Description
The article must be about one of the two topics:
1- Gangs and the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems
OR
2- Comprehensive Responses to Gangs
Specifically, the paper must:
1) Provide a brief summary of the article and its findings. What is the main question/central focus of the research? What are the sources of data? What are the main findings?
2) What did you learn that was worth knowing from the article? (if your answer is nothing, explain why)
3) How does the article relate to the topic of your selected module?
The article reviewed must contain data and test a research question and/or hypothesis.
Moreover, the article must be published in one of the following peer-reviewed journals:
American Journal of Criminal Justice;
American Journal of Public Health;
Criminal Justice and Behavior;
Criminal Justice Policy Review;
Criminology;
Criminology and Public Policy;
Deviant Behavior;
Feminist Criminology;
Homicide Studies;
Journal of Criminal Justice;
Journal of Gang Research;
Journal of Interpersonal Violence;
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency;
Journal of Quantitative Criminology;
Justice Quarterly;
Police Quarterly;
Security Journal;
The Prison Journal;
Victims and Offenders;
Youth and Society;
Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice.
The paper must adhere to the following guidelines:
APA formatting and citation style (Note: you do not need to include an abstract)
Separate title page including student name, course, and section, and paper title
Microsoft Word Document
1’Inch (72 points) Margins all around
The overall indentation should be set left and right at a 0 pt, while the first line of the paragraph at 18 points, tabs should also be set at 18 points (however, in cases of using extended large direct quotes the tab should be at 36 points)
Do not justify the paper since that causes spacing issues. Always align the paper to the left
Times New Roman font
12-Point font
Double-spaced (Sometimes word documents are automatically defaulted to have extra spacing. In order to make sure this is not the case, click on Page layout, and in the spacing section make sure that the before and after are set to 0 points)
Include page numbers.
Pictures, graphics, figures, and/or tables should not be included in the text. If you choose to include these in your paper they should be in an appendix. Please note that Appendixes do not count toward the assignment minimum/maximum page requirement noted in point 11 below.
3- 5 pages of text (not including title page or references)
In addition, to the above formatting guidelines, when writing your paper keep the following in mind:
Avoid using contractions and the first person in formal writing (i.e., in all of the papers you will submit for my course)
A proper paragraph should include at least 3 sentences
Make sure you do not have run-on paragraphs. A paragraph should never be over a page long
Make sure to use proper citations.
The paper should also be formatted with proper headings and subheadings – i.e., Introduction, Gang History, etc….
Do not include tables and figures in text as they mess up the formatting of the paper. If you are going to employ a table or figure to illustrate a point, do so in an appendix.
Never blindly rely on referencing programs that create citations for you. Always, ALWAYS double-check your work. I am not responsible if the program that you use has glitches and does not properly format your citations.
All of the sources included in the reference page should be cited in the text, and all of the citations in the text should be included in the reference page.
One source needs to be the textbook:
Curry, D.G., Decker, S.H., & Pyrooz, D.C. (2014). Confronting Gangs: Crime and
Community. New York, N.Y: Oxford University Press.
(chapters 8-9)