1. Answer the questions--negatively, this means you should not go off on a "rant" or get off the point. However, you should answer the questions completely. Using an example to illustrate your point is often a good idea. If you use a quote, try to follow the quote with an explanation using your own words.

2. Assignments must be typed, and should be spell-checked. Use proper grammar. These things will count towards the grade you receive on your paper.

• Write in complete sentences. Do not use sentence fragments. A complete sentence has a noun and a verb. DO NOT start a sentence with "Meaning...." If you have to use this word, the proper way to start a sentence is "This means that..." Alternatively, you could use, "In other words..."
• Authors of formal (academic or professional) papers avoid using personal pronouns (I, we). Although it is difficult to write in this manner, students are encouraged to make an effort to avoid using "I" or "we" in assignments.

3. You must CITE anything that you take from other's work. Failure to do so is plagarism-a form of cheating. If you fail to cite properly, you will be penalized in the assignment. The penalty will range from point deductions (for small or unintentional infractions) to a zero (for lifting complete sentences without any citation).

Please follow the following format. When you paraphrase someone's work, you need to cite with the author(s) and date:
(a) There is no evidence that the death penalty deters murder (Cullen and Agnew, 2003).
(b) Akers (2000) argues that that empirical research does not support the proposition that the death penalty deters.
(c) If there is more than one author, you MUST INITIALLY LIST each author, (Lilly, Cullen and Ball, 1995). If you repeat the cite, you may then use (Lilly et al., 1995).

When you use a direct quote, the text must be in quotes, and the cite must include the author(s), date, and page number:
(a) As Cullen and Agnew (2003: 122) note, "Labeling theory as an explanation of criminal and deviant behavior is derived from general symbolic interactionism theory in sociology."
(b) "Labeling theory as an explanation of criminal and deviant behavior is derived from general symbolic interactionism theory in sociology" (Cullen and Agnew, 2003: 122).

NOTE: Changing one or two words of an author's work does not give you license to avoid citation. If you are in doubt of whether you should cite, or whether you should use quotes, error on the conservative side…CITE….USE the QUOTES!!

4. For articles/readings in the Cullen and Agnew book, cite the authors of that particular reading, not Cullen and Agnew. Of course, if you cite any of the introduction or summary provided by Cullen and Agnew, they you should cite Cullen and Agnew. (This lets me know if you are paraphrasing/quoting from Cullen and Agnew or from the original articles).

5. Do not use a cite unless you have actually read (or skimmed) the material. You cannot simply "pirate" a cite from the Cullen and Agnew book. If you want to repeat a quote that was taken from another source, the proper citation format is as follows (for a quote): "Antisocial behavior tends to remain stable over time; it is the mother of all that is evil" (Maahs and Pratt, 1989: 205; cited in Cullen and Agnew, 2003). Or, for paraphrasing: Maahs and Pratt (1989, Cited in Cullen and Agnew, 2003)

6. Regardless of how well the introduction in Cullen and Agnew covers the assigned reading, you should still read the original work and incorporate this into your paper. Answers that merely summarize the summary provided by Cullen and Agnew tend not to receive full credit.

7. It is generally a good idea to pick up you assignments. Students often repeat the same errors (e.g, citation problems, grammar, conceptual issues) and get docked points because they never pick up their papers. Papers are generally returned within a week of being submitted--often times they are returned at the start of the following class. Unclaimed assignments are stored in my office (I bring them to class only once) and you may pick them up there if you are unable to come to class on the day they are returned.