Paper, Order, or Assignment Requirements

-If you’re comparing something, you have to say what you are comparing it to
-Use fully stated claims.Ex.Labeling theory provides a more compelling explanation than differential association does for why youth with a criminal record continue to engage in criminal behaviour because youth internalize and align their chronic behaviours with the stigma of a criminal label (Smith 2010).
-You will compare two theories – Labeling Theory and Differential Association theory.
-You are making an argument about which theory you think is most compelling in describing the evidence about why youth join gangs
Why is the other theory less persuasive? You will be applying the theories to the two factors
->Some factors will be explained by both theories.
Your task is to make an argument about which is the most compelling/useful.
While your factors might be explained by more than one theory, they will be explained differently. It is up to you to figure out how they differ.
Ex.In this paper I argue that Labeling theory can explain gang affiliated peers and neighbourhoods with high crime rates, while Differential Association theory can explain gang affiliated peers as a reason why some youth join. This paper compares the relative strengths and weaknesses of Labeling and Differential Association and I argue that Labeling theory offers the most compelling theoretical perspective to help account for how these factors influence youth to join gangs. I also argue that a unlike the other two theories, a Marxist approach deals with the issue of why youth join gangs by questioning the political economy of crime.
-In the final section of the paper, explain how a Marxist approach would analyze the problem of why youth join gangs.
Would a focus on the two factors that you identified be useful from a Marxist perspective? Why or why not?
How does Marxist theory fundamentally explore the question of why youth join gangs differently from your other two theories?
-To compare theories, you are evaluating their strengths and weaknesses.
You will be doing this both at the factor level and then finally with the issue of why youth join gangs more generally.
In framing your argument you need to think about:
Which theory is more compelling?
Does one theory only explain a portion of the factor?
Can the other theory explain the factor in more complex ways?
Are they explaining the same thing? Are they getting at different things?
Is the level of analysis the same? If not, how do they differ? What implications does this have?
Level of analysis can vary from individual,groups(family and community),social institutions,broader society(politics, culture, economics)
Differential Association is a micro level theory,labeling can be micro,meso or macro level theory, Marxist is macro economic theory.
The levels of the theories is essential , and understanding different levels of analysis and what the theories are trying to explain – how do they approach the problem of why youth join gangs will help you complete your comparison ( see the attached powerpoint “205 tutorial 8 slides, slides 7-10 for clarification)
Outline of the paper:
Section 1 — Introduction:
Introduce the topic (approx 2 sentences)
State the thesis statement (at the end of the paragraph)
Use the following Thesis Statement for the paper:
In this paper I argue that Differential Association theory can explain low socio economic status and gang affiliated peers as reasons why youth join gangs. This paper compares the relative strengths and weaknesses of Differential Association theory and Labeling theory and I argue that Labeling theory offers the most compelling theoretical perspective to help account for how these factors influence youth to join gangs. I also argue that unlike the other two theories, a Marxist approach deals with the issue of why youth join gangs by questioning the political economy of crime.
Section 2 — Theory Summaries
A) Theory #1
Differential Association
Explain the central tenets of your first theory in detail. Avoid vague and under developed discussions
What are some of the major critiques about the theory?
The more sophisticated papers will weave this into the discussion of the theory itself (think along the lines of counterclaims)
You may have multiple paragraphs – follow paragraph structure
B) Theory #2
Labeling Theory
Repeat process from (A)
Section 3 — Discussion of factors and theories:
For each factor you are trying to establish which theory you think is the most compelling in its ability to help explain why the factor (based on the research/evidence) influences youth to join gangs
You are applying both theories to each factor
Which is the most compelling and why; which is the least persuasive and why
To do a comparison you need to apply the theory to the evidence throughout your argument ( its not just creating a summary of the evidence)
You are synthesizing and drawing on the theory to explain the evidence as you build your argument about why that theory is more compelling
The order you talk about the factors needs to be the order listed in the thesis statement
You should start with the theory that is the most compelling and then discuss why the other theory is less persuasive

When thinking about the comparison between the two theories think about:
What questions are the theories asking – are they the same or different?
Are they explaining the same thing? Are they getting at different things?
What is the level of analysis? If not, how do they differ? What implications does this have?
Does one theory only explain a portion of the factor?
Can the other theory explain the factor in more complex ways?
Section 4 — Compare Marxist approach to other theories
Make sure to cover the 3 parts below:
1. Explain what the Marxist theory is about
2. Explain how the theory can explain why youth join gangs
3. Explain how it is different from the other two theories
How would a Marxist approach look at the problem of why youth join gangs?
After you’ve established this, you want to think about how it looks at the issue in a different way than the other two theories?
Can it still explain the factors? Or does it approach the question differently?
When thinking about the comparison between the Marxist approach and the other two theories think about:
Are all three theories the same sorts of theories?
What questions are the theories asking – are they the same or different?
What is the level of analysis? If not, how do they differ? What implications does this have?
Why are some theories able to explain factors and others not?
Think about differences:
between the focus on what causes crime and the definition of crime/criminalization of behaviour
between individual factors and social relations that affect power and inequality
between assumption that society is based on consensus versus conflict
between assumption that it is social scientific work that is value-neutral and the view that all research reflects power relations.
Section 5: Conclusion
Summarize the paper’s main arguments (4-5 sentences)
-The writer CANNOT copy and paste lecture notes or textbook notes for the 3 theories. The writer needs to re-write in his or her own words.Summary sections of the two theories also need to have the critiques/limitations of the theories. The discussion of strengths/weaknesses in textbook notes are more to help you think about how you apply the theories in order to develop a compelling argument than it is for the summary section. The strengths/weaknesses can be built into your argument for why which theory is more compelling, but it should not just be “dumped” into the paper and shouldn’t appear in the summary section.
-The assignment asks for 5 peer reviewed sources. The 3 would be peer reviewed scholarly sources that I will attach on files, plus the textbook and lecture.