Theoretical Criminology

With reference to two or more of the theories covered in this module, critically assess the contribution that criminological theory could make to our understanding of

an issue of crime, justice or punishment.
Essay Length:

The essay should be no more than 2,500 words (excluding the bibliography). NB: There is no acceptable word margin over or under this figure.
General preparation
The essay is intended to allow you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the material presented in Lectures 1 €“ 6, supported by the seminar discussions,

recommended readings and further readings.
General preparation for the essay consists of making sure you have understood each of the sessions (by attending lectures, doing the required readings, discussing the

material in seminar groups, following-up issues in the recommended readings on LASU and the general reading list provided). If you have been doing this, you will

already have done a lot of the preparation for this essay.
How to answer the essay question
Let’s break down the question into its parts, so we understand it better
With reference to two or more of the theories covered in this module
This is the most important part of the question. You are asked to select a minimum of two
theories or theoretical approaches. The essay is intended to assess your knowledge and understanding of these theories.
The best approach to take is to compare and contrast the theories
You should only select theories or approaches from amongst the ones we have actually covered in Lectures 1 -6. You may come across other theories in books that are

not covered in this course or covered in lectures 7 onwards but these should not be included in your essay.
The lecture slides usually provide a handy guide in bullet point form, start with these.
Q. What is a theory’?
A. A theory’ can either be
A general theory covered in a lecture e.g. Classical Theory, Labeling, Sub-cultural theory
OR
It can be one of the specific theories covered under these headings, such as Differential Association’ or Techniques of Moral Neutralization’ or Social

Disorganization’ or Moral Panic’, etc.

Q. Which two, or more?
A. You can either:
Compare two or more general theories e.g. Classical Theory and Positivism, OR
Compare a general theory with a specific theory from a different lecture e.g. Classical Theory with Differential Association, OR
Compare specific theories within the same general theory, e.g. Differential Association with A. Cohen’s subcultural theory.
Q. How do I pick which theories to compare?
A.
Pick theories you understand
Pick theories that are different from each other, giving contrasting perspectives, so you’ve got something to say when you compare and contrast
Pick theories that have something interesting and relevant to say about an issue of crime, justice or punishment
OR
Pick theories that develop from each other. In this course we have told you about theories that have developed chronologically. So, you could also show how e.g.

critical criminology emerged from labeling theory, using examples about, for instance, explaining youth cultures (e.g. Mods’ and Rockers’) (you can use this example,

if you want).
Q. Is it two, or more than two theories?
A. Either; if you want to cover a number of theories to show how they developed from each other, that’s fine too.
Q. How do I pick an issue of crime, justice or punishment?
A. You should try to pick a topic that allows you to talk about the theories. The topic can be fairly general, for instance (you can use these)
Anti-social behavior
Crime in social housing
White-collar crime
Street gangs
Police stop and search
Juvenile delinquency/Youth crime
Domestic violence
Riots
Crime and social deprivation
Discrimination in the criminal justice system
Do youth clubs prevent youth crime?
Etc.
You can also select topics and issues that you have come across in other Modules either this year or last year.
These are general topics that you already know something about. The idea is to see what the theories have to tell us about these issues. The theories we have been

discussing are explanations which we can use to understand and respond to crime, justice and punishment.
NB You are NOT expected to do any research into these topics (and don’t go looking at the published research in order to find out what theories have been used). You

will NOT be assessed on your knowledge, understanding or detail of your selected issue, you will NOT get extra credit for this and you will only use up valuable words

by going into detail about your selected issue. In this assignment the issue’ is ONLY a peg on which to hang your knowledge and understanding of the theories. And it

doesn’ t matter if you get details of the issue wrong, as long as you get the theories right!
Critically assess the contribution that criminological theory could make to our understanding
This is really about essay writing, including all the things we assess you on, that is
Context and relevance
Analysis
Argument Construction
What this means is, if you do a good job with your two or more theories you will have answered the question because you will have demonstrated that you have

critically assessed the contribution of criminological theory.
Q. What is context and relevance?
A. Context’ is assessed by your selection of the issues’i ; relevance’ is the selection of the theories that you will apply to the issue

Q. What is analysis?
A. Analysis is assessed by how you apply your theories to the issue you’ve selected
Q. What is argument construction?
A. This is assessed by how well you compare and contrast’i your selected theories when you apply them to understanding and explaining your selected issue.
Finally, we’ll be giving you support and guidance during the seminars (that’s what they are about!) and we’ll also be focusing specifically on the essays in week 7

seminars, when there is no lecture to distract you. You can also come to see us during our office hours. But, because we are doing this we won’t usually respond

to requests by email. Its always better to discuss these issues face-to-face.