Any topic (writer’s choice)

The Final Product: A Criminal Justice Reform Paper
Your final product will be a thoughtful, polished paper that identifies an area of criminal justice reform in Illinois and Chicago and your stance in relation to that reform. Possible stances include advocating for the reform, encouraging the reader to reject the reform and suggesting changes to the reform.  Your reform can be something that is currently be considered or something that has been recently passed in Illinois or Chicago. You can also include a reform that has been passed in another state that you think would work well in Illinois or Chicago. Reform can include changes to law or criminal justice policy, increased resources or programs.
Reforms must be rooted in reality and oriented towards supporting rehabilitation and/or desistance. We will spend time in class generating ideas.
Your Paper MUST include each of the following sections:

(1)    Introduction (1 double-spaced page, ~ 250 words)
The introduction is where you will introduce the reader to the criminal justice reform that  you are responding to and why it matters. After reading the introduction, the reader should be concerned and/or excited about the reform. Your introduction should answer the following questions:
1.    What is the reform?
2.    Why does this reform matter?  (be specific)
3.    What is your take on the reform and why?
(2)    Description of the Reform (2-3 double-spaced pages, ~ 500-750 words)
This is where you are going to explain what, exactly, the reform consists of, who the reform will potentially impact and the reasoning provided for that reform. This section should explain why supporters of the reform believe it is needed and what evidence supports their claims.

(3)    Impact of the Reform on Desistance/Rehabilitation (4-6 double-spaced pages; ~1,000-1,500 words)
This is where you will discuss the impact that this reform will have on desistance and/or rehabilitation. This discussion should be supported with arguments and evidence from empirical studies (research). If you are advocating that this reform be rejected, this is where you make that argument. If you are advocating that the reform be accepted, this is where you make that argument. If you are advocating that something be added to or removed from the reform, this is where you make that argument.

(4)    Conclusion (1 page; ~ 250 words
This is where you will make your final argument for or against your reform.

(5)    APA References Page

FORMATTING THE PAPER AND TURNING IT IN

Your final proposal should be between 2,000 and 2,500 words (approximately 8-10 double-spaced pages) and should follow the following formatting rules:

    Title Page with Title, Name and Word Count
    Double-spaced
    12 point Times New Roman font (or similar font)
    Black ink
    1 1.25 margins (whichever is the default setting on your computer)
    Digital Copy due online on Sakai on due date (see syllabus) in appropriate folder. Titled LastnameFirstname_Reform Paper
    Hard copy and Rubric due in class on due date (See syllabus)

Basic Paper Expectations:

Each section of your paper (Introduction, Literature Review, Description of Intervention) should have a heading and be clearly organized. Your paragraphs must have topic sentences that are supported by evidence or arguments. There should be transition sentences from one paragraph to the next.

Support your statements with arguments and your arguments with evidence from research (we will discuss how to do this in class).

You should cite material from the course as well as at least 8 outside sources in your proposal. 6 outside sources must be peer-reviewed research articles that will be used to support your arguments for the impact the reform will have on desistance/rehabilitation. At least 2 of the outside sources should be used to support your explanation for what the proposed reform is and  consists of. These does not need to be peer-reviewed but should come from reputable sources (ex: newspapers, reputable organizations, etc.).

You must have a bibliography page which cites all of your sources. This page is not part of the word requirement. For information on how to document your sources see the next section, “APA Citation Format” or the APA Manual (2010).

Do not cite or use information from research articles you have not read. You should be focusing on the research you read to support the claims you are making in your intervention proposal. This means you should be pulling information from a research articles arguments and findings, not their literature reviews. Their literature reviews will frame their work, but should not be your major source of information for your paper. If they bring up a relevant study that you think is important, look it up and use it. If they cite a statistic that will be useful in your paper, look the original article, read it and cite it.

Do not include the title of the research articles in your paper. Instead refer to the them by year and author. For information on how to document the source of a paraphrase or quote, see the next section, “APA Citation Format” or the APA Manual (2010).

Paraphrase, don’t quote. In scientific writing and proposals, paraphrasing an author’s ideas is more common and more effective than using direct quotes.

Use specific language and support your arguments with concrete examples. Avoid vague references such as “this” (e.g., “this illustrates” should be “this experiment illustrates”).
Use the past tense or present perfect tense when using signal phrases to describe earlier research, for example, Jones (1998) found or Jones (1998) has found…

 

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