Posted: September 16th, 2017

CJ 4000 Murder In America

CJ 4000 Murder In America

Page 1 of 3
CJ 4000 Murder In America
Electronic Poster
The purpose of the Electronic Poster assignment is for each student to create a
tangible product that can be shared; a poster that can be displayed in a public
place such as the UCM Student Union or in the CJ building, for example.
All posters produced for this class will be displayed/distributed at a public
venue, most likely the CJ department but perhaps the Student Rec Center
or other place on campus.
The instructor takes responsibility for printing, delivering, and setting up all
projects. Students are NOT required to attend any scheduled event (if
applicable); however, if your schedule permits, attending and discussing these
issues would not only benefit other students, but provide you with a
substantive line for your resume.
The project is your intellectual property. If you would like to present the poster
at another venue, conference, etc. contact the instructor and arrangements will
be made to deliver it to you. If you do NOT wish your work to be displayed in
public, let the instructor know prior to the end of the course (Note: displaying the
poster at an event such as this will provide you with line on your resume under
“presentations” which will show a future employer that you have good
communication skills and are ambitious).
Templates for posters can be found under the “Poster” folder in the
“Assignments” content area. If you do not have access to the software for the
templates, you may use any software that you do have access to and would
create a comparable project (I Googled “electronic poster template” and several
free options popped up—free trial at postergenius.com?). If you do not have
access to any software of any kind, let me know asap and we will find a
solution.
An example of a poster is also provided in the assignment folder, to give you an
idea. Note that the example does not contain all of the requirements below –
consider them an “example” not a template! I am trying to locate others to give
you a variety of examples.
The content of the poster can be anything related to murder. Even though it is
a different format, consider the assignment similar to a research paper. It
is expected that the project will use at least 5 scholarly or non-CRAAP sources.
There is limited space in a poster or brochure, so topics must be concise and
fairly narrow.
Page 2 of 3
Do not merely imitate an existing webpage or brochure; tie multiple
sources together in a comprehensive and critical analysis of the issue you
choose. Proper citations and formal, academic writing are necessary (see
examples).
Posters/brochures must contain the following components:
ü? Title – clear and concise. Strong titles contain a general statement:
followed by a more targeted one. But your discretion. (examples –
“Charles Manson: Explaining his behavior using Social Control Theory”
or “Stop the Killing: Explanations and Solutions for Parent/Child
Homicide.”)
ü? Author name (that’s you)
ü? University affiliation – department and university; copy and add the
university logo for sure and the CJ Dept one if it fits/looks pretty, too
(spell out University of Central Missouri, and the proper name is
“Department of Criminal Justice”)—see examples
ü? Introduction section/statement – A general background statement
about the topic of the poster. One solid paragraph should do it.
Someone reading this will get a sense of what the poster is about to see if
they want to keep reading.
ü? Purpose of the poster – your poster must have a clear purpose; what
are you intending to “do?” Are you trying to “explain,” “identify,”
“compare,” “highlight,” “analyze,” or “describe?” This can be its own
heading/section or clearly indicated in the “Introduction” section.
ü? Review of current literature/issues – this will vary greatly depending
upon your topic. If you are doing a case study or profile of a person, this
will be pertinent details broken into sections (see the innocent man
example); if you are looking at “types” or “causes” of murder this will
include relevant statistics and information by topic, similar to a lit review
for a regular research paper. I will set up an extra forum on the DB for
you to ask questions and get feedback regarding what you should
include in each section! Drafts can be submitted for feedback, as well.
ü? Analysis/discussion section – provide a critical analysis of the
information you have presented; what does it “mean?” If you are
profiling an individual, what are some qualitative statements you can
make? Are they “beyond help” are they “a serious threat?” etc. If you are
looking at causes or other issues, what is a statement that can be made
about everything as a whole? Are most causes related to poverty? Has
the policy truly evolved?
ü? Conclusions – answer the question, “where do we go from here?” What
is the future for this policy/situation/issue? Don’t specify the time
frame, but what is going to happen in the next 5 or 10 years regarding
this? What needs to happen specifically for things to turn out well?
Avoid generic terms like “training” or “resources” – what specific kind of
training? On what topic? What specific resources? Where are they
coming from?
Page 3 of 3
ü? References – APA style; see the resources under “Resources” and ask on
the DB if you have questions!
ü? Posters must be neat, organized, easy to read and understand.
Consider that it will be on display for students, faculty, and other
university guests to view.
Do NOT include:
ü? Your “rank,” i.e. “graduate student” etc
ü? The class prefix and title – the poster will be able to be shown/used even
after the class is over!
ü? Too many pictures and definitely no cutesy ones. Maximum of three
small ones and they must be relevant. Avoid agency logos unless you are
doing a case study of that agency; those logos are copyrighted/trademark
and could cause some problems. Avoid pictures of
celebrities/movies/etc.
Suggestions for the Poster (but feel free to come up with your own!):
• A well developed case study from any module (you are permitted to use
the same person or incident as the assignment; try to add even more
information and go beyond the resources I have provided)
• A general “types of murder” to identify all of the types and their
prevalence (serial, mass, genocide, intimate); to include legal degrees,
how murder ranks next to accidents and suicide, etc.
• An in-depth account of one of these types of murder only
• An in-depth account of one of the “lesser known” types of murder such
as American Indian genocide, infanticide, etc.
• Any of the above can be presented from the victim perspective; who are
victims, case study of victims, etc
• An in-depth analysis of how serial murderers are profiled, categorized,
etc
• An in-depth analysis of the FBI Profiling unit or other law enforcement
entity that does such work.
• A discussion of the “what is the true definition of serial murder”
question.
• A comparison of two types of murder; how is Manson different from
Susan Smith specifically or a more generic discussion.
• A history of the Victims of Crime program other “development of policy”
angle
• A description of available resources for victims.
• A discussion of the difficulties in investigating, prosecuting, and trying
any type of murder case. What are special challenges for cases where
parents kill children or children kill? What are special problems if the
perpetrator is someone like Manson?

