Policy Analysis Paper

Program Evaluation Paper Guidelines Your policy analysis paper is an in-depth analysis and critique of an existing criminal justice policy, program, or project (P/P/P). Over the past semester, you have worked on varying types of program evaluation. For your paper, you will be building on previous assignments to present a critical commentary and evaluation of your chosen criminal justice policy, program, or project. Your paper should include: 1.An introduction that presents: (1) a problem analysis of your P/P/P, (2) your main argument or thesis about the effectiveness of your P/P/P, and (3) a logical roadmap of your analysis. 2.Use 3 types of evaluation given in the PPE framework to support your thesis statement about the effectiveness of your P/P/P. ◦You are required to include BOTH: a theory-driven evaluation (PPE Chapter 4) and outcome evaluation (PPE Chapter 6) ◦You have the choice of including ONE of the following: needs-driven evaluation (PPE Chapter 3), process evaluation (PPE Chapter 5), or cost-efficiency evaluation (PPE Chapter 7) 3.Conclusion that sums up your overall analysis and make some recommendations about your P/P/P and the problem that your P/P/P is supposed to address. General Paper Requirements

1.It must be 2500 words minimum. Shorter papers will be penalized.

2.You need to reference at least 5 different academic sources. ◦Academic sources: scholarly books, journal articles, review articles and secondary datasets ◦Supplemental Sources: reputable news media, reputable IO/NGO reports, other course textbooks, etc. ◦Your textbook and other course materials provided by me do not count.

3.Papers must be in APA format (title page, abstract, and reference section). It should also be 12-point font size and 1-inch top-bottom, left/right margin with numbered pages. You must put the number of words and place at the top of the title page. Papers not in this format will be penalized.

4.Papers must be stapled. If you do not staple your paper.

5.Papers are due by 12:15PM on Tuesday, December 8th. Bring a paper copy to class AND upload your paper to BB SafeAssign. No grade will be given until the electronic version has been submitted to SafeAssign.

6. BB outages are rare, most problems result from too many students trying to submit final assignments at the end of the semester so you may need to try submitting more than once.

7.Late papers will be downgraded a 1/3 a grade per day late.

8.If you do not cite your sources (in APA style), you will get a 0 for the whole assignment. Make sure to cite references in your paper. Grading Grades are based on how well students demonstrate each of these 3 skills:

GRADING CRITERIA “A” Level “B” Level “C” Level “D” Level “F” Level General Understanding (30%) Demonstrates a clear understanding of the relevant concepts, terms, and theories. Full grasp of the logic of the arguments you are describing. Understands the key differences between alternative concepts, theories, methods, evidence Demonstrates a clear understanding of the relevant concepts, terms, and theories. Full grasp of the logic of the arguments you are describing. Demonstrates a clear understanding of the relevant concepts, terms, and theories. Demonstrates some understanding of the relevant concepts, terms, and theories. Demonstrates very little understanding of the relevant concepts, terms, and theories. Argumentation and Critical Thinking (40%) Clearly frames the problem being addressed. A strong thesis with a clear logical argument. Presents logical progression of strong evidence and supporting points to thesis. Appropriate source information used to support thesis and arguments made, excellent integration of quoted/paraphrased material into writing Presents and then deals with counterarguments and counter evidence. Clearly frames the problem being addressed. A strong thesis with a clear logical argument. Presents logical progression of strong evidence and supporting points to thesis. Appropriate source information used to support thesis and most arguments, good integration of sources into writing. A clear thesis with a logical argument. Presents insufficient evidence and supporting points to thesis. Support offered is sometimes irrelevant, tangential or repetitive. Sometimes weak use of source information that inadequately supports thesis and supporting points, weak integration of quoted/paraphrased material into writing. A weak thesis without a clear logical argument. Lacks support for arguments, unfocused, uses irrelevant information to support thesis. Very weak use of source information that fails to support thesis and supporting points, very weak integration of material into writing No thesis with little evidence to support thesis. Organization and Writing Mechanics (30%) Your ideas are presented in a well written and in well-organized form. Paper is in the correct format and includes all the necessary components (including an introduction, transitions, a conclusion and evidentiary paragraphs). You follow grammar and punctuation rules and provide proper references for all borrowed ideas and present citations in their proper form. Mostly coherent organization. Good command of language, generally proper use of grammar/writing conventions, minimal misspelled words, generally uses proper citation format. Paper has a few format errors but has all necessary components. Often lacks coherence. Generally proper use of grammar/writing conventions. Paper has several format errors. Missing transitions or a paper component. Weak use of language, poor grammar, numerous errors that undermine coherence, and citation format errors. Numerous format errors and missing several paper components. Incoherent and extremely weak organization and use of language. Poor grammar and pervasive errors seriously undermine coherence. Improper citation format and paper format. Lacks most of the paper components.