Connection between Criminal Justice and the Society

Assignment #3: Research Essay
Summary of assignment

Task: Write an essay that discusses a connection between your field of study and society.
The audience is people who are generally educated but do not have extensive
knowledge of your field.

Length: 1500-2000 words

Sources: Minimum of 6. At least 3 of these must be from scholarly journals, and all sources
should be selected based on reliability, currency, and level of information/analysis.
The UMUC library will be very useful in helping you find appropriate sources. You can,
but do not have to, include all of the sources from your annotated bibliography.

Outcomes you should achieve by completing this assignment

The outcomes for this assignment are listed below, with the associated course outcomes in
parentheses:

• Use research to write an essay that will inform or persuade an audience (Course
  outcome 1)
• Form unified, coherent, and well-supported paragraphs in support of the thesis
  statement (Course outcome 2)
• Select sources, use them to inform and support your writing, and document them in
  APA style (Course outcome 4)
• Demonstrate accurate grammar and mechanics in writing (Course outcome 3)
• Participate in the process of receiving feedback and revising your writing (Course
  outcome 1)

Topic

This essay is the culmination of your research project, in which you are investigating a
connection between your field of study and society. You should already have a topic that you
have been working on, and identified several potential sources in an annotated bibliography.
You should write on the same topic for this essay, unless your professor has asked you to make
changes to your topic.

Organizing and supporting your essay

As you write your essay, be sure to include the following:

? an engaging introductory paragraph that includes an effective and clear thesis
statement

• any definition of terms or background information that your reader is likely to need to
  understand your paper
• unified, supported, and coherent body paragraphs that defend the thesis
• an effective conclusion

Research is a key element of this paper. Take care to support your claims with research
throughout the paper. Include APA in-text citations whenever you use sources, whether
through quote, paraphrase, or summary. An APA reference list at the end of the paper should
list all of the sources cited in the text of the paper.

Point of view

This essay will be written in an academic style. Use third person point of view. Do not use ?I? or
?you.?

Formatting your assignment

Incorporate these elements of APA style:

• Use one-inch margins.
• Double space.
• Use an easy-to-read font between 10-point and 12-point.
• Include a title page with the title of your paper, your name, and the name of your
  school.

Revising your essay

You will submit at least two drafts of your essay. Your instructor will provide feedback on the
first draft, and then you will revise and resubmit your essay for a grade. Your instructor may
suggest more than two drafts.