Page 1 of 2
CJ 4000 Murder in America Urban
Poster Assignment Rubric
The following rubric is intended to guide students in completing the Poster Assignment, and will be used when grading Assignment. Read the instructions, components, and requirements carefully. The Poster is intended to be a scholarly, academic, research-based project that will be displayed in a public venue and viewed by members of UCM as well as potentially members of the general community.
Criteria
(and points possible)
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
APA style and formatting
(15 points)
No, or very few, errors in the “reference section,” all in text citations appropriate and well used
(14 – 15 points)
A few errors in the “reference section,” some in-text citations missing
(12 – 13 points)
Significant errors in the “reference section,” significant number of missing or improperly cited in-text citations
(11 points)
No attempt to utilize APA style
(0 – 10 points)
Mechanics
(spelling, punctuation)
(15 points)
No, or very few, grammatical, punctuation, or spelling errors; complete sentences used that convey ideas clearly
(14 – 15 points)
Some grammatical, punctuation, or spelling errors; some sentence fragments or awkward sentences that do not clearly convey ideas
(12 – 13 points)
Many grammatical, punctuation, or spelling errors; difficult to follow because of incomplete ideas
(11 points)
Significant grammatical, punctuation, or spelling errors to the point that the intent of the paper cannot be determined
(0 – 10 points)
Clarity of Presentation
(15 points)
Title and author clearly identified and easy to read; headings used to clearly identify topics(clear and convey the content of the section)
(14 – 15 points)
Title and author clearly identified but difficult to read; headings used but do not clearly convey content
(12 – 13 points)
Difficult to find the title and/or author; no or sporadic headings
(11 points)
No title or author listed; no headings
(0 – 10 points)
Organization
(logical sequence, balance)
(15 points)
There is a clear purpose of the poster; well organized, all sections fairly equal length
(14 – 15 points)
There is a clear purpose of the poster, but not followed through; fairly organized; may have one section much larger than others
(12 – 13 points)
No clear purpose of the poster; fairly disorganized; too little information
(11 points)
No clear purpose of the poster; very disorganized; very little information
(0 – 10 points)
Page 2 of 2
Sophistication
(critical analysis of the topic)
(15 points)
Poster projects a strong argument and clear information about the topic; overall topic clearly identified; at least 3 key sub topics thoroughly and critically analyzed—no evidence of cut and paste; all information interpreted fully
(14 – 15 points)
Poster projects an adequate argument; overall topic adequately identified; subtopics are present, but not thoroughly or critically analyzed—most information interpreted and not just copied
(12 – 13 points)
Poster projects a minimal argument; overall topic may not be clearly identifiable; subtopics may be vague and rambling; many parts just copied from another source
(11 points)
Poster projects no clear argument or point; no identifiable common element; disorganized; appears to be cut and paste from another site/not interpreted at all
(0 – 10 points)
Quality and use of sources
(15 points)
Nearly all sources are scholarly journal articles and/or appropriate, with an equal use of all
(14 – 15 points)
Most sources are scholarly journal articles, may rely too heavily on one or two
(12 – 13 points)
Only a few scholarly journal articles, over use of unreliable newspaper, webpage, or other non-scholarly material
(11 points)
References to Wikipedia, no scholarly sources; obvious cut and paste
(0 – 10 points)
Completes Assignment
(10 points)
Contains all components, ready to be shown in public venue;
on time; substantive comments made to at least 4 other students
(9 – 10 points)
Contains all components, needs minor editing to be shown in public venue, on time; substantive comments made to at least 3 other students
(8 points)
Missing one component; needs some editing to be shown in public venue; on time; substantive comments made to at least 2 other students
(7 points)
Missing more than one component, needs substantial editing to be shown in public venue; not on time; no or little interaction with other students
(0 – 6 points)
Grading:
The assignment is worth 100 points total. Completed rubrics will be returned to students via Blackboard within one week of final due date.