In need of someone that can edit proofread and revise accourding to comments on an essay

If you would like specific feedback on your grammar, usage, and mechanics, please resubmit your paper and request a “Grammar Review.”

Part 8 – APA Formatting

Ask your instructor for more information on the formatting that is required for this paper. If you need to follow all aspects of APA formatting, please review the requirements listed below. For more information on APA guidelines, please go to:

http://guides.rasmussen.edu/apa

· Title Page: This page should include the running head, full title, your name, and the name of the college that you attend. Make sure to center your full title, name, and college.

· Page Numbering: Add page numbers to the top, right-hand corner of each page.

· Running Head: Add a version of the title to the header of each page. The letters should all be capitalized, and there should be no more than 50 characters.

· Abstract:

· Start the abstract on a new page after the title page and include the page header. The header on all pages after the title page should no longer contain the words “Running head.” It just lists the title of the paper.

· On the first line of the page, center the word “Abstract” (no bold, formatting, italics, underlining, or quotation marks).

· The abstract is a double-spaced, single paragraph of 150–250 words. The paragraph is not indented. Summarize the key points of the paper including the research topic, research questions, participants, methods, results, data analysis, and conclusions.

· In-Text Citations: All data, indirect quotes, direct quotes, and ideas from other sources need an in-text citation. You can follow this format.

· (Smith, 2003, p.100)

· Smith (2003) formulated this hypothesis: “…….” (p.100)

· References:

· The word “References” (no quotations) is centered at the top of a new page and is not bolded, italicized, or underlined.

· References are listed in alphabetical order by the author’s name.

· Every line after the first of each entry is indented.

· This page is double-spaced just like the rest of the paper.

· Capitalize only proper nouns and the first word of the title/subtitle of a chapter in a book

· Put the titles of books in italics

· Provide the issue number for periodicals that are paged by issue

· Do not put the name of a chapter in italics

· Do not put the edition number of a book in italics.

· Provide page numbers for print articles.

Information that follows deals with referencing website material both on the references page and in internal citations.

APA References Page

Below is a standard format for APA reference page entry of a website. Notice that the title of the document has only the first word capitalized and is italicized. Also note that there is no period after the web address

Generic web page:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of document. Retrieved

from http://Web address

Note that date of publication is different from the date you retrieved the information. Look for a copyright or other line of date. If none is available, put (n.d.) in the parentheses for no date.

If an author is not listed, begin with the title of the entry followed by the date in parentheses.

Blog:

Note that if an author is not available, begin with the title of entry followed by the date in parentheses. If no date is given (unlikely for a blog) you would use (n.d.). The phrase [Web log comment] just like that is the term used for a blog. Other options in those brackets could include [Video file] or [Power point presentation] as applicable.

Author, A. A. (year, month day). Title of entry: Not every word capitalized. [Web log

comment]. Retrieved from http://www.etc.org

Collaborative Websites (Wikis):

Title of document. (n.d.). Retrieved Month day, year from the Name of Wiki:

http://wiki.address.org//etc

APA Internal Citations

The standard format for any internal citation is (Author, year).

In the text, you may use the general format: Kenneth (2000) explained...

Unknown Author and Unknown Date: If no author or date is given, use the title in your signal phrase or the first word or two of the title in the parentheses and use the abbreviation "n.d." (for "no date").

Example: Another study in higher education contexts finds that students achieve greater success with tutoring ("Tutoring," n.d.).

When referencing direct quotations, page numbers are normally used for most source types. However, do not use page numbers for website quotations. (Pagination will change depending on individual computers and browsers.) Instead, refer to a paragraph number or heading section and paragraph number. Use the abbreviations “para.” and the number (“Tutoring,” n.d., para. 6). Or for longer website texts broken into sections (“Tutoring,” n.d., Higher Education, para. 6).

Additional Comments

I have also added specific comments to select paragraphs in your paper. You will find them in brackets below.

Mandatory Sentencing for Certain Crimes

Mandatory Sentencing takes away the bias of considering the circumstances involved when arriving at the sentence against the specific crime. This article discusses the advantages of “Mandatory Sentencing” on the basis of “Mandatory Sentencing” being impartial, “Mandatory Sentencing” incapacitating the offenders by locking them up and the financial gains to state by keeping special category offenders locked up in prison. * [Good thesis here, but this is a bit brief. Why do you choose this as your main idea, and what important info is in this article?]

Keywords: Mandatory Sentencing, Probation, and Special category offenders.

Justice is defined as the proper administration of the law, the fair and equitable treatment of all individuals under the law. Mandatory Sentencing is strictly in accordance to the tenets of the law, prescribing pre-defined sentences to specific crimes and removing any bias involved in assessment of the case. * [This is a bit brief. You may want to provide a bit more explanation here. How is it that this goes hand in hand with justice?]

