Criminology Final Research Paper
ORDER # | 100067 |
PAPER TYPE | ESSAY |
WRITING LEVEL | UNDERGRADUATE |
WRITING STYLE | APA |
# OF SOURCES | 3 |
# OF PAGES & WORD COUNT | 5 ≈ 1375 WORDS |
CRIMINOLOGY FINAL PAPER (15 points)
This thematic research paper will focus on a criminal offender, crime, or criminal
behavior case study that is assigned to the student, by the instructor. The written paper is due on
or before TUESDAY, May 4, 2021, by 11:59PM. All submissions must be uploaded to
Canvas in the dropbox for this assignment. ONLY PDF or Word Doc/DOCX file formats
will be accepted.
Papers must be typed in #12 Times New Roman font; double spaced and must follow this
specific format:
The Criminology Final Research Paper must be an appropriate word count to meet the requirements of the assignment
but most likely a minimum 4-5 pages of narrative to answer all questions in detail. A Cover Page
is not necessary. The heading of the first page must contain the student’s name, email, date, class
name, and identification of the offender or topic of the paper. The heading and introduction
should not take more than 4 lines. A Work Cited Page, at the conclusion of the paper is required.
The Work Cited Page is not considered in the 4-5 pages of narrative.
It is completely fine to include in your paper- appendixes, charts, photos, or comparable
appropriate graphics, however, those pages do not count in the overall narrative and page count.
Don’t fill this academic paper with pictures and diagrams.
In the resources or work cited page the URLs or source work cited must be attributed to
the narrative in a clear format. In other words, students must clearly show how your reference
resources are connected to what you write. It is not OK to cut and paste and patch entire
paragraphs from Wikipedia or any other source, and then (place a parenthesis for the source after
the end of each copied section.) Your writing must be in your own words.
The paper must cite a minimum of 3 sources appropriate to the topic. Please see more
details to follow. Papers are expected to be readable and written in proper grammar, mechanics,
and college level English writing. Please indent paragraphs and use proper punctuation.
Sources/References:
The primary source for your paper will likely be a News Article or detailed type of
reference material that specifically discusses and provides full information on your case study
topic. Every student is assigned an original case study or offender/crime topic. Numerous
sources exist as both primary and secondary sources to complete this assignment. Wikipedia is
not acceptable as a primary source but you may start by using Wikipedia to link you to the
primary source. There will most likely be additional or supplemental secondary sources that deal
with explanations for the crime, theories, court trials, outcomes, or similar cases, etc. Be certain
that there is significant information in your primary source to support the depth of this paper.
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Choose the best primary source for your paper. You can use several sources, so don’t limit
yourself to only 3.
Secondary sources will most likely be related to the Crime Theory explanation that you are
attributing toward one or more of the questions listed below. In many of these cases, there are
other issues that arise and become a topic of curiosity, social change, legal or criminal justice, or
pop-culture and infamy. Once you address the question about Crime Theory, please feel free to
be creative and include something that interests you about the case.
These are the key questions you need to write about:
No more than half of your paper should be devoted to the following 6 points about the case.
• What happened? What is the crime or main problem/issue that is central to the case?
• Who is involved? Who is/are the criminal/s? Who is/are the victim/s? Who are the police
and other key persons involved in the investigation and case?
• What year and what era did this occur? What is significant about cases from this time
period?
• Why is this year or era relevant? If this is an older case, explain why learning about
crimes like this from the past are important about understanding crime now?
• Where? Where is the setting for this crime or case study? What is significant about the
city, town, or the place/places involved in this crime story?
• How did the crime occur? What is the modus operandi or significant actions/events that
took place? How did the victim and the criminal come together? What vulnerabilities
existed that contributed to this crime?
At least half of your paper should concentrate on answering these 3 points and questions.
• Why did this happen? Why did the criminal do what he or she did? What motives
existed? What explanations are there for the criminals’ behaviors (THEORY)? (since this
is a course about crime theory and explanations for criminal behavior, this will be one of
the more important sections to determine grade and completeness of this paper)
• How was this case resolved? How did this case end in the criminal justice system?
• What was the most interesting thing you found in this case? (Your own personal views
and conclusions on this case is another area that is important for grading this paper. Take
time to thoroughly respond to this question.)
(Wikipedia is not an approved primary source, but you may consult this site as a guide to gain
basic details. Commercial websites that are not otherwise accredited news sources, or those
websites containing blogs may be acceptable for information though not a credible academic
source. Textbooks are a good source for information but the theories in textbooks are based on
original focused studies, so try to go to the original source. Don’t cite Wikipedia and don’t cut
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and paste from Wikipedia. Don’t use e-how or online encyclopedias. Don’t use “how things
work” dot com or Yahoo.) We will use Turn-It-In to detect cut and paste, plagiarism. This is the
final paper and graded assignment for the semester. There are no revisions or extensions.
A primary source may be a detailed news article or publication regarding the crime. In
most cases there are going to be multiple resources about the crime case study, and this is good
for you.
The motives and the crime theories are two different things. So, you may want to
research similar crimes to discuss the motive. And you will need to do some specific research
when you explain the deeper theoretical explanations for the crime. You will need to seek some
scholarly articles or journal articles that directly connect to the theories. (If you don’t include
some scholarly sources related to the theory, your paper is lacking some important criteria and
you may lose points.) Remember that the importance of a theory is in how well it explains a
specific criminal incident. So, the power is in your logic and in your connection of the theory
to the crime case study. Whatever resources you use on the theory, it is considered your
secondary sources.
Have fun with this. With as much enthusiasm as possible, students are encouraged to
think like a criminologist and think like a detective in this analysis. If you have a specific
personal problem with the offender, or the nature of the topic assigned to you, please contact the
instructor/TA, no later than Friday, April 30, 2021, to receive a new topic.
A top-grade paper will be creative, with excellent grammar and evidence of care and
proofreading. The student will effectively detail and interpret the case study and effectively
compare, contrast, and criticize the theoretical subject matter. Credible and meaningful primary
and secondary resources will be properly cited. All instructions for formatting, such as title page
and reference page will be followed, and if there are photos or other images, these will be
directly relevant to the paper and not random clipart. Work Cited may be in any style the student
prefers.
Papers that show an obvious use of translation apps, cut and paste, or severe readability
issues will be severely penalized or may be rejected. It is recommended that students who
need readability or proof-reading assistance should visit a professional writing center, tutor, or
friend. The instructor will also offer additional support upon request.
There are no extensions or revisions. Please engage with this important assignment early
and before the end of the semester. Plan to write the paper thoughtfully and using good
mechanics, grammar, spell checking, and readability.
The Criminology Final Research Paper is due 11:59PM, Tuesday, May 4, 2021.
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