Essay Outline Handout
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I. Introduction
Possible ideas for the introduction (question, definition, story, quote, etc.):
Definition of immigration; Reasons for immigration into the U.S.; Result of immigration on the nation
Argumentative Thesis Statement (includes your main points)
Immigrants come to America to work because of poverty in their homeland and education for their children, but are treated
as criminals and bashed.
II. Body (A paper may have a few or many main points; decide how many your paper will need)
1st Main Point: Immigration Flow Across the Mexico & U.S Border
Support/Examples/Details/Explanations:
a. Book – Long, R.E. (1996). Immigration: The Reference Shelf. H.W. Wilson.
b. Quote – “Their illegal flight northward in search of a better lifestyle is predictable, and the Mexican
government does not work very hard to prevent it” (p.49).
c. Poverty is what pushes these people to make that long dangerous journey to the northside,
2nd Main Point: The Cross for Education
Support/Examples/Details/Explanations:
a. Book – Fuligini, A.J., & Fuligini, A.S. (2007). Immigrant Families and the Educational Development of
their Children. In Landsford, J.E., Deater-Deckard, K., Bornstein, M.H. (Eds), Immigrant Families in
Contemporary Society (pp. 231-249). Guilford Press.
b. Suarez Orozco said, “We came here for them, so that they may become somebody tomorrow” (p. 238)
c. Children from immigrant families quickly endorse the value of education.
3rd Main Point: Criminals
Support/Examples/Details/Explanations:
a. Find a library resource related to people’s views of immigrants as criminals
b. Give statistics or commentary found in the source
c. Compare information about immigrants and citizens
III. Conclusion
Implications (So what? Why does this topic matter?)
Immigrants come to the United States for better opportunities, but are met with resistance.
Reworded Thesis:
Though immigrants come to America to work because of poverty in their homeland and education for their children, they are
treated as criminals and bashed.
Final Statement:
They work to make a living and send their kids to school to have the opportunity of an education which is very limited in their
country of origin.
Essay Outline Handout
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Summary Paragraph
In the book, “Immigration: The Reference Shelf,” Reid Long discusses why many people from Mexico
come to the United States. According to Long (1996), “Their illegal flight northward in search of a better
lifestyle is predictable, and the Mexican government does not work very hard to prevent it” (p.49). This means
that the Mexican government does not care of the illegal crossing of Mexico’s people into the United States
when they are in search of a better lifestyle. Immigrants from Mexico come to the United States in search of a
job, or in some cases more than one, to make money. They come in search of something better knowing it does
not come easy, knowing there is a risk along with it. Parts of Mexico live in poverty and no effort on behalf of
the government is done to fix it because they are known to be corrupt. Poverty is what pushes these people to
make that long dangerous journey to the northside, knowing it will be better in the long run or if they get
caught, they try again. This can lead to another topic related to immigration, criminalization.
