3-4 Reaction paper about a chapter in crime myths

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CCJ 410 Crime Myths Reaction Paper Instructions

Overview For this assignment, pick one chapter from your text book that was NOT already assigned reading for one of the earlier modules. Your choices are either chapter 4, 5, 6, or 8 (5th edition of the Kappeler & Potter textbook). Your assignment is to read your chosen chapter closely. You will write a paper summarizing and reacting to the material in this chapter. In completing this paper, you need to follow the instructions provided here. Paper Submission Details

• Pay careful attention to spelling, sentence construction, and punctuation. • For full credit, this paper must be double-spaced, between 3 and 4 pages long, 12 point

font, and 1 inch margins. • Papers must be submitted in the D2L Assignment dropbox and in a format accessible

with university issued MS Word or Adobe PDF reader software. • Papers are to be submitted in the D2L Assignment dropbox. Papers should be emailed

only as a last resort. • Papers containing plagiarism (including cut-and-paste material from any source) will

receive 0 point and an academic misconduct report will be filed with the University. • No late papers will be accepted and there will be file substitutions after the posted

deadline (e.g. no late submissions of replacements for corrupted files or accidental submission of the “wrong” file).

Section 1: Chapter Summary Begin your paper with this Section 1 heading (just as shown here in the instructions). Write between 2 and 3 paragraphs which summarize the main points in the chapter you selected. The point of is section is for you to demonstrate that you have read and understood the chapter. The only eligible chapters for this assignment are chapters 4, 5, 6 or 8. There will be 0 points for papers focusing on other chapters. Do NOT quote more than a phrase or two from the chapter. This summary should be a description of the content and main points in your own words. Section 2: My Reaction Start the next section of your paper with this required Section 2 heading. In Section 2, describe your reaction to the material you read in the chapter. This reaction may include discussion of some or all of the following questions: What did you think about the myths described and the counter information provided by the authors? Were you aware of some or all

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of the myths discussed by the authors before you read this chapter? Have you experienced examples of these myths in your personal experiences or observed them in the media? Other than what the authors discuss, do you see other consequences of the myths discussed in the chapter or other solutions to address the consequences of the myths? Do you believe the evidence presented by the authors is adequate to counter the myths they describe (why or why not)? What other types of evidence could the authors present to help strengthen their arguments against the myths they discuss? In your answer, you must discuss specific material in the chapter. Do not simply provide broad sweeping statements about the chapter overall. Identify page numbers for the specific material you discuss in the textbook and add quotation marks around any word-for-word quotes you draw from the textbook. Without these quotation marks, you are plagiarizing! Direct quotes, however, should be used in a very limited way. Instead, describe the ideas or information presented in the text, rather than directly quoting, unless you are commenting on a specific sentence or specific phrase. It is not required but you may choose to draw on another source outside the textbook in your paper. If you do so, you must provide proper citation to this source and include a reference section that lists this source in detail. Use APA citation format. You do not need to include your textbook in a reference page. ____________________________________________________________________________ Grading Criteria Your paper grade will be made up of three parts:

(1) The extent to which you have followed the formatting instructions provided (including use of the section headings listed above, paper and section length, spelling and grammar).

(2) How accurately and adequately you summarize your chosen chapter (chapter 4, 5, 6, or 8) in Section 1, according to the instructions.

(3) The extent to which you show that you have read the material and constructed a sufficiently detailed reaction to the content. The content grade will be based on how clearly you present your ideas and how directly they are tied to the reading in the selected chapter.

No late papers or “substitutions” for submitted files will be accepted and 0 points will be awarded for papers focusing on an ineligible chapter. Papers submitted in an inaccessible format cannot be graded and 0 points will be awarded. Be sure to submit in PDF or MS Word- accessible format. If you are unsure of whether your software is Word-accessible, contact PSU’s Help Desk well in advance of the paper due date. Emailed papers are only accepted in the case that D2L is unavailable to the student and there is no other possible way to submit the paper before the course deadline. The justification for the extreme circumstances must be provided to the instructor in the same email communication that contains the paper.