Draft and Final Paper Guidelines You will be required to submit both a draft and final copy of the paper. The draft copy of the paper should be as close to the final product as possible so that you can receive as much feedback as possible for the final version. Draft papers will be graded on content as well as on the amount of effort to put into making it as close to the final product. Changes to your paper will be evaluated in the final paper to ensure that you incorporated the suggested changes provided by the instructor. Both the draft and final paper should include the sections below. Students who do not cover each section in the draft paper and final paper will automatically receive a 5-point deduction for each missing section. Introduction This section should provide the reader with an overview of your paper. You will need to outline the purpose of the paper, an overview of the chosen crime, and a limited discussion of the theory you have chosen. This section should be ½ to 1 page in length. Definition and description of crime You should choose a type of crime in which you are interested, such as homicide, drug dealing, terrorism, etc. It is fine if you are more interested in discussing categories of crime, such as property or violent crimes in general, but be sure that you narrow the topic somewhat. Once you have decided on the scope of crimes that you want to explain, you should define and describe the criminal behavior. You may want to include a legal definition of the crime, but more importantly, you need to discuss the behavioral patterns of the crime. For example, a discussion about homicide would include describing the types of homicides and who is more likely to commit a homicide, and who is more likely to be a victim of homicide. You may also include a brief discussion of whether the chosen crime has increased, decreased, and remained the same over a specified period. For crime rate information you are required to only use official sources of data (FBI, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Incident-Based Reporting System, Uniform Crime Report, etc.). When in doubt about an official source, please email me. This section should be 1 to 2 pages in length. Theoretical Analysis To explain the criminal behavior that you chose, you must rely on a criminological theory covered in the course and readings. With your discussion, you will first describe the basic components of the theory. This includes any concepts and terms associated with the theory. Second, you will describe how the theory can be applied to explain the chosen crime. You will need to use the chosen theory to explain why people who commit the crime you have chosen. Third, you will discuss the strength and weaknesses of the theory in explaining the crime. In this section, you should be able to respond to the following: (1) how does the theory explain the crime you are writing about and (2) what aspects of this crime cannot be explained by their theory. Students are expected to search online databases to locate at least five (5) peer-reviewed journal articles to support their argument of how the chosen theory explain the chosen crime. Wikipedia is not an appropriate source. Journals such as Social Forces, American Sociological Review, Criminology Deviant Behavior, and the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency. When searching for related articles, I recommend using google scholar as a starting point. In google scholar you can use key words to search for relevant articles and can find sources from various disciplines. Auburn University has subscriptions to academic journals, so you should never have to pay to access an article. If you have tried multiple outlets and are being prompted to pay to access an article please email me for assistance. This section should be 3 to 5 pages in length. Policy Recommendations In this section, you will discuss policy recommendations or strategies that are related to the criminological theory you have chosen. In other words, according to the theory, how do we reduce the chosen crime? It is suggested that you discuss at least two (2) policies or strategies. Consider who will be the target population? What resources (personnel and material) will be required to effectively integrate your prevention strategy? Basically, describe how your theory would put an end to or reduce crime if its theorists were put in charge in the criminal justice system. This section should be 2 to 3 pages in length. Conclusion The purpose of the conclusion to provide closure for the paper and should include a synthesis of the key points of the paper. Briefly outline the basic assumption of the theory and restate the most important ideas of the paper. This section should be ½ to 1 page in length. Additional Assignment Guidelines 1 Your paper should include a cover page listing the title of the assignment, your name, and the name of the class. 2 Carefully proofread your paper for grammatical errors, clarity, and coherence. Make sure your arguments flow logically and that your essay is well-structured. Please address all feedback from the draft in the final paper. 3 You should include a reference page containing scientific sources that you used in your paper. When you cite a work within the text, you need to include the author’s name and the year of publication in a parenthetical cite behind the paraphrased statement. If quoting directly, use quotation marks around the text. Do not cite or use any sources if you did not actually read (or skim) the material. If you want to repeat a quote that was taken from another source, the proper citation format is as follows (for a quote): “Antisocial behavior tends to remain stable over time; it is the mother of all that is evil” (Maahs & Pratt, 1989, p. 205; cited in Cullen & Agnew, 2003). Or paraphrasing: Maahs and Pratt (1989; cited in Cullen & Agnew, 2003). 4 Your paper should be typed and double-spaced and should have one-inch margins on the top, bottom, and both sides. You should also use a font of 12. The text of your paper must be a minimum of seven (7) pages long and a maximum of twelve (12) pages long for you to do an adequate job on the paper. The required page length does include the title and reference pages. Five points per page will be deducted for final papers under the minimum page length or above the maximum page length. Submit assignments through Canvas. 5 Use the American Psychological Association (APA) publication guidelines for parenthetical citation guidelines and reference page guidelines. Assignments should be spell-checked and use proper grammar. These things will count towards the grade you receive on the paper. 6 You must CITE all information taken from other authors’ works. Failure to do so is plagiarism. If you fail to cite properly and appropriately, you will be penalized. The penalty will range from point deductions (for small or unintentional infractions) to a zero (for copying complete sentences without any citations). Changing one or two words of an author’s work is not sufficient. If you are in doubt of whether you should cite or whether you should use quotes…USE DIRECT QUOTES. However, this does not give the license to use only direct quotes. Relying on too many direct quotes does not display your understanding of the material.
