Course Project: Managing the Prison Environment

Objectives

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The Course Project is designed to provide you with an opportunity to
research a topic of interest related to some aspect of correctional
administration. This project is an effort to allow you to fully explore issues
related to either correctional officials or prison inmates.

This project incorporates all TCOs.

Guidelines

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The course project is worth 320 total points and will be graded on APA
formatting; quality of research topic; quality of paper information; proper use
of text citations; proper grammar, punctuation, usage, and sentence structure;
and the deliverable components for Weeks 1, 2, 5, and 6.

There are four components to the Course Project.

• title
  page, topic discussion, and a list of three references
• annotated
  outline
• annotated
  bibliography
• Final
  Paper

Requirements

• APA
  guidelines must be followed for all course component deliverables.
• At least
  six authoritative, outside references are required for the annotated
  bibliography and the Final Paper.
• All
  DeVry University policies are in effect, including the plagiarism policy.
• The
  Final Paper isdue
  in Week 6of this course.
• The
  Final Paper must be 8 to 10 pages of text in length, Times New Roman
  12-point font, double-spaced, include a cover page, introduction or
  abstract, body of the report, summary or conclusion, and a works cited
  page.
• Any
  questions about this paper may be discussed in the weekly Q & A
  Discussion topic or instructor e-mail.

Course Project Deliverables

Week 1–Title page, description of Final Paper topic, and
references to three outside sources. This deliverable should include a properly
formatted title and reference page and one page of text describing the topic
selected, your reasons for selecting this topic, and what you expect to learn
from having explored this topic area.

Week 2–Annotated outline for the Final Paper. Submit a
polished outline for your Final Paper. Include in your outline a brief summary,
two to three sentences, of key points for each topic area.

Week 5–Annotated bibliography for the Final Paper. Your
bibliography should include references to at least six outside sources. Also
required is a brief, one-paragraph summary of the publication and your
reasoning as to why this source is important to the topic you are
investigating.

Week 6–Final Paper. Submit an 8 to 10 page paper that
includes a separate title and reference page. This paper should be well
organized and follow the outline submitted for Week 2 unless otherwise approved
by your instructor. It should also include the list of references, but not the
annotations, submitted during Week 5. The Final Paper should adhere to all APA
guidelines.

Grading Rubrics

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Breakdown of Different Components

• Week 1–title page, topic description, and
  three references
• properly
  formatted title page–10 points
• one-page
  topic description–20 points
• reference
  to three outside sources–10 points
• Total: 40 Points

• Week 2–annotated outline
• a
  properly formatted outline–20 points
• a
  comprehensive outline that addresses key points–40 points
• a
  brief summary of key points for all main topics addressed in the
  outline–20 points
• Total: 80 Points

• Week 5–annotated bibliography
• a
  properly formatted bibliography–20 points
• a
  one-page summary of the publication–40 points
• substantive
  reasons for selecting the publication–20 points
• Total: 80 Points

• Week 6–Final Paper
• title
  and/or reference page–10 points
• introduction
  or abstract–10 points
• text
  or body of the paper–60 points
• APA
  guidelines–40 points
• Total: 120 Points

Best Practices

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Milestones

1. Identify
   Course Project topic.
2. Locate
   three sources of interest.
3. Develop
   a complete outline to include topics and subtopics.
4. Complete
   your literature search.
5. Develop
   a complete draft of your paper by Week 4.
6. Submit
   your Final Paper on or before the due date.

The following are best practices in preparing this paper.

• Cover Page:Include whom
  you prepared the paper for, who prepared it, and the date.
• Table of Contents:List the
  main ideas and sections of the paper and the pages where they are located.
  Illustrations should be included separately.
• Introduction:Use a header
  on your paper. This will indicate that you are introducing the paper.

  The purpose of an introduction or opening is to

1. introduce
   the subject and explain why the subject is important;
2. preview
   the main ideas and the order in which they will be covered; and
3. establish
   the tone of the document.

Include in the introduction a reason for the
audience to read the paper. Also, include an overview of what you will cover
and the importance of the material. (This should include or introduce the
questions you are asked to answer in each assignment.)

• Body of the Report:Use a
  header with the name of the project. An example is, “The Development
  of Hotel X: A World Class Resort.” Proceed to break out the main
  ideas: State the main ideas, state the major points of each idea, and
  provide evidence. Show some type of division, such as separate, labeled
  sections; separate groups of paragraphs; or headers. Include the
  information you found during your research and investigation.
• Summary and Conclusion:Summarizing
  is similar to paraphrasing but presents the gist of the material in fewer
  words than the original. An effective summary identifies the main ideas
  and the major support points from the body of the report; minor details
  are left out. Summarize the benefits of the ideas and how they affect the
  subject.
• Work Cited:Use the
  citation format specified in the Syllabus.

Additional hints on preparing the best possible project follow.

1. Apply a
   three-step process to writing: plan, write, and complete.
2. Prepare
   an outline of the research paper before going forward.
3. Complete
   a first draft and then go back to edit, evaluate, and make any changes
   required.
4. Use
   visual communication to further clarify and support the written part of
   the report. Examples include graphs, diagrams, photographs, flowcharts,
   maps, drawings, animation, video clips, pictograms, tables, and Gantt
   charts.
5. Begin
   the topic selection process and your literature search on Day 1.
6. Contact
   your instructor if you have any questions as to the appropriateness of
   your topic.
7. Follow
   APA guidelines closely.
8. If you
   are not familiar with APA guidelines, several publications are available
   for purchase and information is also available online, as well as in the
   Syllabus.
9. Turn in
   your written assignments before the deadline.