Assignment:
Essay question: Although written several decades ago, how might Shaw and McKay's theory help to explain the occurrence of street violence in today's inner-city communities?
Essays must be at least 1,250 words long (that's the equivalent of about 5 pages of double-spaced text in a word processing document). Pick one (1) question from the list below that is of interest to you, and write a minimum 1,250-word response. Full credit will be given for responses that apply scientific and evidence-based proposals for solving problems. (HINT: Use information from our readings, my lecture notes, and even external scholarly sources to craft your proposal. Proposals based on idealism, relative morality, or religious ideology will not receive full credit.).
One last note regarding source material -- and this applies to essays and videos. Encyclopedias (like Wikipedia), and sites like About.com are good starting points, but they should not be used as primary sources. (In fact, by definition, they are not primary sources.) For example, if you find information about poverty in an article on About.com, look up their original source and confirm the information for yourself. The Auraria Library (click here) makes it so easy to find information via their Web site, there really is no excuse for being sloppy about finding original sources.
Research articles in academic journals, research books, and book chapters in edited volumes (including our course reader) are good examples of original sources. I will also accept newspaper and magazine articles (print or electronic) as sources if you confirm that their authors have gathered their own research. The New York Times is a good example. A Capitol Hill lobbying group's newsletter is not a good example.
You do not need to include copies of the original sources. Just be sure to cite the material appropriately so that if your reader (me) wants to look up the information, he can do that. Use of American Psychological Association (APA) style is required.