Criminal Behavior 5 Page Theoretical Perspectives

Writing Assignment (50 Points Possible)

In this assignment, you will select one case or criminal event and write a paper examining

the theoretical perspective(s) that motivated the criminal behavior. Your final paper

should include three sections.

 Section (1) – First, describe your chosen case. Your case summary should be limited

to one full page. In your summary of the case, be specific about what factors are most

relevant to understand the criminal behavior. I should be able to make clear

connections between the summary and your points in sections 2 and 3.

o Here are some, but not all, of the things you might consider including:

 What was the crime type?

 What is the age of the offender?

 Was the crime violent or non-violent?

 Were any weapons used?

 Who were the victims?

o Case information must come from reliable sources (not Wikipedia!!). You can

use newspapers, magazines, or books on the crime or offender.

o Use your own words to summarize the case and be sure to cite outside

sources!!

o The crime you choose needs to be popular enough that you can find detailed

information about the offender.

 Section (2) – Choose at least one theoretical perspective or concept from the textbook

that you believe led to the criminal event. NOTE: The type of crime committed will

help guide you on which theoretical perspectives should apply. This section should be

at least one paragraph long and is a general overview of the theoretical concepts. Use

this section to simply introduce me to the concepts you will review in more detail in

section 3.

o For example: If I were writing about a white collar crime, I would look in

Chapter 14 and see what the authors said about why people usually commit

this type of crime. I would also review Chapters 2 – 4 and think about whether

anything in the offender’s past led them to commit this crime.

o Things to consider – this list is not conclusive:

 The cumulative and cascade models (Chapter 2)

 Any parental or family risk factors (Chapter 2)

 Any environmental factors (Chapter 3)

 Is the offender a juvenile (Chapter 6)

 Did the offender have a brain injury (Chapter 3)

o Each chapter goes over why people would commit these types of crimes.

 Section (3) – Go into detail about how the offender fits into the theoretical concepts

you reviewed in section 2. This should be the longest section of your paper (hint: it’s

worth the most points). In this section, go into DETAIL about how the offender’s

behavior, history, and crime fit into the theoretical concepts you are using.

o Things to keep in mind while working on this section.

 How does the perspective or concept fit into the case and suspect’s

history/behavior?

 Generally or Overall

 Think of this as your thesis statement for this section of the paper

o Last sentence in the Intro paragraph of this section: In this

paper, I will review X case and discuss how Y theory

applies to that case.

 Write in detail about the suspect’s history, and how their history fits into

the concept(s) you chose. A well-known case will make it easier to get lots

of public information about their history.

 Break down the parts of the concepts and describe IN DETAIL how the

suspect fits (or does not fit) into your chosen perspective.

 It may not be a perfect fit, and that is okay. If that is the case, just

discuss why the suspect may differ from the way the book reviews

the concept.

o For example: If you are going to talk about family risk

factors, you would probably explain how the suspect

experienced (or did not experience), certain risk factors.

Next, you would discuss what that could mean for their

behavior.

 Do this section for each concept or perspective used.

Formatting Requirements

Please pay attention to formatting. You will lose points if your paper is incorrectly formatted.

Follow the guidelines below:

 Your paper should be a formal written document typed in paragraph style (avoid bullet

points). Introduction and conclusion paragraphs are recommended. New paragraphs

should be indented half an inch.

 Avoid multiple grammatical or stylistic errors.

 The paper should be typed, 12-point font, double-spaced, one-inch margins, and Times

New Roman typeface.

 A minimum of five pages is required, but you will not be penalized for a longer paper.

 Cite sources of information both within and at the end of your document. This includes

sources used to explain theories or examples that are others’ ideas. APA or MLA style

will be accepted (APA is preferred). In-text citations go in parentheses after you refer to

the source. Full references go at the end of the paper.

 Submit your completed assignment a Word.docx file.

Grading Notes:

 Section 1 is worth 10 points,

 Section 2 is worth 10 points

 Section 3 is worth 20 points.

 Style is worth 5 points

 Grammar is worth 5 points.

 If there are major errors on the citation page, or if you do not cite, at least 10 points will

be taken off the paper.