Leon County 3 · Should people be allowed to carry concealed weapons?

Where to read it

The readings for this task are not on this page. They belong to the people who assembled them, so we link to their packet rather than copy it out.

Open ACE Leon Transitions, Unit 9-A: Evidence-based Writing Practice and find Prompt #6. You are looking for:

The Second Amendment, adopted December 15, 1791
For: a statement from Gun Owners of America (2010), and Robert Cottrol, JD, PhD, “Gun Control Is Racist, Sexist, and Classist” (American Enterprise, 1999)
Against: Legal Community Against Violence, “America Caught in the Crossfire” (2009), and the Brady Campaign on federal concealed carry
A news story: “Woman at Walmart Is Accidentally Shot Dead by 2-Year-Old Son,” The New York Times, December 30, 2014

It is a free PDF from Leon County Schools Adult & Community Education, in Tallahassee, Florida. Nothing to pay, no account, no sign-in.

If that link ever fails, search for the document by name: ACE Leon Transitions, Unit 9-A: Evidence-based Writing Practice.

One difference from the test. This prompt invites “your own knowledge about the enduring issue.” The GED does not. On the real test you are scored on the evidence in front of you, and bringing in what you know from elsewhere earns nothing. Practise it the GED way: stay inside the passages.

The task, in the packet’s words

Should people be allowed to carry concealed weapons?

The meaning of Second Amendment of the Constitution, which guarantees the “right of the people to keep and bear Arms,” is frequently debated. Read the passages and the article. These readings give arguments for and against the right to carry concealed weapons. Analyze both positions in order to determine which one is best supported. Use specific evidence from the passages, as well as your own knowledge about the enduring issue of the right to carry weapons, to support your claim. Take approximately 45 minutes to respond.

You are not being asked which side you agree with, and you will not be scored on which one you choose. You are being asked to judge the arguing.

Before you start the clock

Open the packet, find your prompt, and read the passages once through without stopping. Then start the clock here and write. Read there; write in the box below, which saves under your code as you type, so you can move between the two windows without losing anything.

When you are finished, read your draft against the three traits on How the essay is scored.

Your 45 minutes

45:00 The clock keeps counting past zero, so you can see what it cost you.

☞ This packet was made by adult educators, not by the test maker, so read the prompt carefully — it is close to the GED’s wording but not always identical. The nine that use the test’s exact wording are on More practice; our own five, with the teaching folded in, are on the essay page.