Of Mice and Men
On-Demand Explanatory Writing: Euthanasia Outline

Prompt: In chapters two and three, we see both Slim and Carlson euthanize dogs because they believe that allowing the dogs to live would lead to suffering and painful deaths. Slim drown four of Lulu's puppies and Carlson shoots Candy's dog. Although the purpose of euthanasia is mercy, it is a widely debated topic. Write a five-paragraph essay in which you argue whether the ranchers were justified in their actions towards dogs.
Provide a claim which states whether the ranchers were justified in their actions and why (this is your thesis and should come at the end of the introduction).
Provide two reasons that the ranchers were OR were not justified in their actions (These are the topics of body paragraphs 1 and 2 and should be supported with textual evidence).
Provide and refute (negate) the counterclaim
Be sure to include evidence from the book Of Mice and Men and the article “Reasons For and Against Euthanizing”.
Position: Do you think that the ranchers actions were justified?
Body Paragraph 1:
First reason to support your claim (Topic Sentence):
Evidence to support this reason:
Evidence to support this reason:
Body Paragraph 2:
Second reason to support your claim (Topic Sentence):
Evidence to support this reason:
Evidence to support this reason:
Counterclaim:
Counterclaim statement: Some may argue
Explanation of why the counterclaim is wrong:
Evidence to prove counterclaim is wrong:
Thesis/Claim:
Create a thesis statement which follows from these three body paragraphs (to be used in your introduction):