Discussion: Are public policies working?
Discussion: Are public policies working?
To prepare for your Final Paper (due in Week Five), complete the following assignment and submit it to your instructor for feedback. Your paper should include a problem statement, outline, and annotated bibliography.
Outline: Using the sample below as a guide, provide an outline for your Final Paper. Remember that papers are expected to define a significant problem faced by the justice system, describe the scope and consequences of the problem, and discuss society’s responses to the problem (including public policies and other less formal responses). Your paper should also present a clearly reasoned alternative, supported by scholarly research.
Title
Abstract
What is the problem? Be sure to narrow your problem enough to allow a focused examination.
What are the individual and social implications of this problem? Discussion of implications should be supported by accurate research data.
What do the experts say about the problem?
What have we, as a society, done about this problem? Consider public policies and other, less formal responses.
How are public policies and other, less formal responses working?
Describe an alternative solution to the problem.
Discuss why the alternative is, or can be, an effective response to the problem. Remember to consider negative consequences of the alternative response.
Conclude with your thoughts about your chosen social problem. This is a good place to include personal opinions, assuming you wish to share them in a research paper.
References
In short, define a problem, discuss the response, and provide alternative responses to the problem. For example, your problem could be drug use/abuse, with a focus on prescription drug abuse among teenagers. Your description of the problems should be fact based, relying on expert opinion. Your alternative can be an adjustment of current policy or a new direction. For example, you may propose longer prison sentences, or legalization of all drugs. Be creative, although suggestions must be supported by scholarly research.
Annotated Bibliography: The purpose of creating a list of sources is to assist you in organizing and evaluating your research. The list should include the following information for each source (minimum of five):
Name of the source, including the complete bibliographic citation in proper APA format.
Summary of the source (at least one paragraph) including how this source will contribute to your paper.
The paper must be three to five pages in length and formatted according to APA style. You must use at least five scholarly resources (at least three of which can be found in the Ashford Online Library) other than the textbook to support your claims and sub-claims. Cite your resources in text and on the reference page. For information regarding APA samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar, in your online course.
You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.
Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.
Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.
The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.
