POL S 390 (A1)

Fall 2006

J. Garber

Second (30%) Paper Assignment

I. It’s not a crime narrative any more. It’s a regular . . . research paper!

The paper is still 10-12 doublespaced pages (3000-3600 words) and still due Wednesday, November 29, in class.

II. Your paper’s topic should have some relationship to Parts II or III of the course (after the midterm exam), rather than to Part I (before the midterm exam). Crime policy, political aspects of the criminal process (from policing to prison), political role of the courts, political influences on the courts, relationship between courts and political branches – these are very broad areas that cover potentially dozens of topics.

III. Start reading the news now.

IV. I must OK your topic and research question.

         A. It must be current.

B. The topic must be accompanied by a clear research question that you intend to answer: "I will answer the question: Why/How/Whether...." This is very important, as it’s entirely different – and infinitely smarter – to start from the clear and concrete "I will answer the question..." than to start from a vague and mushy "I will explore/focus on the issue of...."

C. You must submit, along with your statement of your research question, a recent news item (from any news medium) that relates to the topic. (That means you’ll be giving me a one-sentence research question, in writing, and one related article to look at.)

V. Your research question should have to do with some phenomenon about Canadian law and politics, whether by itself or in comparison.

VI. Your sources must, absolutely, include some books and/or scholarly journal articles as well as news and other popular sources, because you’ll need background material for your discussion of the current issue you’ve chosen. I will give you a guide to helpful sources.

VII. All the rules about proper citations covered in the earlier handout apply, plus you must use a consistent citation style and attach an alphabetized bibliography of the sources you used in the paper. All the rules about error-free writing also apply.