Modifying an Introduction to Criminal Justice Course to Be Writing-Intensive

Abstract

Undergraduate students often struggle to produce clear and concise written assignments. Faculty in criminal justice often struggle with how to help them. The current study describes how a fully online introduction to criminal justice course was modified to be writing intensive. Students completed five writing assignments related to course content along with workbook exercises focused on grammar and syntax, formal writing, APA formatting and citations, and plagiarism. The first and final writing assignments included the same topic choices, but the final paper requirements included additional references and content. Students were encouraged to incorporate the feedback from the first assignment into the final paper. We examined whether students improved their written communication from the first writing assignment to the last. Our findings suggest that incorporating instruction on writing in an introduction to criminal justice course can produce positive outcomes for students, both lower-level and higher-level students.