CRJU 495: Critical Perspectives in Criminal Justice

Resource for APA Citation for References and Paper Format

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/07/

Paper Assignment

See syllabus for due date and file format in which your paper should be submitted.

Your paper will include a comprehensive, organized literature review on a specific topic. The topic will be assigned to you.

This assignment outlines the paper you will write on your criminal justice topic. You will be graded on the organization of the paper, writing, and the level at which you use established research to support your conclusions.

The following are the requirements of the paper:

•    The paper should be between 3,000 – 3,500 words (about 12 – 14 pages). The title page, and references do NOT count towards the total number of required words.

•     Your paper MUST include two perspectives of the topic (e.g., Pro and Con).

•    Minimum of 10 sources will be used, there is no maximum number of sources; however, only include sources in the Reference section that have been cited in the text.

•     Use APA style for the ENTIRE PAPER.

The following are more specific instructions and guidance for each component of the paper:

Title: You will decide on the final descriptive, yet brief, title and include it on the title page.

Introduction: In this section, you will provide an overview of the paper with general information about what the paper will cover. Do not give away your findings in the introduction, but be sure to tell the reader what you will cover and why it is interesting. Based on your outline, the paragraphs within each section should cover each header and subheader. Be sure to include

an introductory and summary paragraph for each major section and introductory and summary sentences for each subsection as appropriate. More specifically, use the following guidelines to write clearer and more concise paragraphs:

•     Write a general sentence stating the supporting point (no citation)

•    Include several sentences that provide evidence and examples from the articles and their citations (the number of sentences will depend on the point covered)

•    End the paragraph with a sentence that links the point covered in the paragraph back to the overall focus of that section (no citation)

•    Each sentence in the paragraph should be logically linked to the previous sentence and the next sentence

•    Introductory sentences within each paragraph should link the paragraph to the previous paragraph

For additional examples, look critically at the research articles you have read for your paper and for class.

Summary of the Evidence: In this section, you will provide a discussion of the various aspects of your topic based on the articles you have found.  Use the subheaders from the outline and your discussion of each article should be in your own words and similar to paragraphs written for an annotated bibliography with sentences that link the articles together and paragraphs at the beginning and end that connect the evidence and make your point.

Discussion and Conclusion: In this final section, you will generally summarize the issue and then discuss the implications of your topic for the criminal justice system and policy.  It is ok to repeat some of the evidence and citations from the previous sections, since this is the information you used to come to your conclusion. In the final paragraph of this section, provide recommendations for future research in this area. These recommendations can come from other researchers (be sure to cite them) or yourself.

References: This section starts on its own page and is a list of ONLY the references cited in your paper.

APA Formatting: APA Style uses a unique heading system to separate and classify paper sections. There are 5 heading levels in APA. Regardless of the number of levels, always use the headings in order, beginning with level 1. The format of each level is illustrated below:

The following is an example of an outline that include four levels of headers.

Introduction

Sentences…

Summary of the Evidence

Sentences…

Evidence-based policing

Sentences…

Placed-based policing

Sentences…

stratified policing. Sentences…

hot spots policing. Sentences…

Discussion and Conclusions

Sentences…

Quotations

Quotations should be use VERY sparingly (no more than two very short quotes in this paper) and ONLY when the original author says something in such a way that you cannot say it any better.  Use phrases like the following to restate other’s findings:

•     The study reported…

•     The author asserted…

•     Smith and Jones (2003) found that…

•     Findings from the NHS study show…

•     …was reported by Jones (2001).

If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and the page number for the reference (preceded by "p." see APA format for examples). Introduce the quotation with an introductory phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses. For example: According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199). If you quote something, be sure to introduce it and

relate it back to the point.  Quotations should NOT be used to discuss a point and stand on their own. Do not use long quotes (more than 2 lines) in this paper.

Academic Integrity

Radford University, like any other, operates within an atmosphere of high ethical standards. When writing term papers and completing assignments, the biggest challenge to academic honesty is the avoidance of plagiarism. As the Radford website notes, plagiarism is not always intentional. But it can be avoided and you must make every effort to do so. What is plagiarism? “Submitting as one’s own the work of a “ghost writer” or commercial writing service; directly quoting from a source without citation; paraphrasing or summarizing another’s work without acknowledging the source; using facts, figures,

graphs, charts or information without acknowledgment of the source. Plagiarism may occur orally and in writing. It may involve computer programs in files, research designs, distinctive figures of speech, ideas and images or generally any “information” which belongs to another.” Plagiarism includes ALL of the following:

1.   Taking work YOU have written in other classes and submitting it as new work in another class.

2.   Taking an idea from another person’s work, writing it in your own words without citing the work.

3.   Copying directly from another person’s work without citing or quoting the work.

4.   Copying directly from another person’s work and citing them, but not quoting the work and the page number from which the quotation came.

To avoid Plagiarism, rewrite information in your own words and cite everything that is not your own idea.  Note: DO NOT use page numbers in citations unless you are directly quoting something, as APA does not require page numbers. All assignments will be submitted through Turnitin software  which detects plagiarism. Any assignments in which there is evidence of plagiarism will receive a  zero.  In addition, depending on the circumstance, there may be additional repercussions if plagiarism is found.