What do you have to do? For your final paper, you must write an argumentative paper that critically analyzes a topic related to the sociology of law. The choice of paper topic is open to allow you to choose a topic of interest to you. If you would like to build your paper on a topic that connects to your presentation topic, that is fine as well. Regardless of the topic that you choose to write about, you must support your argument using both empirical evidence as well as theoretical/conceptual support. How long does this have to be? Your final paper must be between 15-20-pages in length. Your paper must be double spaced. The page count does not include the title page and the reference page(s). Therefore, the page range applies only to the writing portion of your paper. Failure to meet the page minimum could result in a failing grade. Note that you should be aiming for a minimum of 15 full pages of writing (not 14 pages and one sentence). Meeting this page minimum should not be problematic given that you should be providing strong support for your ideas, and fully explaining the material and theoretical ideas that you are integrating. How should we organize our paper? The organization of your paper is up to you, although you must make the flow and progression of your ideas clear in your thesis/argumentative statement at the outset of your paper. Your paper must then also follow this road map so there are no surprises for the grader/reader. Headings and sub-titles may help with your organization and with the flow of your paper, so go ahead and use them if you think that would be beneficial. You mentioned empirical support – what do you mean by this? Any claims that you make in your paper, even starting with any particular laws that you are focusing on, or that are integral to your argument, should be substantiated with academic/peer reviewed evidence and/or citing the law itself. If you are unsure of what constitutes academic/peer reviewed evidence, it is your responsibility to seek clarification from either the course instructor or the Trent librarians to ensure that you are meeting the requirements for this paper. So how many empirical sources do we need? You must include a minimum of eight academic/peer reviewed sources throughout your paper. This is a bare minimum number that you should have no problem meeting and exceeding. Given that each claim that you make needs to be supported (unless the claim is considered common sense and not necessarily debatable or subject to contestation), your list of references should likely be two to three times that number. There is no maximum number of references. The eight references that are required of you should not be sources that have been cited throughout the course. Therefore, while you may certainly integrate course materials (indeed it is generally expected and would be beneficial for you to do so), you must include at least eight sources beyond the assigned course materials. You may find that you need to include other non-academic references in your paper. If so, their use should be minimal, and preference should be given to using academic sources. Non-academic sources will not be counted towards your minimum requirement. The academic sources that you use should predominantly be sociological/criminological in nature. Although there is some leniency in the subjects of the sources that you include (since criminology can adopt an interdisciplinary focus and it also depends on the argument that you are making), keep in mind that you are writing a criminological paper, not a psychological paper or a history paper. Ok – but we also need theory? Theory, in general, is an attempt to explain something. Keeping this in mind, it should be evident that including theoretical concepts is a benefit that will help you strengthen your paper. Therefore, theory and/or theoretical concepts should be integrated into your analysis. It can either be integrated as an overarching component of your overall argument or integrated into the elements that you are using to support your analysis. For example, talking about law as discourse and considering the power relationships that go along with that as a way to explain how law continues to exert influence over people and other disciplines, would constitute an incorporation of theory. When you are looking to incorporate theoretical material, you should consider what fits best with your topic and ensure that you are using the theories/concepts accurately. Do not stretch the idea of something just to make it fit or apply it without justifying the application to your topic. What do you mean by integrated? I can just mention a theorist, right? The requirement of integration is intended to highlight the need to explain and highlight a clear application to the case that you are focusing on rather than just mentioning a theory, concept, or theorist. In order to integrate the concept and show its clear applicability to your point, you should seek to identify, define (and cite where this definition comes from), and then apply the term. When you are writing, do so with the assumption that the person reading your paper has not taken a sociology/criminology course before and would therefore not understand what Foucault’s notion of discourse means. When writing, you should also aim to integrate and explain the terms in a way that makes it so that your paper doesn’t read as a cookie-cutter concept and definition piece. Either change up the sentence to define the term first and then show its application to the topic or follow this sentence up with another one that provides a supported definition of the term (meaning that it should be referenced since it was not your original idea). This will help to ensure that concepts are explained, but your paper is still easy to read and has a good flow. How do I reference the theoretical and empirical material that I am including? You should use embedded or in-text citations for your references. The citations and your reference list should follow the APA formatting style. There are plenty of reference materials that will explain how to cite and list your references properly according to this style. If you are unsure, or if you have questions about referencing, it is also your responsibility to seek assistance prior to the submission of your paper and the paper assignments. When you are integrating and applying the concepts to your topic, especially if it is a topic that the original theorist did not discuss, make sure you are clear with your citation placement. The term should be defined and cited accordingly, but your application to the topic of your paper might be your own thinking. Therefore, ensure that your citation placement does not attribute that application to the original theorist. If you are unsure of your citation placement, please consult an APA style guide, a learning-skills counsellor, or your instructor. Great – so I can just quote the sources that I find. Use of direct quotes should be minimal. The assignment is asking you to write a paper in your own words, rather than gathering and organizing the words of other authors. Admittedly, sometimes meanings can be distorted if you use different words to express the thoughts in the original text – particularly when it comes to more complex theories. If that is the case, you can use direct quotes. The general rule of thumb should be that if you can convey the idea in your own words, you should do so. This will help to improve the flow and clarity of your paper. Direct quotes must be referenced properly, which means including the page reference for your quote. If no page number is available, use the paragraph number instead. Paraphrased information does not require a page reference. Again, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are referencing properly. Failure to reference properly could result in a lower grade or it could also result in an Academic Integrity offence. Excessive use of quotes may also result in a lower grade being awarded as well.
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