Briefly describe a crime that has been reported in a newspaper or magazine from the perspective of the theorist. The crime must have occurred on or after April 3, 2018. The account of the crime (from

Explain a crime that has been reported in a newspaper or magazine from the perspective of the theorist. The crime must have occurred on or after April 3, 2018. The account of the crime (from the newspaper or magazine - can be an online version) must name an individual/individuals who were arrested for committing the crime. (It cannot be an article stating that police are "searching for suspects" in the commission of a crime). The individuals do not need to have been convicted – just arrested. (For the purposes of this assignment, assume that the named individual did indeed commit the crime). The article should mention the date of the crime, the suspect's age, and where the crime was committed.

Use Agnew's General Strain theory to explain the theory as if you are teaching it to someone who has never heard of this theory before.

Papers will be graded on both content and quality of writing. Papers must be typed (12 point font), double-spaced, with ONE INCH MARGINS. Papers are to be (5) five pages (not including the title page and reference page), page numbers should be on the top right corner of each page. Points will be deducted for papers under and over the page limit. Do NOT include an abstract. Type papers using MS Word or similar application.

1. Summary of the Crime (5 points):

Briefly describe the crime reported in the newspaper/magazine article. Remember, I do

not have the article that explains the crime, you must explain it in a manner that makes

sense. Keep a copy of the article. You will be graded on how well you have summarized the information that is relevant to explaining the crime with your chosen theory, and how well you have explained the crime. Should include date of the crime, suspect's name, age, and city/state where crime occurred.  If the suspect is a minor, and the name is not revealed, you may make up a name.

2. Explanation of the Theory (25 points):

You should explain the theory as if you are teaching it to someone who has never heard of this theory before. You will be graded on how well it appears that you understand the theory from your explanation, (did you explain all the major points? Is your explanation correct? Are the stages of the theory explained in the correct causal order?) In order to explain the theory you will need to read more than the textbook summary of the theory. You are strongly encouraged to

read the original publication of the theory where available. You must consult (and cite) information about the theory from three (3) scholarly publications to explain theory.

3. Use of three (3) Scholarly/Peer Reviewed Publications (6 points):

You must read and cite at least three scholarly publications to explain the theory you have chosen (you may read and/or cite more if you wish). For the purpose of this paper, scholarly publications include any/all of the following: a) The original book (or a revised edition of the book) in which the theory was first explained (e.g. Shaw & McKay's Social Disorganization theory was first explained in the book Juvenile delinquency and urban areas (1942). A revised edition of the book was printed in 1969: Shaw, C.R. & McKay, H.D. (1969). Juvenile delinquency and urban areas. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. b) Edited books containing reprints of the original article explaining the theory (e.g. Merton's Anomie theory was first explained in a 1938 article "Social Structure and Anomie" which has been reprinted in the book: Carter, G.L. (1994). Empirical approaches to sociology: Classic and contemporary readings. New York, NY: Macmillan. c) Scholarly journals consisting of peer-reviewed articles discussing and/or testing the theory. Research articles that are testing your chosen theory will explain the theory at the beginning of the article; you may use this information to construct your explanation of the theory. Review "How to Read a Research Article" (pp. 27-29) in Tibbetts & Hemmens (2015). The elements of a research article that will be most useful to explaining the theory that you have chosen will be the a) introduction, and b) literature review. Do not focus on the methods and the results. Internet searches through Google or Yahoo etc. will not return acceptable sources. Wikipedia" is NOT a scholarly source. http://criminology.fsu.edu/crimtheory/ is NOT a scholarly source.

4. Parenthetical References/In-text citations (5 points):

Sources (for your information about the crime and the explanation of the theory) must be referenced in the text of your paper using APA, 6th ed. reference citation and quotations formatting. For example: If you paraphrase, you must still cite your source e.g. (Brown, Esbensen & Geis, 2010). On the other hand, Brown, Esbensen & Geis (2010) state... (See the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association for more detailed examples). If you use a direct quote (“...”), what is written in the quotation marks must appear EXACTLY as it does in the original source, and you must include the page number of the original source in your citation e.g. (Brown, Esbensen & Geis, 2010, p. 3). (See the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association for more examples). Remember, changing only one or two of the words does not mean you no longer have to use a citation. It is still, for all intended purposes, not your writing or idea.

5. Use/application of the Theory to Explain the Crime (24 points):

Explain why the crime was committed from the point of view of the theorist(s). Use the

situational and individual characteristics of the crime you have selected to illustrate

each aspect/principle of the theory. If there are few details about the offender

provided in the account of the crime, you may infer plausible hypothetical details to

assist in your explanation. For example:

Agnew would explain that John Doe committed this crime because he was experiencing strain caused by the removal of positively valued stimuli, one of the possible sources of strain. Specifically, John had a good relationship with his children; his children were the positively valued stimuli. When he and his wife were divorced, his wife got custody of the children and he was only permitted to see them on weekends, thus the positively valued stimuli were removed. This was a source of strain that led to his experiencing a negative affective state. Agnew argues that individuals experiencing strain are likely to feel negative emotions such as anger, frustration, disappointment, depression, or fear. John could potentially have been feeling many of these emotions. He may have been angry with his wife for taking the children, angry with the judge who awarded primary custody to his wife, frustrated with the situation, disappointed and depressed that his marriage failed, and disappointed and depressed about how infrequently he was permitted to spend time with his children... etc.  You will be graded on how well you have used situational and individual characteristics of the crime as examples to illustrate how the theorist would explain why the crime was committed.

6. Reference List (10 points):

References must include a list of ONLY the publications cited (not a bibliography), beginning on a new page, in APA 6th ed. format. The list should include the newspaper/magazine article that provides the account of the crime, as well as all scholarly publications that were cited to explain the theory. Pay close attention to all APA format details including use of capitals, italics, periods, parentheses etc. References should be listed in alphabetical order (by the last name of the first

author of the publication. DO NOT CHANGE THE ORDER OF THE AUTHORS.

7. Writing & Format (25 points)

(Includes Tone, Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation, Organization, Length of the paper and other instructions) Use a FORMAL tone or 3rd person perspective when writing. Write from an objective perspective. Do not use "I," "you," "we," or "us" statements.