instructions

Abstract

CRIM 495 – Instructions for Research Paper The purpose of this assignment is to explore a real-world criminal conflict to understand how traditional models of justice would respond to the conflict and how restorative justice may be used to resolve the conflict. To complete this assignment, you will obtain information about the crime through use of news media archives, Lexis Nexis, and other sources as available. A GMU librarian will provide guidance on how to search and evaluate these sources. The purpose of this paper is not to examine actual justice system processing of cases, but rather to use the crime as an example of how the different theoretical approaches to justice can be applied to the crime. This paper should NOT summarize the way the criminal case was processed through the justice system (the investigators did this, then the prosecutor filed those charges . . .). Nor should your paper focus on applying the theoretical models to the way the justice system processed the case (the sentence given was retributive because . . .). You will develop your paper through an iterative process of draft, review, revision, and resubmission. This paper is assigned to students as individuals, meaning you must do the research, analysis and writing on your own, with assistance as provided in the writing portion of this class. Do not use other students as a source when writing your paper. Do not provide your paper to other students, current or future. Both are cheating and using other students’ papers as a source for your paper is also plagiarism. Section 1: Draft of topic selection (title page, introduction, research methods) Title page: Three items only on this page: Title of paper, your name, your institutional affiliation.  They should be double-spaced, centered horizontally, and centered vertically within the top half of the page. Introduction: You will present an in-depth analysis of the crime, by telling the story of who did what to whom, how, when and where, why, and the reactions to the crime by the victim(s)/survivor(s), the offender, and the community (the impact or aftermath of the crime). Include a purpose statement: Explain what you want the reader to learn or what you hope to accomplish in writing this paper. Research methods: You will then explain the methods and resources that you have used or are planning to use for conducting your research. Here are some questions that you need to address: How do you plan to research the crime (not the theoretical models)? What was your starting point for learning the very basic facts of the crime?  How did you obtain further information?  State the search engines you used,...