Each student will be given a topic to research. The research for the assignment must be supported by scholarly research. The research paper will be prepared in a manner acceptable for college-level work. The completed research paper will be a minimum of 1500 words and not exceed 2500 words, excluding the cover and reference paper. The research paper must include one of the Saint Leo University core values and explained why this core value was selected. The completed research paper will be emailed by a specific date provided by the instructor. 

Written Assignments and the APA Format:

The Department of Criminal Justice recognizes the value of excellence in writing for students in Criminal Justice. In part, each professor is expected to provide guidance on improving a student’s writing skills. Students are required to use only the APA (American Psychological Association) format to write and develop a scholarly paper for submission in the Social Sciences. APA has been adopted by the Department as its writing standard for all academic written assignments. No other writing style is acceptable. 

APA is the American Psychological Association, and the style is one of many in the academic world used to regulate the language, citations, procedure and formatting of manuscripts and other examples of writing in the social sciences. Please be consistent throughout each written paper. For on-line and distance learning courses, refer to APA Guide under Resources on the Course Menu for APA specifics. 

For on-ground traditional courses, refer to the APA Manual for Publication, 7th edition for guidance. Also, an on-line reference for APA can be accessed at the following website: 

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

You may also visit: http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=apa_exposed for an online tutorial for developing scholarly papers.

For each scholarly paper and group assignment(s), the work will be assessed using an individual grading rubric for each assignment. This tool and process helps the students identify and Professor measure the key points necessary to successfully complete written or group assignments. Wikipedia is not an appropriate source for any scholarly writing and should not be used for any assignments in this course.