The paper assignment is to explain a criminological theory that has been discussed in this class, and then use the theory to explain a crime that has...

The paper assignment is to explain a criminological theory that has been discussed in

this class, and then use the theory to 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.

 You may use ONLY ONE of the following theories:

Merton's Anomie

Agnew's General Strain

Sutherland's Differential Association

Hirschi's Social Bond

Gottfredson & Hirschi's General Theory

 If you have taken this class before, you may

Paper Grading Criteria

Papers will be graded on both content and quality of writing

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):

Explain ONE of the above theories. 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 (this is noted on the

PowerPoint slides, and in the textbook), and use this as one of your sources. 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).

You will have to search through the Library website for Articles and Books. See BB

menu button "Library-Find Journal Articles." Search in peer-reviewed journals articles and/or books.

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. See the BB menu button "Paper (Self) Help" for explanations of what "scholarly journal" and "peer-reviewed" means: . Note:  Textbooks (including the required text for this course) are not considered scholarly publications for this assignment.  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, 6

th ed. reference citation and

quotations formatting.

For example:

If you paraphrase you must still cite your source e.g. (Brown, Esbensen & Geis,

2010). Or 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 6

th 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.