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The purpose of this assignment is for you to experience how your local government works. This assignment meets three of the student learning objectives from the syllabus. First, by virtually attending a city council meeting, you will experience real-life scenarios and lessons discussed in class. Next, you will be able to compare the interests of community stakeholders. Finally, depending on the meeting you attend, you may observe the impact of public policies on your local criminal justice system.
Assignment
You must attend at least one (1) virtual city council meeting in your city or a nearby city with virtual meetings that work with your schedule. You are expected to stay for the entire city council meeting. You will then write and submit a four-to-five page academic paper discussing the meeting and analyzing one issue (or more if necessary). In other words, you will use scholarly sources to discuss meeting topics and not just your opinions about topics and meeting observations.
Skills
This virtual city council meeting assignment is one way to introduce you to the world of local-level politics and policy-making. In this assignment, you will:
Reflect on your educational experiences and aspirations.
Synthesize scholarly research into community topics.
Summarize a variety of viewpoints in one meeting in a neutral and unbiased way.
Critically analyze whether or not the local city government’s council is genuinely invested in improving the community.
Knowledge
This assignment will also help you on Section exams to become familiar with the following important content from our textbook and media sources:
How to refine and discuss a specific topic
Applying scholarly research to real-life issues discussed at city council meetings
Linking public policy to local criminal justice issues
Tasks (What you need to do):
To complete this assignment:
You must attend at least one (1) virtual city council meeting in your city or a nearby city with virtual meetings that work with your schedule. You are expected to stay for the entire city council meeting.
You will need to go to your city’s website to find the meeting schedule and find a city council meeting date and time that fits your schedule.
Before the meeting, you must read the agenda and any special reports related to agenda topics discussed at the meeting you plan to attend.
Write an academic paper (See assignment video) using APA format (see the video in the stylistic section below) along with the remaining stylistic requirements.
You must: Identify and discuss one (or more if necessary) main topic(s) discussed in the meeting.
Next, research information related to the issue and identify the history of the problem in the city. In other words, has this been an ongoing issue in the past?
Finally, discuss how the topic could relate to criminal justice issues and policy.
Ensure you reference the city council meeting in your reference section and that you provide a link to that meeting (do not cite link in paper, use APA in-text citation guidelines). Also, upload a PDF of the meeting you attended along with your assignment.
Submit your assignment and City Council Agenda PDF via Canvas on or before the due date.
STYLISTIC REQUIREMENT
Watch this video in its entirety. https://calstatela.instructure.com/courses/75671/modules/items/4256519
Next, review the stylistic requirements below to make sure you are formatting your paper correctly. The quickest way to lose points is by not paying attention to format and turning in a paper that has not been proofread, etc.
Using a Word document (not a .pdf, or Google docs.), the format of your paper must conform to APA standards[1]. These standards include use of headings, 12 point Times New Roman font, spacing (double-spacing), page numbers, etc. (see video in #1 above).
The body of the final paper (i.e., the main text excluding cover/title page and reference/appendices pages) should be approximately 4 – 5 pages in length. Anything 3 pages and under will fail. Again, use APA-formatted headings and subheadings to organize your thoughts and arguments.
The reference page (not a “Works Cited” page) and all in-text citations are in APA style (www.apa.org). Proper in-text citations must be given throughout the body of your paper when using data, facts, statements from one of your references. For example, (Jones, 2002). For direct quotes, you need to include the page number and the above information (Jones, 2002, p. 245). Remember, if you cite it in the body of your paper, I should find the reference for it and vice versa. Do not use footnotes or endnotes for citations.
Regarding the number and quality of references for this assignment: You can use your textbook, academic references, news articles (verified), and Internet sources. Academic references include professional journals (e.g., Criminology), books, your textbook, and government publications (found on the Internet). Internet sources can consist of sites like the California Legislature website, the City of Los Angeles website, or the Uniform Crime Report website. You can also include newspaper articles accessed online and any class materials. You may NOT use Wikipedia.com as one of those sources. Again, journal articles, reports, etc., accessed online do NOT count as Internet sources. The minimum number of sources used for this assignment is four, and your city website where you found the city council information does count as one.
Summary of What Your Paper Should Include
Points will be deducted for failure to follow APA guidelines. See the attached rubric. This is not a punishment, but rather, a way to make sure you are prepared for your upper division classes. The final paper will be submitted electronically through CANVAS and should include the following components in one document except the PDF of the agenda:
Cover/Title page
The body of the paper with appropriate APA formatting (e.g., double-spaced, headings, subheadings, in-text citations)
A separate APA-formatted reference page(s),
All needed documentation (e.g., agenda, links to meeting, etc.)
Appendices if needed (usually this is not necessary, but just in case…)
[1] APA Style is a referencing, citation and format style like, MLA, but is NOT MLA. APA is the main way to reference sources in written document for criminal justice. For additional information see the module on CANVAS titled, “APA Writing Resources.” You will need to learn this format for your upper division classes.
**** AT LEAST 2 OF YOUR CITATIONS SHOULD COME FROM THE BOOK I REFERENCED TO YOU