The final project for this course is a 6-8-page paper, with a minimum of 5 academic sources (cover, abstract, and reference pages are required and do not count towards minimum pages) that describes a criminological phenomenon (any criminal or deviant act) and uses three criminological theories to explain why this phenomenon occurs. After the paper discusses the three theories and how they explain the phenomenon, the author needs to pick one which “best” explains the phenomenon and s/he should defend his/her choice against the other two theories.
The paper should be completed in a peer-reviewed article format, with the use of subheadings and complete references and in-text citations in APA format. Standard technical formatting: 1-inch margins all around, 12-point Times New Romans font, double space. Help with APA formatting can be found at https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/. A rubric for Criminology Theory Paper is provided in D2L. Papers need to be in the author’s own words. Papers scoring above a 40% Turnitin.com rating are subject to a point reduction. Papers scoring above a 60% Trunitin.com rating will receive a zero on the assignment for originality, not for plagiarism. Keep direct quotes to a minimum. Make sure to cite paraphrasing. The Criminology Theory Paper is due on the date indicated in the course schedule and is worth a maximum of 200 points.