Reminders & PAPER TOPIC DESCRIPTION

Don't forget that next week Essay II is due (on Thurs. 11/5) and we will be wrapping up our family activity on (Tues. 11/3). Both of these things are described in the previous blog post (Wed. 10/21).

Below is the description of the short paper assignment mentioned in the Course Outline. I will NOT be handing out a hard copy of this description, so please refer to this blog for the details of this assignment.

PAPER TOPIC DESCRIPTION

Sociology 220
Paper Topic
10/30/09

A. I want you to find and read TWO articles about A particular type of crime which you are both interested in investigating more and is discussed somewhere in either Chapters 4, 5, or 6 of our text. Those chapters cover three broad types of crime: violent, property, and white collar crime; but, rather than focus on one of those broad catergories, I want you to focus more specifically on ONE particular type of crime such as motor vehicle theft, for example, which is covered in Chapter 5 on property crime.

I believe the best sources for these articles would be popular magazines or newspapers, and AS A LAST RESORT, academic journals. The articles should be fairly recent (within the last 5 years or so) and they should each be AT LEAST TWO PAGES LONG. In your paper, I want you to discuss what insights these articles contain, as well as discuss how they relate to the analysis of that type of crime in the text. Do the articles support, not support, contradict, or offer new insight into the treatment of that type of crime in the text? Finally, I want you to address the question of the implications of what you've learned about this type of criminal behavior for policies to better control or reduce it.

B. The paper should be roughly 6-7 pages (double-spaced typewritten). PLEASE TURN IN XEROX COPIES OF BOTH ARTICLES ALONG WITH YOUR PAPER. Be sure to indicate the page number and source of any passages from the articles or text which you quote in your paper. No bibliography is required since you will be turning in your outside sources (the articles) along with the paper.

C. This paper is due on THURSDAY, NOV. 19TH, at which time everyone will be called upon to give a brief summary of your findings to the rest of the class (5 minutes, tops). The paper is worth 50 points and the presentation 5 points.

***ONCE YOU FINISH "GANG LEADER FOR A DAY" YOU SHOULD START READING THESE CHAPTERS AND SEARCHING FOR ARTICLES.***