The issue of police violence against unarmed black males has been a growing and increasingly visible problem in American society. Choose any of the young black males killed by police officers in the line of duty during 2015 and research the following: a. The individual’s background b. How this individual came to be in the situation in which he was struck down

The issue of police violence against unarmed black males has been a growing and increasingly visible problem in American society. Choose any of the young black males killed by police officers in the line of duty during 2015 and research the following:
a. The individual’s background
b. How this individual came to be in the situation in which he was struck down
c. What justification the police gave for killing him
d. What the consequences were for the police officer(s) responsible for the killing
e. How the local community responded
f. At least one piece of additional information that you think is relevant to the story
When you’ve completed the above, write a brief reflection (about two well-developed paragraphs) on how you think this story relates to sociological issues. Make references to at least two course concepts in related textbook chapters.
Finally, write a brief statement of how the case does or does not impact you personally as a member of society, and explain your response.
Instructions for Research

1. You may use our online library or any academic online library, or any large walk-in library such as the Boston Library. Look for recently-published books and journal articles, preferably peer-reviewed.
2. You may use the Internet, but you must restrict your sources to sites that end in .edu, .gov, or .org. Above all, you must use sources that are accurate, up-to-date, and unbiased. If you feel a .com website qualifies under those criteria, check with me to get permission to use it.
3. You must use at least five (5) academic sources. YouTube talks are acceptable, as long as the speaker is a recognized expert on the topic. If you are not sure, check with me or our writing assistant to get approval.
4. Avoid taking the majority of your information from a single source and only briefly mentioning your other sources. If necessary, find more sources.
5. Wikis are NOT acceptable research sources, although the list of original sources they include at the bottom of each article generally are. You must always use only original sources for research papers.
6. Your textbook is not a resource, for the reason given in number 5 above. Textbook authors are simply reporting research that others have done. Go to the original source.
7. You may not site your previous academic papers, even if you got A’s on them, because you are not an expert on the subject matter.
8. Interviews with topic experts are acceptable and recommended where possible.

Instructions for Style

1. APA style required (include a title page but not an abstract)
2. A non-generic title that makes your topic clear is required.
3. Microsoft Word is required. If you don’t have it, type your final paper on a computer that does.
4. Seven to 10 pages, not including title page or Works Cited (papers shorter than seven pages will be graded down, and papers five pages or less will not be graded) “Padding” (irrelevant information) and repetitiveness will not count as part of your page count.
5. Double-spaced throughout. Do not use triple or quadruple spaces. Remove the “add space before paragraph” and “add space after paragraph” options from your settings.
6. Standard 12-pt font throughout—Times New Roman, Calibri, etc. No fancy or “handwriting” fonts.
7. One-inch margin on all sides.
8. Pages numbered according to APA regulations
9. Pictures and graphs (credited) should be included where helpful to making your point. If you use these, make sure that your written text still amounts to at least seven pages.
10. Start with a thesis statement in your introductory paragraph, and make sure that every paragraph in your paper supports that thesis.
11. Use appropriate paragraph structure, with a topic sentence and detailed supporting material. Make sure each topic sentence supports the thesis statement. If it doesn’t you can eliminate the entire paragraph.
12. Include a reasonable conclusion that pulls your paper together for the reader. It can be a brief summary of your thesis and supporting points, although that is the least interesting kind of conclusion. More interesting options are a call to action, your personal reactions to what you’ve learned, or a projection of your findings into the future.

Final Note: Students often struggle with the issue of length in papers. There are four ways to get up to the required length:

1. Make sure you have responded to all the questions asked in the topic description.
2. Give detailed responses rather than general ones; they are more interesting and more informative, and they yield a longer paper.
3. Provide specific examples of each point; examples help the reader understand your point, they make your paper more interesting, and they yield a longer paper.
4. Add some new but relevant information that you think should have been addressed in the topic description.


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