January 26th, 2020 
SYLLABUS FORMAL INSTRUCTIONS
Students will select a topic to investigate that pertains to criminal gang activity in a country of their choice that is NOT Canada. While students have discretion on what direction they take with the paper, they must advance an argument that in some way or another addresses not only criminal gang activity in that foreign country but also the anti-gang policies of that country. Terms papers should range between 15 and 20 pages double spaced Times New Roman Font. Papers must strictly adhere to APA style guidelines (not just internal citations and bibliography). More information will be available through the course website. The late penalty for this assignment is a 1% deduction for each day late (including weekends) off of ones final course grade.
ASSIGNMENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
The first learning outcome of this assignment is for students to acquire a better understanding of HOW criminal gang activity works in other countries.
A second learning outcome for this assignment is for students to develop a research project. The parameters for this paper are very broad. Beyond picking a criminal gang activity in another country and exploring it alongside the ANTI-GANG POLICIES of that country, students are open to how they decide they would like to design their research project and paper. That means that students have the opportunity to develop their own RESEARCH QUESTION that they will ultimately answer in the paper.
A third learning outcome for this assignment is for students to hone writing skills essential for all professional careers and post-secondary educational pursuits.
A fourth learning outcome for this assignment is for students to explore, in depth, a topic and/or location that is meaningful and important to them. To this end, students are encouraged to select a topic (i.e. criminal gang activity) that they believe is particularly relevant to their long-term professional career goals, or their personal lives and experiences. They are, furthermore, encouraged to select a country that they have a personal connection to, or that they are particularly interested in or passionate about.
ASSIGNMENT EXPECTATIONS
1. Select a criminal gang activity that is taking place in a foreign country and provide an in-depth and detailed description of it.
In the final paper, students must define, describe, and explain the activity in as much depth and detail as possible.
2. Pose a research question about your criminal gang activity.
Students must pose a RESEARCH QUESTION about the criminal gang activity that in some way or other relates it to ANTI-GANG POLICIES within that country.
Students want to ask a question that will allow them to broaden their KNOWLEDGE and UNDERSTANDING of the criminal gang activity and how it relates to the countrys ANTI-GANG POLICIES. Therefore, students want to ensure that the question they are asking is broad enough so that it allows them to carry out extensive research on their topic.
3. Carry out your research in order to answer your research question.
Students will be expected to draw on a WIDE variety of academic and grey literature resources to learn as much as they can about their criminal gang activity, the country in which it takes place, and the countrys ANTI-GANG POLICIES. The ultimate goal of carrying out this research is in order to answer the research question.
ACADEMIC sources include PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES and BOOKS that are published by REPUTABLE ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS (i.e. University of Toronto Press, Ashgate, etc.). In terms of books, a good rule of thumb is that if it can be found in UOITs library, and if it is written by academics (not self-help or pop psychology-type books), then it is likely an acceptable scholarly book.
GREY LITERATURE sources can include government documents (parliamentary debates, policy briefs, policy documents), police reports, official websites, and articles from reputable newspapers. However, students are advised to view these sources with a critical eye. They should be used to augment or supplement more rigorous academic sources rather than to replace it. Above all, please avoid sites like Wikipedia, yahoo, and web blogs. These are perfectly fine for starting out (I encourage you to use them initially- and you will find that I draw on them for lectures from time to time) but they are NOT acceptable for the final paper. Please see me if you need clarification with any specific sources.
4. Develop a social scientific argument (THESIS).
After completing their research and learning as much as they can about criminal gang activity in their foreign country, and the ANTI-GANG POLICIES there, students should have broadened their KNOWLEDGE and UNDERSTANDING to the point that they can now advance an analytical ARGUMENT. Their argument must similarly address both their criminal gang activity of choice and the ANTI-GANG POLICIES in their chosen country. In the same way that students have wide discretion over what type of research question they ask, they also have wide range of discretion over what type of argument they advance. However, their argument must in some way draw on SOCIAL SCIENTIFIC THEORY. Consequently, students are welcome to draw on course materials (course readings) and/or outside ACADEMIC sources that particularly speak to theories about criminal gangs (which we will be covering extensively in the course). Alternatively, students can draw on broader social scientific theories and APPLY them their criminal gang activity themselves.
