Questions:
Remember the purpose of the paper is to illustrate that you understand and can integrate and apply a psychological theory. Although the paper focuses on the application of psychological theory to an offender’s crime (i.e., the how and the why), there is a descriptive element to your paper (i.e., the what) in that you must provide an overview of the theory.
The goal of the paper is not to find the “correct” theory. In this assignment, there is no “correct” theory. You are being graded on your ability to provide appropriate evidence to support your chosen theory. In other words, two students who write on the same offender may choose two different theories. If both students provide solid evidence to support their theory, they would receive the same grade on this aspect of the paper.
SELECTING AN OFFENDER
It is best to select an offender that is interesting to you in some way; this will help sustain your motivation when you write your paper. Do a bit of research to find out about the offender’s crime(s). There may be details about the crime that disturb you. If you find some aspect about the offender concerning, it is likely not the best choice for you.
For offender pairs (e.g., Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold), please choose one individual as the focus of your paper.
Once you select an offender, you must research the offender’s crimes and psychosocial history comprehensively in order to do well on this paper. This requires locating and reading multiple appropriate sources. For example, you may review non-fiction books, academic books, documentaries, and news articles. For this type of assignment, Wikipedia will be allowed, but only for researching the offender. As a general rule, Wikipedia is not an academic source and is not appropriate for understanding theory. Similarly, please do not use non-academic websites or websites that are of questionable legitimacy
HOW TO STRUCTURE THE PAPER
INTRODUCTION – Every academic paper should start with an introduction. This paragraph introduces the reader to the paper topic and tells the reader the purpose of the paper. As part of your introductory paragraph, include a brief description of the offender’s crime(s) that you will be analyzing. In identifying the purpose of your paper, state what your main argument is. In other words, your thesis statement should clearly state what theory you will apply. It is best to write, or amend, this section last to ensure that it is reflective of the contents of your paper.
MAIN BODY – The main body constitutes the majority of the paper. This section should include the following: (1) a summary of the theory; and (2) an application of the theory. You must use multiple relevant and appropriate academic sources to describe the theory. In describing the theory, please write for a reader that does not know about the theory. In other words, you must explain the theory’s principles and key terms and concepts.
When applying the theory, please make reference to the offender’s psychosocial history and crimes when necessary. In other words, please do not provide a general overview of the offender’s upbringing and life because this paper is not a biography about the offender. Rather, include those aspects of their life that are relevant to supporting the theory’s concepts and principles. Please be explicit about what evidence supports which theoretical concepts and principles. You must provide strong, appropriate support for the theory by providing examples from the offender’s psychosocial history, psychological functioning, and crime(s).
