ADVANCED CRIMINAL JUSTICE STUDIES
General Guidelines for Writing Essay #1
Bi variable relationship (Poverty and Domestic Violence )
DO NOT PLAGIARIZE-Evidence of plagiarism will result in failure of the course. This is by far the most important piece of information I will provide all semester. I strongly encourage you to be thorough with your proofreading and annotation of your essay writing.
You must provide evidence of the following:
1. Adverse consequences of your topic to individuals and society. It would be helpful to consider that when researchers apply for funding to study a topic, that in order to get funding, they have to document many types of adverse consequences of the problem to individuals and society using peer-reviewed journal articles. Be as specific as possible when you discuss adverse consequences-what person(s) are harmed and in what way(s), and how is society harmed?
2. Estimates of the extent of the problem. You need to provide evidence that the number of cases, or rate, of the problem is widespread and/or increasing. It would be helpful that the estimates are as recent as possible. You need to provide specific numbers and or rates (such as, with certain crimes, such as in the UCR, per 100,000 population). You need to say what time period(s) is covered by the data (for example, 2009) and the data source(s).
3. Limitations/weaknesses in the data (for example: measurement errors; questionable sampling procedures; quantitative v. qualitative data, etc.)
You need to identify specific weaknesses in the data-for example, saying that the UCR is a limited measure alone without saying WHY it is limited is not acceptable. For example, you need to say that most crimes are not reported to the police, most crimes do not result in arrest (this will definitely vary by type of crime); that if there are multiple charges, only the most serious one gets reported, that reporting by law enforcement agencies to the FBI is voluntary. (if you discuss self-report data and/or victimization surveys, saying they are limited is not what I want—you need to provide reasons WHY). Similarly, stating that there is a low response rate for a mail survey is not sufficient —you need to explain why there is a difference between respondents who completed the survey and those who did not. Here, you want to use citations from research methods textbooks (e.g. the Hagan textbook used in CRJU 302).
4. Make sure your paper is free of spelling and grammatical errors (use spell check and grammar check). Once again, do a thorough proofread of your Essay #1 before you submit it and you will be able to correct many of these type of errors.
5. You need to have a reference list of your citations at the end of the paper. All of your citations should be in the text AND also in your reference list. Your Essay must be written using the APA writing/citation style.
6. Citations should be peer-reviewed journal articles, but can also include data from reports (such as the UCR) and textbooks on research methods. It would be helpful if most of your citations were peer-reviewed journal articles. You must have at least five (5) citations. Magazine articles or newspaper articles are NOT acceptable. If you are not sure if a citation is from a peer-reviewed journal article or not, please
ask me before you submit your Essay for grade.
7. Papers must be handed in on the day they are due. NO EXCEPTIONS unless there is a documented “Excused Absence” (see syllabus). Papers that are late without proper documentation will be penalized (-10) points each day until the Essay is submitted, in person to the Instructor.
8. The first Essay should consist of the following sections:
a. Title page (e.g. your name; CRJU 485.001; Semester; and Essay #1)
MAJOR SECTIONS SHOULD BE LABELED AS FOLLOWS –
I. Adverse Consequences
II. Estimates of the extent of the problem
III. Limitations/weaknesses of the estimates of the problem
IV. References (e.g., In APA Format; minimum of 5 scholarly references)
NOTE: Hard Copies of your 5 or more references are submitted with Essay #1.