The Department of Criminal Justice

You are required to select a course-related topic to research and then prepare a paper. The paper should include an overview of the subject and major relevant points relative to individual, community, social and/or legal implications or impacts.

The Department of Criminal Justice recognizes the value of excellence in writing for students in Criminal Justice. In part, each professor is expected to provide guidance on improving a student’s writing skills. Students are required to use only the APA (American Psychological Association) format to write and develop a scholarly paper for submission in the Social Sciences. APA has been adopted by the Department as its writing standard for all academic written assignments. No other writing style is acceptable.

APA is the American Psychological Association, and the style is one of many in the academic world used to regulate the language, citations, procedure, and formatting of manuscripts and other examples of writing in the social sciences. Please be consistent throughout each written paper. Refer to APA Guide under Resources on the Course Menu for APA specifics.

All projects, assignments, or papers submitted for grading will be required to include an abstract and reference page. All references are to be cited using the American Psychology Association (APA) format (6th edition). Other formats will not be accepted. For each scholarly paper and group assignment(s), the work will be assessed using an individual grading rubric for each assignment. This tool and process helps the students identify and professor measure the key points necessary to successfully complete written or group assignments. Wikipedia is not an appropriate source for any scholarly writing and is not permitted for any assignment in this program.

The paper will make a connection between the selected topic and a Saint Leo University Core Value. Research must be documented in a college-level, typewritten paper that uses APA format and includes an abstract and reference pages. Word count will be 1500 to 2000 words, double-spaces with a 12-point font. The topic must be submitted for prior approval.

The paper must be your original work. You are required to use no more than 15% of others quoted work when completing any assignments within this course of study. Your research paper must therefore be 85% original. No previously submitted papers, articles, reports, or projects, in whole or in part, to any university or college will be accepted.