A Lesson in Writing
Here is my gift to you as a tutor and student who can provide both an academic perspective and a practitioner orientation for writing. Please take these thoughts seriously, as they will serve to make your time at ECC a joy in writing and research. The topics covered will be writing and research. I will provide examples from my own writing as a simplified means to understand these processes.
Writing is an art, which requires one to write objectively; this means as a matter of definition that writing is 1) based on facts rather than thoughts or opinions; 2) free of any bias or prejudice caused by personal feelings, and; 3) existing independently of the individual mind or perceptions. This essentially means that thoughts are based on the writing of others, which are not based on what you think or feel. For example, when posting a response, I research the literature and make a post like the following:
There is some discussion of correction officer stress in the literature (Encarta Online Encyclopedia, 2004). However, correction officer stress for state correction officers occur from many sources that originates from emotional dissonance, as suggested by Tewksbury and Higgins (2006). According to Crawley (2004), detachment and depersonization occur from emotional dissonance, which is reflective of organizational objectivity (e.g., displayed emotions) versus the role conflict of real emotions internally confined to the individual better known as experienced and expressed emotions (Abraham, 2000). The conflicts occur when correctional officers must act in a profession manner and, therefore, restrain true feelings associated with aspects of the job. Emotional dissonance emanates from several competing sources (e.g., inmate, organizational, administration, and outside sources) that create stress for the correction officer.
Observe in the example that you see no I, me, feel, or what I think; it is completely based on what others have written and thoughts they objectively expressed. Also notice the use of APA (you will see a reference section at the bottom of this page). Furthermore, notice the inclusion of year and the lack of first names associated with the authors. Keep in mind that I would not expect a student to write exactly like this, because you are beginning students, but to develop these skills as one progresses through college. Some might get it right away while others will take more time to develop.
Conversely, this leads to the discussion of subjective writing, which is 1) based on somebody’s opinions or feelings rather than on facts or evidence, and; 2) philosophy existing only in the mind and not independently of it. Therefore, since I do not write objectively, used can be examples that one might see on the discussion board:
I feel that people commit crime because they feel like they have no voice in the community. I also feel that people commit crime because they are poor and associate with people who are bad. I think that many criminals are a product of the social system which forces them to commit crime to survive and to live day to day. If it were up to me, criminals would all be sent to prison to learn skills that benefit society and then sent to the community to work and pay society back.
Notice the lack of research and APA; also notice the personal nature of the writing with the use of I, me, and what I think or feel. This is generally not a good rule in scholarly writing; try to avoid subjective writing at all costs and you are certainly welcome to add opinion at the end of your responses. I would expect many of you to write like this initially but to develop good writing skills as you make your way through courses.
As a matter of being a practitioner of criminal justice, which you all may be one day, I can provide a case for objective writing. If any of you have ever seen the T.V. show “Dragnet” of the 1960s and 1970s, Sergeant Joe Friday would say to victims of crime, “Just the facts, ma’am” as he was attempting to extract information for investigative purposes. The same is true when a police or correction officer writes a report, just the facts. There is no embellishment or personal perspective. Observe in the example that you see no I, me, feel, or what I think as your opinion on why you think a suspect committed a crime or your personal feelings are irrelevant. Do not write ‘I feel’ when making responses. For example, when I write a misbehavior report on an inmate for a rule infraction, the following is a good rule of thumb:
On the above date and approximate time, I officer W. Morgan observed Inmate X, #06A1234 fighting with Inmate Y, #89B4567 in the recreation area in the B-1 dorm. Inmate Y and Inmate X were striking each other with closed fists in the face of the other. These actions caused the other inmates in the block to take notice and watch the fight. When the response team arrived to assist in separating the inmates, Inmate X said, “I’m going to get you Morgan, you dirty little motherxxxxxxx.”
These two inmates would receive separate misbehavior reports and “written up” for assault, fighting, disturbance, threats, and harassment. Of course, the misbehavior report would more extensive, but it is only an example. Notice the who, what, where, and when is present. We generally do not care about why, that is, I suppose, a matter for the hearing officer. It is only the facts of what the perpetrators did or said and not anything that my co-workers or I may have said or did because it is ultimately irrelevant. Just the facts; no subjective writing.
Now research can be tricky. APA is part of research and you must use the tools provided to you in doc sharing, which shows you how to document sources both in-text and in the reference section. Keep in mind that some may get it right away while others take time to develop these skills. For now, just do the best you can with the tools provided for your use. When you write, you should strongly consider placing your work into a Word document and then copying and pasting onto the discussion board for asynchronous postings. For major assignments, you must attach a Word document with your work.
When searching in the ECC library, learn how to play and manipulate with the search. For example, if you are looking for “social structure theory,” you might put the phrase in the first box and word “crime” in the second. Try different words when conducting a search in the library and you will see amazing results. Research is sometimes not easy but gets easier as time goes on. Once again, this is an acquired skill that takes time to develop; a skill that you should develop early in college. Academic journals and books are the best sources in that order; try to avoid websites like Wikipedia or other sources that you cannot verify.
As you look at the reference section, notice the lack of first names associated with authors; this also goes to objective writing. Are the authors male or female? I also included a book reference for you to review. If you want an APA powerpoint presentation, just ask and I will provide.
I hope this helps everyone one on his or her college journey and good luck.
pasinggrades.com
References:
Abraham, R. (2000). The role of job control as moderator of emotional dissonance and emotional intelligence-outcome relationships. The Journal of Psychology, 134(2), 169-184.
Crawley, E.M. (2004). Emotion and performance: Prison officers and the presentation of self in prisons. Punishment & Society, 6(4), 411-427.
Encarta Online Encyclopedia (2004). Prison: Prison personnel: Stress. Retrieved November 12, 2004 from http://encarta.msn.com/text_761573083__15/Prison.html
Hochschild, A. R. (1983). The managed heart: Commercialization of human feeling. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Tewksbury, R. & Higgins, G.E. (2006). Examining the effect of emotional dissonance on work stress and satisfaction with supervisors among correctional staff. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 17(3), 290-301.
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