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Purpose
Essays are major form of assessment at university. Through essays you develop your understanding of discipline specific content, strengthen your critical thinking and your ability to translate that thinking into a persuasive written form. With this essay you will develop and demonstrate your understanding of major criminological theory
Essay Task
TASK: Crime Analysis Essay
In this essay you are required to answer one of the following questions:
1. The issue of young people and ‘sexting’ – the sending and receiving of sexually explicit images, usually using devices such as mobile phones – has been criminalised in some places. How would cultural criminology explain the issue of teenagers and ‘sexting’. What response to this issue would cultural criminological theory suggest? In your response you should describe the theory and consider its strengths and weaknesses when used to examine this issue.
1. Illicit drug use is sometimes dealt with as a criminal issue, and is accordingly sometimes managed through a law enforcement response. How would classical theory explain the issue of drug addiction? What response to illicit drug use would classical theory suggest? In your response you should describe the theory and consider its strengths and weaknesses when used to examine this issue.
1. White-collar crime is often argued to be carried out by both individuals and corporations who are socially, financially, and economically powerful. How would Marxist theory explain the issue of white-collar crime? What response to white-collar crime would Marxist theory suggest? In your response you should describe the theory and consider its strengths and weaknesses when used to examine this issue.
Your goal with this essay is to construct an argument in answer to one of the set questions. Your essay should be an analysis and a considered answer to the question, rather than simply a description of what you have read.
Your essay should:
• Be structured in a way that clearly sets out your argument, beginning with a clear, succinct introduction and concluding with a summary of your argument.
• The body of your essay should flow and material should be organised in a logical manner.
• This assignment is to be completed in essay format. Include an introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion.
• Develop an overall position and ensure each paragraph contains a specific point that is demonstrated and supported in the paragraph.
• Use at least eight (8) reference sources in total
• You should reference all your work in the APA style, with in-text references and a reference list at the end. Marks will be deducted for inaccuracies or missing references.
• Remember – If you need study skills guidance please contact the Study Skills Advisor.
Additional Information
To help you complete this task successfully, the following resources are provided:
• Marking Rubric — refer to this to understand how you will be assessed
• Essay Writing Glossary – Check key terminology
• Study Skills Video Guide: Learning from feedback – Use this to help reflect on your feedback from the earlier annotated bibliography assessment
• Checklist (Below): How to write an Essay — use this to help you complete the task
Checklist: How to write an Essay ✅
Copy + paste this checklist into the Notes section in Cadmus and tick off items as you complete them
Step 1: Task Understanding
• Read the above Instructions and this Checklist carefully
• Read the Marking Rubric carefully
• Analyse the essay question, ie. content, term, and directive terms
• Watch the Study Skills Video – Learning from Feedback
• Check you feedback from Assessment 2, the annotated bibliography
Step 2: Topic Research
• Read the Library Search Tips guide
• Identify a set of potentially useful resources
• Survey, skim, and scan to find the relevant articles, and parts of articles
Step 3: Critical Reading
• As you read the resource, jot down notes using this framework:
• The author’s purpose: why has the author written the material? Are these purposes explicitly stated? Are these implicitly stated?
• The author’s approach: what are the author’s underlying assumptions? Are these explicitly stated? Is there any proof of bias?
• Content: what is the author’s thesis? How do they develop the thesis? What evidence, examples, or explanations are used?
Step 4: Essay Plan
• Plan your essay using this structure:
• Introduction
• Clarify how you intend to interpret or limit the question
• Provide an overview of your argument and the supporting points
• Clarify how you are defining key terms in the question
• Body: Add a paragraph for each argument, including:
• Topic sentence stating the main points
• Sentences elaborating each point with supporting evidence
• Concluding sentence summarising the points, linking to next paragraph/argument
• Conclusion: reiterate the claims in the introduction and refer back to the topic
• Reference List: include a list of all references that you cited
Step 5: Write Essay
• Building on your draft, write your essay. Things to remember:
• Clear writing: use short simple sentences and familiar terms
• Objective writing: be unbiased and unemotional, presenting facts or evidence for your argument
• Accurate writing: present accurate and complete information
TIP: to avoid plagiarism, you must give credit if you use the work of others (see Referencing section in Cadmus Manual)
