CRIMINAL JUSTICE DEPARTMENT WRITING REQUIREMENT

Need for Writing Skills
    When a Criminal Justice Major completes his/her education and leaves   Marshall, he/she will be expected to write in a professional manner.  The  Criminal Justice  practitioner will be called upon to write reports for crime investigation, trials,  presentence investigations, correctional incidents,  parole actions and appeals.  Along  with oral communication skills, writing skills will determine a practitioner's success in his/her job performance.

Information on the College of Liberal Arts Writing Requirement
    All majors, including Criminal Justice majors, in the College of Liberal Arts (COLA) must satisfy the COLA Writing Requirement.  According to the Marshall University Undergraduate Catalog:  "Candidates for degrees must satisfactorily complete an upper-division writing requirement in their major subject consisting of a minimum of 2000 words in English.  The departments administer this requirement, preferably in the student's junior year, but no later than the first semester of the senior year."

Criminal Justice Writing Requirement
    During the junior year, or first semester of the senior year, a Criminal Justice major will submit a single expository writing assignment of at least 2000 words, completed by the style and format of The publication manual of the American Psychological Association or The bluebook: A uniform system of citation as appropriate.  The requirement will be completed in CJ 404, Theoretical Criminology, or CJ 423, Advanced Legal Research and Writing.
    The instructor of the approved course will be responsible for the administration and evaluation of the writing requirement to insure that it meets course requirements and writing proficiency standards.  If the writing submission is considered inadequate by the course instructor, and the student disagrees with the instructor's evaluation, the student may request that two additional instructors be consulted and the adequacy determined by a majority vote.
 
Criteria for Evaluation
    The paper used to evaluate a Criminal Justice major's writing proficiency will include a cover sheet, appropriate content, footnotes and reference page. The paper should also meet the following criteria to pass the writing requirement.
 1. Central idea clearly stated in the introduction.
 2. Adequate examples and evidence to support and develop the idea.
 3. Logical organization.
 4. Clear method of development.
 5. Unified and coherent paragraphs with smooth and functional transitions.
 6. Use of details and specific language.
 7. Accuracy, coherence and logic.
 8. Consistency in tone, point of view, tense and diction.
 9. Variety of sentence structure.
10. Effective and mature vocabulary.
11. Absence of major errors in grammar, punctuation and spelling.
12. Readable style.

Paper Retention
    Papers will not be returned to students.  Papers will remain in the files of the Criminal Justice Department.  If the student signs a waiver, other Criminal Justice majors will be allowed to read or review a paper for assistance or guidance.

Writing Center: Corbly Hall 353
    The Writing Center is administered by the Department of English.  The Center's staff provide help to any student in the University requesting assistance on a writing assignment.  It should be understood that the Center's staff offers help and advice, but is not a proofreading service.  The Writing Center is open various hours daily while classes are in session during fall and spring semesters and summer terms.  Students may either drop in or make an appointment.  To obtain the Writing Center's hours of operation call the English Department (696-6600).
 

Revised April 14, 2008