The Population of African Americans & Juvenile Delinquency

An introduction must be provided to summarize and define your topic, including a clear statement of the problem or issue of concern. You should also provide statistics and examples to show that this is a problem, and explain why this is a problem. Finally, you should discuss how this problem could better be addressed – drawing from content from the course and/or your own ideas. Papers should be 2-3 pages minimum, and you should cite anything you take from the textbook or any outside sources using APA or ASA citations. Make sure that you have reviewed the slide on Acceptable vs. Unacceptable sources in the Week 9 slides and/or the assignment instructions video on the Learning Materials page.

Below, I provide a sample organization for this paper. You do not need to use this exact organization, but I recommend reviewing this so that you make sure to include all relevant information and thoroughly cover all topics in the prompt.

Introduction (1 paragraph)

• Introduce the problem – be as clear and narrow as possible
• Provide a clear thesis statement. This will be a roadmap for your paper, so please be clear about what your problem is, how we know that it is a problem, and generally what your solution would be (i.e. X is a major problem in the juvenile justice system because X. We can see that this is a problem by looking at X. This problem could be addressed by X)

Describe the problem (2 paragraphs)

• How did this become a problem?
• Who is impacted by this problem?
• What communities are impacted by this problem?
• Provide statistics to show the scope of the problem
• Provide examples of how this issue has impacted individuals
• Provide examples of how this issue has impacted communities or society more broadly

Why is it a problem? (1 paragraph)

• Discuss why this is a problem
• Why should people be outraged that this is still a problem?
• Is this a problem because policymakers have not considered important research (i.e. that adolescent brains are not developed like adult brains)?
• What are the long term consequences of letting this problem go unaddressed?

Solutions to the problem (1-2 paragraphs)

• What best practices (as identified by research) could be used to address this issue?
• Provide an example of a way that the local, state, or federal government has tried to address this issue
• Provide an example of how another country addresses this issue
• How will things be different if your solution is used?