1. You will need to describe your selected topic,
2. Provide the relevant background, contextual information, social/political context,
3. Select a criminological theory that can successfully be applied to your topic,
4. Thoroughly discuss and describe the theory in one section,
5. Apply it to your selected topic in a separate section, and again…
6. Provide relevant policy, (e.g. law enforcement strategies, probation and parole strategies) or legal options to address that crime that are grounded in your selected theoretical perspective (HINT: you can find policy implications not only in the text but also in journal articles as they are a staple of academic research. You can usually locate them within either the discussion or conclusion sections). As well, our class textbook often discusses policy/legal issues within each theory so your textbook is a great starting point.

Your paper must have the following components:

Introduction:

• Introduce your paper including the topic you are examining, the theoretical perspective (theory) you are applying, and the policy/legal response to the crime/criminal grounded within that theoretical perspective. E.g. perhaps it’s a conservative approach such as prison, or a more critical approach such as restorative justice).  – YOU MUST Include an appropriate thesis statement in this section.

Body of the Paper:

• Provide a description of your topic
• Provide the relevant background/contextual information about your topic. This information should tie in with the theoretical approach you select
• Fully describe your selected theoretical perspective (theory – e.g. Routine activities theory or social disorganization theory). This information should come from the original articulation of the theory (or a seminal work in the area if original piece cannot be found), the textbook, and other sources such as peer-review journals or other library texts (if you do not understand what a seminal or original work is, please come and see me).
• Apply the theory to your topic; use the theory to explain WHY the person/group did what s/he/they did or WHY the crime takes place (e.g. campus rape takes place due to routine activities of victims).  You need to justify the use of your selected theory; state why the theory “fits” your crime.  You can do this by providing examples from other studies that use the theory to explain crimes similar to the crime you are examining (HINT: you may not find theoretical information based solely on your topic so you use literature based on your topic. For example, you may choose Michael Milken but cannot find specific theoretical literature based on him, thus, you can use literature that is based off of the type of crime(s) he committed or another prominent person in that realm – think outside the box a little).
• Discuss the policy and/or legal responses to the crime that would be appropriate based on the theoretical perspective you choose. For example, policy responses to routine activities theory might be target hardening. This section may be different from that of paper one as we move into the theories, policies/legal responses used in paper 1 may no longer be relevant.

Conclusion:

• Summarize your paper without introducing any new points.

Reference page:

• All references cited in text must be included in the reference page and vice versa. Citations and references should be in APA format.

Requirements: (e.g., Cohen and Felson’s Routine Activities theory, the Brantingham’s Pattern Theory of Crime, etc.). All your new sources must be academic, including texts or journal articles. Citations and references must follow APA format. Please number your pages.

This is a text book you can also use as a source.

Bohm, R. M. & Vogel, B. L. (2015).

A primer on crime and delinquency theory, 4th Edition