Posted: May 12th, 2015

The Unthinkable – Children who kill and what motivates them — The Crime Library – The Crime library

Study Books Used in Class:
Textbooks:
Siegal, L., Welsh, B., and Senna, J. (2008). Juvenile delinquency: Theory, practice and law w/ CD-ROM and Infotrac (10th ed.). St. Paul, MN: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
ISBN-13: 978-0-495-50364-4

American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication manual of the American Psychological
Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
ISBN-13: 978-1-4338-0561-5

Description:

DO NOT USE PAPERS FROM A PREVIOUS CLASS EVEN ONE YOU MAY HAVE WRITTEN AT A DIFFERENT COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY! Trust me, turnitin.com will catch it. In the last 3 terms, I had 4 requests for student papers from separate professors regarding students “recycling” a paper they used in my class. I had one student receive an “F” grade on the research paper for doing it in my class (used a paper he/she wrote at a different college).

6) DO NOT “CUT AND PASTE” – even if you “identify” and “cite” the quotes (protects you from plagiarism, but will score zeros in criteria 1, 2, and 3). What is “cut and paste” – it is where chunks of a paper are just copied from a source – doesn’t demonstrate knowledge, just the ability to copy another person’s work. The originality score measures how much of your paper is copied material (if it is 25% or higher there is a penalty, 50% or higher – your paper will fail).

Speaking of plagiarism, in the past 2 years I have seen a LARGE increase in the number of faculty submissions to Academic Review committees for issues of plagiarism. Folks, if found to be true, it not only affects your class grade, but it could affect your standing within the University AND may even affect your ability to enter into some professions or graduate degree programs. DON’T CHANCE IT!

7) Did your paper show how the subject you selected impacts the CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM as a whole? In other words, you may be writing about open juvenile records. It is clear that the topic is relevant to the Courts, but what about law enforcement? What if you are reviewing a specific explanation (theory) for why children become killers? Knowing this “reason” could impact policing as well as possibly the Courts (sentencing options). But, could it not also affect Corrections?
STEP EIGHT: Final review. If you have not waited until the last week to start your paper, set it aside for a day or two. Then read it one more time. How does it sound to you? Does it flow? Does it make sense? If you have another person available – have him/her read it.STEP NINE: Submit your assignment (Module 7). There is a drop down box for submission and I will provide more info on this issue during Module 6. Make sure you go to your grading area after you submit it. It should show an icon there. Click on the icon and you should see your originality report, etc. If you don’t see an icon there, contact me ASAP.LAST COMMENTS:
The grading rubric has 5 grading criteria. Each grading criterion is worth up to 20% of your final grade. Grading Rubric CRM 370 – Research Paper
Each student will complete a research paper on a selected topic related to juvenile justice. Papers will be graded according to the following grading rubric. The information provided in this LONG message is probably the most important you will receive in this class. Not so much because of the points available for the research paper, but the issues of APA compliance AND especially the issue of PLAGIARISM (which is a grade killer and possibly an education killer). For those two reasons alone, I STRONGLY recommend you copy this whole message and keep it available when you do your Research Paper!exceptional: corresponds to an A- to A (90-100%). Performance is outstanding; significantly above the usual expectations.Proficient: corresponds to a grade of B- to B+ (80-89%). Skills and standards are at the level of expectation. Basic: corresponds to a C- to C+ (70-79%). Skills and standards are acceptable but improvements are needed to meet expectations well.Novice:corresponds to a D to D+ (60-69%). Performance is weak; the skills or standards are not sufficiently demonstrated at this time. Null: This criterion is missing or not in evidence.Department Criterion #1: The paper provides a fundamental overview of the topic as it relates to the criminal justice system.Department Criterion #2: Shows depth and understanding of the subject matter with appropriate analysis of the topic selected (this includes University Core requirement).Department Criterion #3: Meets acceptable college level standards with respect to form and substance; meets APA style requirements.Department Criterion #4: Meets acceptable college level standards with respect to form and substance; meets APA style requirements.Department Criterion #5: Free of typographical errors; typed in a double-spaced format with bibliographic references; free of plagiarism.How I view the Department’s Grading Criteria (Keep in mind – Word Count is very important as it establishes the “grade range” your paper is eligible to receive. More specific information on this is provided later in this message):The first Criterion deals with how much information does your paper provide (beyond what is provided in the textbook). It also looks at how well you presented the information. The second Criterion examines how you demonstrated the affect of your subject/topic on the criminal justice system as a whole. If your paper is on the social control theory, but you never talk about how it interacts with or affects the criminal justice system…you just lost up to 20% of your paper grade.
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