Over the past week, we have read and heard about the horrendous loss of life in Las Vegas at the hands of a lone gunman using massive amounts of guns and ammunition. With 58 persons dead and over 500 injured, it is one of the largest mass killings in America. The incident has brought back memories of other mass killings such as those committed in/at Orlando, Florida, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, and San Bernardino, among others. It has also brought back to the fore the issue of gun control and a person’s right to possess weapons under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Your assignment is to read a recent article from a current periodical, journal, news magazine, or newspaper on the topic of the Second Amendment as it relates to gun rights and/or gun control. In 2 to 3 typewritten pages, provide the following information:
1. Indicate the title, author and source of the article.
2. Describe what the article is about.
3. Provide a brief background/historical information on the article’s topic.
4. Describe the author’s opinion regarding the article’s topic.
5. Provide your assessment of the topic discussed.
The assignment is due to me by Friday, October 20th.
IMPORTANT! Sample information
Make sure that you cite your sources in accordance with APA requirements, as summarized in the Notre Dame College Political Science and Criminal Justice Writing Guidelines posted on Moodle!
Pay particular attention to the following sections:
What is a source citation?
A source citation is a carefully formatted list of bibliographical information about a source: it should provide your readers with everything they need to know to locate your source and check it out for themselves. Here is an example in the APA style:
Cordner, Gary W. and Kathryn E. Scarborough (2010). Police Administration 7th edition Lexis Nexis.
When do I cite a source?
You must cite a source whenever the information you are including is not common knowledge and is not your own original idea. Even if you are putting the information into your own words, you must still give credit to the source.
Where do I cite sources?
The APA style puts information about a source in two places:
First, in-text citations are placed right in the text of your research paper, directly following the information you have taken from the source. In APA style, the in-text citations may include the author’s surname, the page numbers where you found the material, and/or the year of publication. Here is an example:
One explanation for the formation of modern police forces sees them as the logical government response to the consequences of urbanization and industrialization (Cordner and Scarborough, 2010).
Second, a Works Cited Page at the end of your paper includes complete bibliographical information about each source, usually in alphabetical order by author’s surname. Here is an example:
Works Cited
Cordner, Gary W. and Kathryn E. Scarborough (2010). Police Administration 7th edition Lexis Nexis.
Dempsey, John S. and Linda S. Forst (2010). An Introduction to Policing 5th edition Delmar, Cengage Learning.
Marion, Nancy and Kelley Cronin (2009) “Law Enforcement Responses to Homeland Security Initiatives: The Case of Ohio” Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice, Vol. 6(1). pp.4-24.