Writing Assignment (50 Points Possible)
In this assignment, you will select one case or criminal event and write a paper examining
the theoretical perspective(s) that motivated the criminal behavior. Your final paper
should include three sections.
Section (1) – First, describe your chosen case. Your case summary should be limited
to one full page. In your summary of the case, be specific about what factors are most
relevant to understand the criminal behavior. I should be able to make clear
connections between the summary and your points in sections 2 and 3.
o Here are some, but not all, of the things you might consider including:
What was the crime type?
What is the age of the offender?
Was the crime violent or non-violent?
Were any weapons used?
Who were the victims?
o Case information must come from reliable sources (not Wikipedia!!). You can
use newspapers, magazines, or books on the crime or offender.
o Use your own words to summarize the case and be sure to cite outside
sources!!
o The crime you choose needs to be popular enough that you can find detailed
information about the offender.
Section (2) – Choose at least one theoretical perspective or concept from the textbook
that you believe led to the criminal event. NOTE: The type of crime committed will
help guide you on which theoretical perspectives should apply. This section should be
at least one paragraph long and is a general overview of the theoretical concepts. Use
this section to simply introduce me to the concepts you will review in more detail in
section 3.
o For example: If I were writing about a white collar crime, I would look in
Chapter 14 and see what the authors said about why people usually commit
this type of crime. I would also review Chapters 2 – 4 and think about whether
anything in the offender’s past led them to commit this crime.
o Things to consider – this list is not conclusive:
The cumulative and cascade models (Chapter 2)
Any parental or family risk factors (Chapter 2)
Any environmental factors (Chapter 3)
Is the offender a juvenile (Chapter 6)
Did the offender have a brain injury (Chapter 3)
o Each chapter goes over why people would commit these types of crimes.
Section (3) – Go into detail about how the offender fits into the theoretical concepts
you reviewed in section 2. This should be the longest section of your paper (hint: it’s
worth the most points). In this section, go into DETAIL about how the offender’s
behavior, history, and crime fit into the theoretical concepts you are using.
o Things to keep in mind while working on this section.
How does the perspective or concept fit into the case and suspect’s
history/behavior?
Generally or Overall
Think of this as your thesis statement for this section of the paper
o Last sentence in the Intro paragraph of this section: In this
paper, I will review X case and discuss how Y theory
applies to that case.
Write in detail about the suspect’s history, and how their history fits into
the concept(s) you chose. A well-known case will make it easier to get lots
of public information about their history.
Break down the parts of the concepts and describe IN DETAIL how the
suspect fits (or does not fit) into your chosen perspective.
It may not be a perfect fit, and that is okay. If that is the case, just
discuss why the suspect may differ from the way the book reviews
the concept.
o For example: If you are going to talk about family risk
factors, you would probably explain how the suspect
experienced (or did not experience), certain risk factors.
Next, you would discuss what that could mean for their
behavior.
Do this section for each concept or perspective used.
Formatting Requirements
Please pay attention to formatting. You will lose points if your paper is incorrectly formatted.
Follow the guidelines below:
Your paper should be a formal written document typed in paragraph style (avoid bullet
points). Introduction and conclusion paragraphs are recommended. New paragraphs
should be indented half an inch.
Avoid multiple grammatical or stylistic errors.
The paper should be typed, 12-point font, double-spaced, one-inch margins, and Times
New Roman typeface.
A minimum of five pages is required, but you will not be penalized for a longer paper.
Cite sources of information both within and at the end of your document. This includes
sources used to explain theories or examples that are others’ ideas. APA or MLA style
will be accepted (APA is preferred). In-text citations go in parentheses after you refer to
the source. Full references go at the end of the paper.
Submit your completed assignment a Word.docx file.
Grading Notes:
Section 1 is worth 10 points,
Section 2 is worth 10 points
Section 3 is worth 20 points.
Style is worth 5 points
Grammar is worth 5 points.
If there are major errors on the citation page, or if you do not cite, at least 10 points will
be taken off the paper.
- In this assignment, you will select one case or criminal event and write a paper examining the theoretical perspective(s) that motivated the criminal behavior. First, you will need to describe the actual crime and any important information about the suspect(s). Second, you will apply at least one concept covered in class to explain the criminal behavior in(Part 1).
- Make sure you mention the name of the concept/theoretical perspective and how the key factors and propositions are related to the criminal behavior.
- A typed, five-page report (not counting tile page, sources, or appendices) will be submitted online worth a total of 50 points. Though you should wait until you have read about criminal behavior theories, assignments may be completed early; however, late submissions will not be accepted.
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