Racial Profiling In Canada

Special Topic: Criminal Justice Research and Writing

Forming Your Argument
In your paper you will ultimately be forming an argument or taking a stance on an issue. For this assignment you are arguing that there is a problem with the Canadian criminal justice system. Again, you will choose which problem you want to focus on for your paper. It is common in criminal justice writing to identify a problem in the criminal justice system, and then form your argument for why this is, based on evidence. For our paper, your “evidence” will be scholarly literature that you are gathering. Thus, this means that you are gathering scholarly research to form your argument. You will use this scholarly research as your evidence to back up your argument.
For instance, your argument might be that police services in Canada are structurally racist. If you were to just state this argument, yet provide no evidence to back it up, then you would not have a strong argument or paper. This is why you gather evidence to show your reader why this is true. This will be presented thematically in the body of your paper. You are proving to your reader that there is a problem with the Canadian criminal justice system, in this example, a structurally racist police system, and present the evidence in a logical way to make your point. Hence why it is also very important to use scholarly resources. Anyone can make an opinion, but if you do not have credible evidence to back up your argument, it will fall apart. This is also why you are cautioned not just to rely on news media or unsubstantiated websites to form an argument. This is not to say that some of these websites will not bring together relevant facts or good arguments. A website might have good points you resonate with, but it is your job as a criminal justice researcher to evaluate the credibility of your argument. Part of this will be gathering reliable research and data to form this argument. This is also why I mentioned earlier not to cite data from news media stories. Always go to the original sources of a research study, that way, you as a criminal justice researcher, can see the original study. Remember, as we learned in our media representations of crime class, news outlets many times have political agendas, so data can be presented very differently depending on which news website you are reading it from.
Objective vs. Subjective
When writing you want to try and be objective. This means you want to present your material in a way that is neutral, and based on research, evidence, statistics and facts. The opposite of this would subjective, which you want to avoid. Subjective writing is based on opinions, feelings or assumptions. Writing objectively makes your paper more reliable. Notably when writing in the field of criminal justice, you do not want to come off as biased, as then your recommendations will not be taken seriously.

However, be careful not to have too many quotes. Always try to write things in your own words. Too many quotes can be distracting. Usually you will only quote something if it is “quotable,” meaning that the way the author has written it cannot be said better in any other way. And if you were to write it in another way, it might lose some of its impact, influence, or meaning.
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Research Paper Assignment Particulars
Papers are to be 5 pages total, double spaced, using Calibri font size 11. The 5 pages does not include your title page and bibliography, these are additional pages. Papers must stay within the 5-page guideline. Thus, they cannot be 4 or 6 pages. There will be a leeway of 6 double spaced lines (or one paragraph) over or under the 5-page guideline. The title page must include your full name, the date, the name of the course assignment, the course name and course code, and your instructor’s name. Margins must be the Microsoft Word default margins. Page numbers must also be included at the bottom right hand corner of each sheet. At least four scholarly resources must be used, including both books and journal articles, however, not including the required readings (though you are encouraged to use your readings in addition to the four other sources). You may also cite materials that are not scholarly—and there is no limit to how many documents you would like to cite.
The following should be used as a guide for your paper, and must include these four components:
1) Introduction: state the main goal and argument of your paper, provide a road map for the reader, and outline what this paper will cover and explain.
2) Body: identify key scholarly resources, provide an overview and summary of relevant scholarly literature, outline major patterns and themes identified in your sources, and provide a critical and in-depth analysis of the issue(s) based on research evidence.
3) Conclusion: re-state main points of the paper, and summarize the finding of your analysis.
4) Recommendations: leave the reader with final recommendations for change or guidelines for action.
Papers will be graded for insight, analytic skills, synthesis, inclusion and organization of relevant materials, proper APA citation, bibliographic references, and clarity of expression. Please proofread your paper to ensure there are no spelling, grammar, or typographical errors. Remember to proofread! Both form and content will be taken into consideration in the grading of this paper. The grading rubric for the research paper is as follows:
Research Paper Component
Mark Breakdown
Topic concerns an injustice or problem regarding the Canadian criminal justice system
/1
Five pages double spaced, MS word default margins, Calibri font size 11, complete title page, and page numbers
/2
APA style in-text citation and reference list
/3
Clear introduction with the main goal and argument of paper stated. A road map is provided for the reader, including an outline of what the paper will cover and explain.
/4
Concise body identifying key scholarly resources; providing an overview and summary of relevant scholarly literature; an outline of major patterns and themes; and a critical and in-depth analysis of the issue(s) based on research evidence
/4
Coinciding conclusions and recommendations, with main points summarized, and finishing with recommendations or guidelines for change or action
/2
Critical reflection, insight, analytic skills, synthesis, inclusion and organization of relevant materials, and clarity of expression
/2
Readability, flow, logic, spelling, and grammar
/2
Total
/20

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