The student will choose a current issue impacting law enforcement and American society and
submit it for approval to me no later than Sunday of week 3. Select a subject that
you are passionate about. Final papers will be due May 8th.
This paper must be double spaced, 12-point font, and at least 6 pages. The 6 -7 pages must be content now title, abstract, reference do not count. You will be graded on the content of your essay, command of the topic, your ability to integrate ideas, evidence of original thought or analysis, and the logic of your ideas. I would like you to highlight and incorporate a theory of some sort that correlates to your topic. There must be at least 5 academic resources to support or contend your opinions about the content of the paper. You must cite in APA format within the text of the paper and in the references. The paper will not be accepted late and must be submitted through blackboard. Plagiarism will result in a failing grade. The Turnitin in Report must be less the 20%. For information see the University Policy Manual on Plagiarism. This does not preclude information from other sources so long as you attribute the source. Simply repeating what you hear in class or read in the book does not constitute A or B work. The essay grading rubric is attached.
Structure (25%)
Excellent:
Opening paragraph defines purpose of essay clearly and succinctly, allows the reader to predict what follows and establishes a clear theme for essay.
Paragraphs begin and end with transitions and focus on single concept or idea.
Body of essay develops on the opening theme in a coherent and logical progression of ideas that facilitates the reader’s understanding and maintains the reader’s interest.
Arguments and conclusions are internally consistent and always supported with evidence or logic.
Writer makes frequent and effective use of examples to support his/her underlying argument.
Closing paragraph sums up writer’s points and links back to opening.
Overall the essay reflects conscious use of structure and organization, which facilitates the reader’s understanding.
Acceptable:
Opening paragraph addresses a purpose.
Writer makes paragraph breaks in appropriate places.
Body of essay stays on general topic introduced in essay.
Writer makes some use of logic and evidence.
Writer makes some use of examples to support his/her argument.
The essay reflects some overall structure and organization.
Unacceptable:
Opening paragraph does not relate to any clear theme, nor does it relate to the remainder of essay.
Writer fails to break writing into paragraphs at appropriate places.
Body of essay wanders among topics without apparent purpose.
Writer makes assertions without evidence, logic or examples or uses evidence, logic or examples that clearly fail to support assertions.
The essay lacks structure and reflects no planning or organization. It shifts from one topic to another at random.
Language Usage (25%)
Excellent:
Writing contains no grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors
Writer makes extensive use of active voice.
Writer consistently uses appropriate tense.
Writer uses varied sentence structures. Worker appropriately uses a rich vocabulary and varied vocabulary.
Writer appropriately uses a rich vocabulary and varied vocabulary.
Acceptable:
Writing contains some minor grammatical, punctuation or spelling errors.
Writer primarily uses active voice, but occasionally lapses into passive voice where active voice would better serve his/her objectives.
Writer sometimes uses present tense to describe past events or other errors in tense.
Writer repeatedly uses simple sentence structure.
Writer repeatedly uses the same words or phrases; vocabulary shows no richness or variety.
Unacceptable
Writing contains numerous grammatical, punctuation or spelling errors.
Writer never uses active voice.
Writer demonstrates no awareness of tense, mixes tense in sentences.
Writing contains sentence fragments.
Writing contains slang or obscene terms without quotation marks or other significant misuse of words.
III. Content and analysis (50%)
Excellent
The essay directly addresses the question or assignment.
Writer demonstrates extensive and sophisticated understanding of the material covered in the essay.
The writer demonstrates innovative and original analysis of the issue.
The writer supports or contends their opinions with outside resources
Acceptable
The essay primarily addresses the question or assignment but misses some aspects of the question.
Writer demonstrates moderate knowledge of facts but only limited insight into causes, relationships or other complex analysis.
The essay describes more than it analyzes.
Unacceptable
The essay is not responsive to the question or assignment.
The facts or conclusions are erroneous.
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