It is well known that “Power Corrupts and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely”. The shortcomings of the unlimited sentencing discretion of Judges, well documented sentencing disparities in factually similar cases, led to the birth of “Mandatory Sentencing”. Although not all sentencing discretion was withdrawn from judges but for some specific crimes the court was required to impose a mandatory minimum sentence. Today, the majority of convictions under statutes carrying mandatory minimum penalties relate to controlled substances, firearms, identity theft, and child sex offenses. (Executive Summary, Report to the Congress: Mandatory Minimum Penalties in the Federal Criminal Justice System, Oct 2011) * [Good info here! But why is this underlined? Also, be sure to put punctuation inside of quotation marks.]

“Mandatory Sentencing” is not applicable to all crimes but only to select few serious crimes where the best available option is to keep the offender locked up in the prison. Mandatory Sentences are enacted by legislators who have never seen the offender and “Mandatory Sentencing” does not differentiate between individuals removing the bias in judging a specific crime and making “Mandatory Sentences” completely impartial. * [This is good but a bit brief. Can you provide some examples of a time when it is fair? Maybe real case studies, or a hypothetical scenario that you make up?]

“Mandatory Sentencing” ensures that the punishments for certain crimes are uniform across and the punishment is linked to the crime, not to the individual.

The knowledge that committing the crime will result in increased and severe “Mandatory Sentencing” surely acts as a deterrent to the offenders. The threat of jail time and higher penalty conveyed through the concept of “Mandatory Sentencing” serves its basic purpose of acting as a deterrent.* [This is a bit brief, consider combining it with the advantage bellow.]

There is one more distinct advantage of “Mandatory Sentencing”. Since leniency for offender charged under “Mandatory Sentencing” can be considered if the defendant decides to cooperate with the state and share information about other involved offenders, “Mandatory Sentencing” opens up the possibility of bringing to book other offenders …..eventually serving as deterrent for wider net of offenders then just the immediate one charged. * [Is this a quote from a source? If so, be sure to quote it correctly.]

Mandatory Sentencing: Removes Opportunity to commit Crime by Locking up the Offenders. Offenders sentenced to probation and released on parole commit more serious crimes. (Stress Among Probation and Parole Officers and What Can Be Done About It, June 05), “Individual conversations, each a combination of listening and talking, clearly have huge

limitations, as no one can be absolutely compelled either to listen or to talk if they are

determined not to do so” ( Bridges Andrew , July 2009 , Speech given to Criminal Justice Alliance on 1st July 2009:The given title “The Challenges facing Probation”)

“The general recidivism rate for federal prisoners has been estimated to be as high as 41 percent.” (The Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Compassionate Release Program ,April 2013) The excerpts mentioned above clearly highlight the fact that offenders on probation/parole tend to commit crime. Appropriate place for criminals is “behind the bars”. By keeping the offenders locked up in the prison, the opportunity to commit further crimes is denied. Since “Mandatory Sentencing” prevents the Parole to offenders, it definitely acts as deterrent for the crimes. * [Your use of quotes here is a bit confusing, and I am a little unsure of the overall point you are trying to make.]

Some people may argue that because of “Mandatory Sentencing” prison populations increase leading to financial strain on state treasury. This is a small amount to pay to keep the society safe and to protect society from possible future crimes if these offenders were not locked up in prisons. One needs to consider the amount of money saved by avoiding the possible expense on keeping the society safe if these offenders were free and also the amount of money saved by preventing possible future crimes by these offenders. * [Good rebuttal argument here! It could be even stronger if you compare some actual numbers, maybe the cost of keeping a prisoner in jail for a certain amount of time vs. the cost of damages from a famous criminal act.]

Mandatory Sentencing acts as a deterrent for certain crimes ….by putting fear into offenders of severe punishment, jail time and higher penalty and by keeping the offenders locked up in prison, incapacitating and preventing these offenders from committing further crimes. Mandatory Sentencing, for special category offenders, should be lauded for acting as a deterrent through the two pronged approach of threat in form of jail term and higher penalty and incapacitation by keeping the offenders locked up. * [This is good, but a bit brief. Be sure to include recap of all your major points here.]

References

The Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Compassionate Release Program ,April 2013 Retreived from http://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/2013/e1306.pdf )

Bridges Andrew, July 2009, Speech given to Criminal Justice Alliance on 1st July 2009:The given title “The Challenges facing Probation” Retrieved http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/about/hmiprob/challenges-facing-prob-jul-09.pdf

Stress Among Probation and Parole Officers and What Can Be Done About It, June 05, Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/205620.pdf )

Executive Summary, Report to the Congress: Mandatory Minimum Penalties in the Federal Criminal Justice System, Oct 2011 Retrieved fom http://www.ussc.gov/news/congressional-testimony-and-reports/mandatory-minimum-penalties/report-congress-mandatory-minimum-penalties-federal-criminal-justice-system)

* [These do not appear to be in alphabetical order, and you seem to be using a mixture of APA and MLA citation. Be sure to review the style guide to see how these should be properly cited.]