay with a summarizing paragraph that basically restates what you have just argued.
• Write more than one draft, and take care to proofread.
• Use MLA for your citations. This is a sample paper that shows how to use MLA (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
• Papers will be evaluated as follows
o Conventions. Spelling, grammar, sentence structure and citations are used correctly. (Citation: use MLA.Links to an external site.
o Clarity. Demonstrates comprehension of the readings; uses especially relevant quotes or paraphrases to support your thinking. (Remember, no more than 10% of your essay should contain direct quotes).
o Organization. Paragraphs flow from one to another with well-written transition sentences, beginning with a introduction that initiates the reader and ending with a conclusion that succinctly re-states your thinking.
Feel free to make use of the University Writing Center on the third floor of Oviatt Library.
Finally, here is a sample paper using MLA. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
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