A good way to approach this paper is to consider it a detailed and thorough scholarly piece on a single, yet important, social and criminal justice issue. That is, by the end of the paper, you will be an expert on what the current research says about your chosen topic.
In your paper,
- Create a clear thesis statement that identifies your social and criminal justice issue.
- Summarize your chosen social and criminal justice issue in approximately one to two pages.
- Describe what makes this an issue.
- Provide data to show how this issue has made an impact on society.
- Explain which social justice principles need to be addressed and why.
- Detail the cultural and diversity issues present in your chosen social and criminal justice problem.
- Describe how addressing your chosen issue contributes to the goal of a more just society.
- Analyze the empirical research on your chosen topic.
- You may use your Week 1 Annotated Bibliography to complete this section of the paper. Please ensure that the instructor feedback is incorporated within this section. Incorporating peer feedback is optional.
- Propose a possible resolution to your chosen social and criminal justice issue.
- Evaluate which branches of the criminal justice system are impacted/involved and how they either help or hinder the issue.
- Analyze how the criminal and social justice theories (in relation to the United States Constitution) and landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions impact your chosen issue and support your resolution.
- Examine how the judiciary, corrections, and law enforcement systems address social equality, solidarity, human rights, and overall fairness for all and how these essential concepts impact your issue and resolution.
- Evaluate how poverty, racism, religion and other sociocultural variables may apply to contemporary social and criminal justice by drawing information among the fields of, but not limited to, criminology, law, philosophy, psychology, science, and sociology.
