Assignment:
For this assignment you will choose 3 different concepts from this Module's textbook readings (see attached photos) on law enforcement organization, responsibilities, issues, and careers (the first of three criminal justice system components we will be exploring in this course).
Your three concepts should come from the lists of Key Terms at the end of each Module Chapter (see attached photos).
Step 1: Review readings on law enforcement organization, responsibilities, issues, and careers.
Step 2: Review or watch again these videos from Module.
Video: Careers in Law Enforcement: Local and State
Video: Careers in Law Enforcement: Federal
Video: Police Questioning and Interrogation
Video: Forensics: Analyzing Evidence
Video: A DNA Database (see 1:06:31 and on for discussion of CODIS)
Video: What Governs Use of Evidence?
Step 3: Write a 5-paragraph essay following the paper structure and APA paper format requirements below.
Write, save, and submit your paper as a Microsoft Word document. Any paper not submitted as a Word document (with a .doc or .docx file type) will receive a zero, per the Assignments section in the course syllabus.
Paper Structure
Cover Page
Introductory Paragraph
- Provide the reader with an overview of the four purposes of law enforcement (as discussed in your text and the Module 2 Blackboard readings, including the Overview of Criminal Justice Components reading), as well as the terms you will be discussing in your paper and their relevance to the module's materials.
- Cite your textbook in this paragraph, as well as any other sources you use. See the sample student paper attached to these instructions for an example.
Body Paragraph One
- Identify ONE concept listed in the list of Key Terms and discussed in the textbook readings and illustrated in one of the videos above.
- In this paragraph, you should clearly identify the concept you are discussing (put it in bold), then provide a definition for the concept in your own words. Cite your textbook for the definition (even when putting it in your own words) as that is where you got the information for that definition.
- Then, provide at least two sentences worth of evidence from the video(s) that clearly and specifically illustrate the concept you identified. Clearly cite each sentence of video evidence.
- Cite your textbook and the videos throughout this paragraph.
- See the sample student paper attached to these instructions for an example.
Conclusion Paragraph
- Wrap up your paper and tell your reader any final thoughts about the Module readings and videos (lasting impressions, things you didn't understand, things you saw in the video(s) that did or did not align with the Module materials, etc.).
- Cite any sources you use in this paragraph. See the sample student paper attached to these instructions for an example.
- Do NOT use first person (I, me, we, us, etc.) or subjective/opinion language in this paragraph or this paper.
Reference Page
Paper Format
You should, at a minimum, cite your textbook as that is where you got the 3 concepts you are discussing in your paper.
Download the APA Word Template (attached) and personalize it for this assignment. Your paper should be double-spaced in Times New Roman 12-point font and with 1-inch margins all the way around. Be sure to write in your own words as much as possible. Avoid using direct quotes (write in your own words), and properly cite your textbook (for the concepts), as well as any other sources you use.
See Module 1: Course Introduction: APA and You for examples of in-text citations and references for your textbook. You should have in-text citations in every paragraph of your paper to align with the materials, concept(s), and definitions you discuss, even though your discussion was in your own words. As you are discussing materials from other sources, even though you are discussing these materials in your own words you MUST still properly cite sources with in-text citations and references in APA format.
Anything not in your own words (aka taken word-for-word from other sources) MUST be in quotation marks (" ") or you are plagiarizing. You should write in your own words as much as possible, summarizing and paraphrasing what you read/hear in this course, to minimize your similarity to other sources. Even writing in your own words, you MUST properly cite all sources (textbook, videos, etc.) for the information you are discussing or you are plagiarizing.
Do NOT use first person (I, me, we, us, etc.) or subjective/opinion statements in academic or professional writing, including these writing assignments.
If the information you are discussing in a paragraph is all from one source (such as your textbook), cite that source with in-text citations at the beginning and the end of the paragraph. Also cite the source following any direct quotes.
Textbook is
Criminal Justice in Action 9th Edition
by Larry K. Gaines (Author), Roger LeRoy Miller (Author)
Readings:
A Big Test of Police Body Cameras Defies Expectations
By Amanda Ripley