Instructions
Assignment One: Critical Summary
Nils Christie – Conflicts as Property

The task:

This assignment asks you to retrieve and read the full text of Nils Christie’s article, ‘Conflicts as Property” (British Journal of Criminology, January 1977, vol.17, pp. 1-15), and compose a critical summary of the author’s four main criticisms about the functioning of modern legal systems in western society.

The British Journal of Criminology is available online through the library – you need only to ‘enter’ the library through the University website (under the ‘students/academics’ tab at the bottom of the main webpage), then follow the prompts. Your TA can show you how to do this

What’s involved?

A ‘critical summary’ requires you to summarize an article, in this case with emphasis on what the author says about the functioning of the legal system in western societies, and provide some critical discussion of his statements. This means that your essay should include both a summary and some critical reflection, that is, your thoughts about the points made by the author – is he right? Is he wrong? A bit of both? Why do you think so – that is, what pieces of his arguments do you agree or disagree with, and what other knowledge, experience or research can you draw upon to support your position(s) (hint: Hoebel might be helpful here)?

Your essay should include:

A brief, overall summary of the article
A summary of the four main criticisms the author has of modern, western legal systems
A critical examination of the author’s positions that supports/informs your position
The format of your assignment:

Your summary should be no more than 750 words or 3 pages in length; please double-space and use 12-point font. Please be sure to provide full and accurate references for all quotes or information/statements which are not your own; you should use the Law and Legal Studies referencing style as your guide for proper referencing (see the “Style Sheet’ posted on the Department of Law and Legal Studies webpage).

Be sure the first page of your paper has your name, student number, discussion page Be sure that your first page or cover page of your assignment has the course number (1001) and section (A or E) you are in, your name, student number as well as the name of your Teaching Assistant and group number (e.g., A01, E01, etc.). If your paper is not correctly labelled, it may not be accepted and may well not be marked, so be careful!

Your TA will help you to prepare to write your paper, so be sure to attend your discussion groups. If you wish more assistance with your paper, you can also reach out to the Centre for Student Academic Support at csas@carleton.ca or 613-520-3822. Don’t wait to the last minute to reach out to CSAS – they tend to be very busy and you may have to book a time in advance to connect with them.

This assignment will comprise up to 20% of your overall course grade. It will be marked by your TA and will be assessed not only for your demonstrated understanding of Christie’s article, but also how well you argue your position and whether you provide supporting examples or evidence. The paper will also be reviewed for the quality of writing and for such things as grammar and sentence structure, so be sure to take care in these regards.