The Outsiders Persuasive Writing: Court Case After reading The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton you will perform the following task:

Task:

In our novel The Outsiders, Johnny Cade and Pony Boy find themselves in a gruesome fight in which a Soc named Bob is killed. There are two sides to an argument, and in this case, some may feel Johnny is guilty of murder, while others believe he is innocent. Choose one of the following and write your essay arguing for or against Johnny’s innocence. Write your essay
from the perspective of either the prosecuting attorney or the defense attorney. You MUST cite specific text to strengthen your argument.

Defense Attorney: As Johnny’s defense attorney, you will argue for his innocence. Cite evidence from the text to support your claims. How would you convince a jury that Johnny did not commit murder?

Prosecuting Attorney: As the prosecuting attorney, you will prove that Johnny is guilty of murder and argue against his innocence. Cite evidence from the text to support your claims. How would you convince a jury that Johnny should be convicted of murder?

Example of textual evidence:
“And Johnny, who was the most law-abiding of us, now carried in his back pocket a six-inch switchblade. He’d use it too if he ever got jumped again. They had scared him that much. He would kill the next person who jumped him. Nobody was ever going to beat him like that again. Not over his dead body….” (p.34)

Steps:
1. Decide which side you want to support.

2. Develop At least TWO reasons that must be included in your thesis statement.

3. Find at least 2 pieces of textual evidence (include page number) to support each of your reasons. (body paragraphs)

4. Find background information on the case (use in the introduction paragraph).

Remember:
1. Who is your audience for this court case?

2. Can you use “I” and “you” in this essay? YES

3. You are an attorney, so the language is still formal.