What is a social scientific argument?
It is a REASONED (or logical) CLAIM that is supported by evidence AND is GROUNDED in a SOCIAL SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE. And in the case of this assignment, this social scientific perspective has to encompass THEORY. Your social scientific perspective can ALSO be informed by social scientific paradigms, social scientific models, social scientific themes, and of course social scientific research more generally (that may or may not be theoretical so to speak). To be clear, these paradigms, theories, models, themes and research need NOT be authored by criminologists or justice scholars or only covered in criminology or justice studies courses and texts. Thinking of criminology and justice studies as a distinct category can be quite misleading. Most of what we talk about in criminology and justice studies is interdisciplinary and used in many other fields (i.e. Marxist theory is used in sociology, criminology, political science, economics, philosophy, history, anthropology, etc.). However, the argument must be grounded in a SOCIAL SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE that focusses attention on SOCIETY, SOCIAL RELATIONS, SOCIAL FACTORS, etc. (i.e. politics, media, culture, history, economics, etc.). For example, if students find themselves paying MORE attention to biology, physical geography, or purely written law and paying LESS attention to the wider society, they probably need to adjust their focus.
BASIC EXPECTATIONS
Term papers must draw on an appropriate number of sources. Students should be aiming for a minimum of FIFTEEN sources, with no maximum limit.
Term papers must present clear, structured and well written ARGUMENT (THESIS) that draws on social scientific theory as well as social science more generally.
Terms papers should range between 15-20 pages double spaced Times New Roman Font. Strong and well developed papers tend to, but not always, fall between 18 and 20 pages. Papers that exceed 20 pages by more than a page are at risk of having marks deducted for exceeding the page limit, and it is STRONGLY recommended that they do not fall below 15 pages (this is generally a sign that the paper is significantly underdeveloped).
Term papers must strictly adhere to APA style guidelines (not just internal citations and bibliography).
TERM PAPER EVALUATION SCHEME
The following is an overview of the key criteria that will be used to evaluate students term papers. While all components will feature prominently in the evaluation, please be advised that the topic, argumentation, and evidence will be given significant consideration (in particular the argument!).
1. Topic
Students have chosen a suitable topic that meets the requirements of the term paper outlined above. They make sure that they have chosen a specific criminal gang activity from a country other than Canada. They clearly, and in detail, describe the criminal gang activity. Students ensure that the argument and evidence in the paper address not only the criminal gang activity they have chosen but also ANTI-GANG POLICIES that country.
2. Argument
Students present a clear thesis statement that articulates their argument. They then use their paper to build an argument in which social scientific theories is used. The argument is clearly introduced and presented, and it is strongly supported by evidence. As per the above instructions, students ensure their analytical argument addresses not only the foreign criminal gang activity but also the ANTI-GANG POLICIES in that country.
3. Evidence
Students draw on an adequate number of sources to develop their argument. As stated above, they should be aiming for approximately FIFTEEN sources minimum. Dependent on the topic and analysis, for some papers, FIFTEEN will be sufficient, whereas for others more will be required. Thus, students are being graded here not on how MANY sources they have, but rather, how successfully they have supported their argument with evidence. Therefore, it is both the quantity and quality of sources (not just the quality of articles and books, but far more importantly, the quality of the students use of the research to support their arguments).
4. Structure and Organisation
The paper has a clear introduction and conclusion. A thesis statement is found in the introduction of the paper. The overall argument for the term paper has are clear and logical flow, and is easy for the reader to follow along. Students are strongly encouraged to consult writing guides on how to formally structure a term paper, and they are welcome to contact me for feedback and advice.
5. Writing
Writing is clear and elegant, sentences are nicely constructed, paragraphs are an appropriate length and are nicely constructed, writing is polished, and spelling and grammar are error free. Spelling and grammar will be taken into serious consideration when grading papers.
6. Citations
Bibliography and internal citations are accurately laid out according to APA style. The paper conforms to term paper instructions in terms of font, size, layout, etc.
7. Format
All aspects of the term paper conform to proper APA formatting style and formal assignment instructions, i.e. title page, margins, heading, font, size, spacing, etc.
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