INSTRUCTIONS BELOW ATTACHED IS THE OUTLINE OF ASSIGNMENT
Opinion Papers: One (1) paper worth 100 points will be assigned. You may choose any topic of interest that is discussed in the text book or class. The paper should be 800 to 1000 words. The paper should address your opinion about the complex issues within the parameters of why minorities are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. Your opinion must be based on the empirical evidence presented in the text book or other scholarly sources. After providing your opinion of why minorities are overrepresented, based on one of the criminological theories presented in the text book, develop a policy or policies that might address what you believe is the cause of minority overrepresentation. Be sure to provide a thorough description of the criminological theory. Also, be sure to structure your paper with appropriate sentence structure including headings, sub-headings, paragraph indentation and so forth. I would like to see writing at the college level.
Please cite four journal, magazine or newspaper articles, books, or Professional Internet sources on the topic you chose, using APA style preferably (MLA is acceptable if done correctly). This means that all ideas must be your own.
Remember to think outside the box to develop policies. This will require critical thinking. Your policy might not be feasible in our real political climate. However, your policy should focus on what you argue to be the reason why minorities are overrepresented in the CJ system and should be developed from the perspective of getting rid of crime at all reasonable costs. . Please provide headings when you transition from one topic to the other so that the professor may easily follow your writing.
Sample Topics: “I believe there is justification in why minorities are overrepresented,” “I believe the criminal justice system is racially bias because…,” “African Americans are more inclined to commit serious crimes because…,” “The ‘war on drugs’ was a racially biased tactic,” “The criminal justice system is working just fine” etc.
Bibliography: You must include a bibliography (or works cited) page in addition to your typed pages. This must be in APA (or MLA) style.
Grading: Papers will be graded using the following criteria:
Cause of Overrepresentation 25
Presentation of Theory 25
Policy Development 20
Grammar/spelling 05
Presentation 05
Outline 10
Four Sources 10
100