Description

The papers complete instructions are in the file I uploaded and it needs to be written in ASA format. Also this is a senior level class, please keep that in mind when writing this paper.

PAPER LENGTH: 5 pages (not including reference list or title page)
PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to explain a crime trend or statistics from the Uniform Crime
Reports (“2017 Crime in the United States”) by applying a criminological theory. Do not use the 2018
(preliminary) data.
PAPER LAYOUT:
I. Introduction of Topic (~ 1/2 page)
A. Write a paragraph introducing the crime you chose to focus on in your paper. Be sure to state
the UCR definition of the crime and write a statement about why it is important to study this
crime.
B. State the purpose and structure (i.e. organization) of your paper. Do this with no more than four
sentences. Use phrases like “In this paper, I argue…”, “The purpose of this paper is to….” Or
some similar phrase when stating the purpose of your paper. Be sure to state your purpose
somewhere in the first or second paragraph of the introduction.
II. Crime trend or statistics/Discussion/Application of theory
A. Go to the FBI UCR website and gather all available statistics on the crime. Describe the
national crime trend you are addressing. For example, what is the frequency of this crime,
who is the typical perpetrator, which weapon(s) are typically used if any, etc. Give statistics
from at least three tables preferably more. Be sure to cite the official or academic reference
for the Uniform Crime Reports. Your statistics must be at the national level. Do not focus
on states, counties, cities, or any other level of analysis. (~1.5 pages)
B. Explain or describe the criminological theory you will use to explain the crime. You must use
academic references in this explanation or description. Your sources for this discussion
should be two academic references. References to the text book or
class lectures will not count toward this requirement and such references should be
very brief. Do not use magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, or non–academic websites
as your references. Dictionaries and encyclopedias are not to be used as references
since many are not peer–reviewed. Class lectures from any course from any university
do not count as academic references. If you are using material from a lecture, go to the
source of the lecture material if available. Do not use wikis of any type. Do not use websites
with addresses that end in “.com”. Websites with a “.org” address should be government sites
only. Be careful with using material from websites with a “.edu” address – most of the material
on these sites is lecture or class exercise activities. These are not academic. You should use
the online journal and databases available through the TTU Library homepage or use
hardcopy journals or books. (~1 page)
C. Using the detail from the theory explained in part B above, apply the theory to the crime you
described in part A above. In other words, how does this theory explain the crime you have
described? (~ 1.5 pages)
III. Conclusions (~1/2 page)
A. Summarize the crime trend and restate the main theoretical idea(s) and how they explain the
crime.
PAPER FORMAT:
1. Use current American Sociological Association format. The ASA literary guidelines are available
on Blackboard. You do not need to write an abstract or biography.
2. The paper should have a title that tells the reader the crime and theory you are using.
3. Use a size 12 font, Times News Roman, and a 1″ margin for all sides. Be sure to enumerate the
pages.
4. Double–space the text.
5. Do not plagiarize. Almost all of the paper should consist of complete sentences constructed in
your own words. Use quotation marks for copied text. Copied text or sentences should be
approximately one–fifth or less of the paper and scattered throughout the paper.
SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITING A GOOD PAPER:
1. The terms “violent crime”, “victimless crime”, “juvenile delinquency” are not crimes. They are
classifications of crimes. Do not write a paper with these terms as the “crime” on which you are
focusing. Write about a specific crime. For example, if you to write about violent crime, you must
choose a specific crime such as aggravated assault, murder, rape, etc. If you want to write about
juvenile offending, you would choose one of the crimes that the UCR gives statistics by age groups.
Then choose a crime by the age group.
2. The paper is to be an academic paper, not a personal account, diary, or editorial —- do not tell
personal stories or use the paper to state your beliefs about why crime occurs or what society should
do to criminals.
3. Do not plagiarize. All sentences should be written in your own words. A five page paper does not
allow much room for quotes, so avoid using them.
4. Avoid using phrases like “I feel” “I believe” —- A feeling is not a thought and it is obvious the writing
is what you think because it is your writing.
5. All writing should be relevant to the purpose of the paper. Examine your paper paragraph by
paragraph and determine how each paragraph fits your purpose.
6. Use subheadings to organize your paper.
7. Do not spend a lot of space in the introduction writing about searching for a topic.
8. You must cite each reference in the text in order to receive credit for that reference and in–text
citations must be listed in the reference list.
9. A factual statement or claim must have a citation.
10. Avoid using words like “these”, “this”, “that” in the first sentence of a paragraph without explicitly
stating the point or idea to which you are referring.
11. Since this is to be a sole authored paper, there should be no references to “we” in the paper.
12. Avoid introducing new material or information in the conclusion section.
13. Do not use the majority of the five pages writing about information from your textbook. You will
not get credit for that writing.
14. The majority of writing should come from the non–course materials. Too much reliance on the
course text book or assigned readings will result in a loss of points.
WEBSITE CITATIONS:
In–text citation:
The material from the website must be academic. Academic material will have an author or research
institute listed as the source of information. Course websites and lectures posted on the web are not
academic material. Do not use any website that has the “.edu” or “.com” tag.
In–text citations should follow one of these formats:
(Fox and Zawitz 2012)
OR (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2014) when no author is listed but the reference is a government or
foundation document.
Reference list citation:
Fox, James A. and Marianne W. Zawitz (2012). Homicide Trends in the United States. Bureau of
Justice Statistics. www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs
Bureau of Justice Statistics (2014). Uniform Crime R

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