Question

Mrs. Cory has lived on the same property since she was born. Recently, in response to traffic concerns, her state has decided to build a new two-lane highway. It will need to construct part of this road on Mrs. Cory’s land. Officials meet with Mrs. Cory and tell her the state will pay her a fair price for her property. Mrs. Cory refuses to sell.

Explain why Mrs. Cory's refusal to sell land so the government can use it for a public purpose is NOT protected by the Bill of Rights.

Answer 1

Below is a collection of strong (and exceptionally strong) response papers from students. All received high grades. They are good examples of insightful thinking and strong writing. I would especially encourage you to notice that most of them don’t have obvious organization; most of them let their ideas develop and wander. Many of the best responses are later in the list. I continue to add to this collection as I find new examples of strong writing. As always, I will look at drafts when I can. [Please Note: Responses here are single-spaced to be read quicker.]

The first example, however, is one I wrote as a sample for the first reading response.