To be certain that everyone has journal articles, you will be required to send me an annotated bibliography of the articles you intend to use in your paper and they are to be placed in the Drop Box labeled Annotated Bibliography. Annotated bibliographies will be due the week of Lesson 5. Submissions after the due date will not be reviewed, and a grade of zero (0) will be posted for this assignment. Please see this site for instructions: http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/annotated_apa.html

• Instructions for Writing Assignment #2 (25 points) -- Topic Paper

Each student will be assigned a topic regarding police organization and management during Lesson 2. Students will be required to research their topic in the scientific journals, and shall incorporate no less than five (5) scientific journal articles of their assigned topic in their paper. The paper shall contain no less than 3,500 words, which s/he will be the sole author.

The paper requires that you present the facts about which you have read. These facts, however, must come from what you have read in those articles and only those articles. No other sources, including the textbook, are allowed. Aside from the Introduction and Conclusion, I expect each paragraph to have at least one citation in it directing the reader to the source of the information contained.  It is expected that students will construct their papers in such a way as to have all five articles represented equally.  The Introduction and Conclusion shall consist of no more than one page each.

All journal articles used to construct this paper 1) cannot be more than 10 years old, and 2) must be cited in the text of the paper and properly referenced. There are no exceptions to this rule!

The paper will be placed in the Drop Box labeled Topic Paper. Papers are due during the week of Lesson 10. Late papers will be accepted during the week of Lesson 11. Papers submitted after that time will not be accepted. All late papers are subject to a 10-point reduction in grade.

3. Class participation (10 points)

The Participation grade will be awarded on the basis of the quality of the student’s participation in discussions and posting on the discussion forum and other minor writing assignments that may be assigned.

Note: APA style is required in all assignments including face page, abstract, and reference section. For those unfamiliar with APA Style, this is a good time to become familiar with it because future writing assignments will require this style be used. If you are unfamiliar with APA Style, here are three resources we recommend:

• University of Wisconsin-Madison's Web site.
• David Warlick's Citation Machine.
• The Penn State Library system. Follow the steps below:
  • Go to the PSU Library (LIAS);
  • Find the "Research Tools" link;
  • Select "Online Reference Resources" link;
  • Scroll down to "Writing Resources/Style Manuals" link;
  • Click on the "APA" link;
  • Last in the line of APA resources is "StyleWizard.com" link. This feature will provide a flawless citation for your Reference Section every time.

Specific areas upon which instructor will be concentrating when grading papers:

• Margins--One inch all around. If in doubt, measure them.

• Numbers--Numbers 10 and above should be written as numerals except when they are used beginning a sentence.

• When percent follows a number, utilize the percent (%) symbol.

• Indentation--Five and only five spaces.

• Spacing--Double-spaced

• Proper citations and references are expected. http://www.wisc.edu/writetest/Handbook/DocAPA.html This site also provides excellent citation and reference guidance. http://citationmachine.net/

• Separate sheets for the Title, Abstract, and Reference pages required. http://www.wisc.edu/writetest/Handbook/DocAPA.html

• Page numbers as stipulated. http://www.wisc.edu/writetest/Handbook/DocAPA.html

• Papers will have proper headings. http://www.wisc.edu/writetest/Handbook/DocAPA.html

• Do not double space between paragraphs.

• The paper shall be written using TIMES font and 12 size.

• Do not use the phrase "looked at" unless it is a personal visual observation. Although this is commonly used by academics to describe a review or study, this is improper terminology.

• Papers submitted below the required length will receive an appropriate grade reduction for this deficiency.

• The paper shall not contain any more than 125 words of quoted material total.

• Do not write in the first person. Speak of yourself or your position as “It is believed” or  “Evidence suggests.”

• Do not import tables from your journals into your papers. You may use tables that you have created. If you do use tables you have created, remember that all elements of the table must be completely explained in your paper.

• Finally, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS read your finished paper aloud to yourself. Your ears will hear mistakes that your eyes fail to see. Also, have your paper proofread by another who you consider knowledgeable. These last two, if properly done, will go a long way to insuring a score commensurate to your effort.
  

Grading of Writing Assignments

Grading of the writing assignments will be accomplished by concentrating on two areas equally: Content and Composition. Composition will encompass compliance to the requirements specified for each assignment. Each area is scored equally.

Plagiarism

Derived from the Latin word Plagiarius, plagiarism is defined by Alexander Lindly as "The false assumption of authorship: the wrongful act of taking the product of another person's mind, and presenting it as one's own." (Plagiarism and Originality. New York: Harper, 1952, p. 2). Plagiarism may take the form of repeating another's sentences as your own, adopting a particularly apt phrase as your own, paraphrasing someone else's argument as your own, or even presenting someone else's line of thinking in the development of a thesis as though it were your own. In short, to plagiarize is to give the impression that you have written or thought something that you have in fact borrowed from another. Although a writer may use another person's words and thoughts, they must be acknowledged as such.

Plagiarism is cheating. Any student caught plagiarizing the work of another will, at the very least, receive an "F" for the course, and could lead to expulsion from the University. Your attention is again directed to the Senate Policy 49-20 "Academic Integrity" with regards to this important topic. Plagiarism is considered to be any one or more of the following:

1. Extracting any sentence from another text without quotation marks and a supporting citation.
2. Extracting a portion of any sentence from another text without enclosing it in quotation marks and a supporting citation.
3. "Cut & Paste" or “Mosaic” plagiarism occurs when a student eliminates or adds one or two words to an existing sentence, or abbreviates a compound sentence. (For example, the first of the three following sentences is the original in a text, and it appears as a properly cited quotation. Those that follow the first sentence would be considered "cut-and-paste" plagiarism. "The German sociologist Max Weber, although best known to students of public administration for his analysis of rational bureaucracy, has had a broad impact on the social sciences" (Denhardt, 1993, p. 30). "It has been said that Max Weber, although best known to students of public administration for his analysis of rational bureaucracy, has had a broad impact on the social sciences." "The German sociologist Max Weber has had a broad impact on the social sciences."
4. Also considered under this title is any paper submitted in which the cited material is not designated by quotation marks in the text of the paper. It has been my experience that authors of such papers are attempting to shield themselves under a mantle that has come to be known in political circles as "Plausible Deniability." In short, the defense "I didn't know what I was doing was wrong" will not be accepted.
5. A good rule of thumb would be, if you use four or more of the original words of an author in succession, then they must be enclosed by quotation marks and a proper citation should accompany their use. Contained in this endnote are important observations and statements from Penn State and other national and universities on the topic of plagiarism. Please review these carefully as you will be held responsible for their contents