The Trial of Lindy and Michael Chamberlain (“The Dingo Trial”)

For this argumentative essay, you will research a well-known trial from American history
mentioned on the Famous Trials website and argue whether the verdict was fair or unfair. You
will then report your findings in a well-organized essay. Each section of your essay should
include a reason why you feel this way about the verdict using evidence from your sources to
help back up your points.
You will be evaluating the evidence and presenting whether or not you agree with the outcome
of the trial; however, you will NOT use first person (I/we pronouns) or second person (you
pronouns) in presenting your evaluation of the trial events. You are presenting your evaluation as
a scholarly essay, written in objective third person format only.
Remember for this essay, you do not have to prove whether or not the defendant was guilty or
not guilty, you just have to determine whether or not the verdict was fair or unfair, just or unjust.
This will be your thesis. Did the person or people receive a fair trial? Was there sufficient
evidence to support the verdict?
Essay Format
Your essay should:
 Be at least four full pages
 Be written in MLA format (Times New Roman, 12” font with 1” margins, double-
spaced)
 Include an introduction (with a thesis statement stating whether you are arguing that the
verdict was fair or unfair), body paragraphs, and a conclusion
 Include a brief summary of the trial near the beginning of your essay
 Analyze how the verdict was fair or unfair and discuss potential bias that influenced
certain decisions
 Include correctly formatted in-text citations and a Works Cited page
 Include at least 5 reliable sources including the Famous Trials website using quotes and
paraphrases
Reliable sources include:
 REQUIRED: http://www.famous-trials.com/
 Sources from the library database
 .org, .edu, and .gov websites
 Books
You may choose your own trial from the Famous Trials website (you must get approval if
not listed below; however, these are some worthwhile possibilities:
For this argumentative essay, you will research a well-known trial from American history
mentioned on the Famous Trials website and argue whether the verdict was fair or unfair. You
will then report your findings in a well-organized essay. Each section of your essay should
include a reason why you feel this way about the verdict using evidence from your sources to
help back up your points.
You will be evaluating the evidence and presenting whether or not you agree with the outcome
of the trial; however, you will NOT use first person (I/we pronouns) or second person (you
pronouns) in presenting your evaluation of the trial events. You are presenting your evaluation as
a scholarly essay, written in objective third person format only.
Remember for this essay, you do not have to prove whether or not the defendant was guilty or
not guilty, you just have to determine whether or not the verdict was fair or unfair, just or unjust.
This will be your thesis. Did the person or people receive a fair trial? Was there sufficient
evidence to support the verdict?
Essay Format
Your essay should:
 Be at least four full pages
 Be written in MLA format (Times New Roman, 12” font with 1” margins, double-
spaced)
 Include an introduction (with a thesis statement stating whether you are arguing that the
verdict was fair or unfair), body paragraphs, and a conclusion
 Include a brief summary of the trial near the beginning of your essay
 Analyze how the verdict was fair or unfair and discuss potential bias that influenced
certain decisions
 Include correctly formatted in-text citations and a Works Cited page
 Include at least 5 reliable sources including the Famous Trials website using quotes and
paraphrases
Reliable sources include:
 REQUIRED: http://www.famous-trials.com/
 Sources from the library database
 .org, .edu, and .gov websites
 Books
You may choose your own trial from the Famous Trials website (you must get approval if
not listed below; however, these are some worthwhile possibilities:
The Dingo Trial will be the one i want the essay to be on.
Outline for Essay:
1. Introduction
2. Background paragraph
3. Reason #1 (2-3 paragraphs)
4. Reason #2 (2-3 paragraphs)
5. Reason #3 (2-3 paragraphs)
6. Conclusion
7. Works cited page

Last Completed Projects