Report: Analysis of a Criminological Problem

Value:  30% of final grade

Purpose: This report is based on the research you conduct on any criminogenic risk factor tied to criminality. You can choose from any of the following criminogenic factors (these are most highly correlated with criminality):

1.        Antisocial behaviour (exploitive, aggressive or harmful behaviour toward others)

2.        Antisocial personality pattern (impulsive, sensation seeking, risk taking, aggressive, manipulative and exploitive)

3.        Antisocial cognition (values, beliefs, feelings and thoughts that contribute to personal identity that favors and reinforces criminal behaviour

4.        Antisocial peers (preferring to associate with pro-criminal peers and isolation from anti-criminal peers and social contexts)

5.        Family (chaotic and poor-quality family relationships that have minimal or no pro-social expectations regarding crime and substance use)

6.        School/work (poor performance and limited engagement with school or work resulting from dissatisfaction and avoidance of them)

7.        Leisure and recreation (limited involvement in anti-criminal leisure activities)

8.        Substance abuse (use and abuse of alcohol and / or drugs)

Your task is to describe the criminogenic risk factor and then analyze it (what makes the risk factor a criminological problem). Keep the focus on Canada.  

Instructions on the Report:

You are writing through both a descriptive (describe the criminogenic risk factor) and a critical lens (analyze the risk factor). Stay in the present (do not include any history of the problem). You are writing a brief report (not an essay).

In your introductory paragraph,

1. state the purpose of this report (answer the question, “why write a report on this topic?”)

2. provide a 1 or 2 sentence outline for the criminogenic risk factor you will be examining

3. in 1 or 2 sentences briefly outline scope of your analysis (how will you be analyzing the risk factor in this report)

4. provide your thesis statement (or what your actual analysis in the report will conclude)

Length of introductory paragraph = approximately ½ page

In the body of your report,

1.       describe the criminogenic risk factor

               Length = ½ page minimum to 1 page maximum

2.       then analyze the risk factor (what makes the risk factor a criminological problem)

Length = 2 page minimum to 4 pages maximum (using paragraphs with topic sentences to separate out the themes to your analysis

In your concluding paragraph

1. draw an actual conclusion based on your analysis. Clearly tie this to your thesis statement (answer the question what did you learn from writing about this topic, implications (policy/practice, etc) or next steps

Length = 1/2 page minimum to 1 page maximum

Length of conclusion = ½ page minimum to 1 page maximum

Reminders on Academic writing:

Make use of a third person voice, pay attention to the organization of your ideas, the transition between points, and clear topic sentences for each paragraph.

Give credit to the authors of the work you are paraphrasing using parenthetical citations. Use quotes and paraphrases of the material to support the points you want to make. For example, use something like, As Smith (2015) suggested…. as opposed to writing a paragraph and ending it with (Smith, 2015).  In the latter form, it is unclear what your point is and what is coming from the reference.

As this is academic writing, in each paragraph you must use references to substantiate your descriptions and analysis. If you do not, then this is not academic writing – it may be plagiarized or simply unsubstantiated thoughts.

References:

Use a minimum of 5 different, RELEVANT (to the specific risk factor), quality academic sources. You can and should reference a source more than once to substantiate your points, however you will want to incorporate multiple sources to convey your knowledge of the topic.

ACADEMIC SOURCES. If you are unclear about what constitutes an academic source (such as an article in a Journal) please take a few minutes to read and watch the following:

Identifying academic sources: http://owll.massey.ac.nz/academic-writing/identifying-academic-sources.php

How to identify academic sources (video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBZTqSXYODo

Format:

APA (with headings) – create your own headings

See the CJ Writing Reference Manual to help you with the formatting for APA.

Please staple the report and title page together in the left top corner for submission. This report will be a minimum of 4 ½ pages excluding the cover page and reference page. There is a penalty for any length under 4 ½ pages (beginning with 1% off per half page short). Aim for a 5 full page report minimum!

Grading Matrix:

The Grading Matrix for this Assignment will be available on the D2L. Carefully note the expectations and how the marks are assigned.

Introduction – 2 marks

Body and Content – 15 marks

Conclusion – 2 marks

Writing – 3 marks

References – 3 marks

Citations – 2 marks

Formatting – 3 marks

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