Please help to understand this assignment. Like sections, introduction and subheadings. Ideas. How should I start with the subheadings/sections? First introduction and overview?

Thank you!

Building Communities: Do a situational analysis of the police department in the city that you live in. What do you think are the functions of the police? Do they provide community/ social services? Give Examples (from their website or talk to an officer).

Introduction: Give an overview and state the purpose of the paper (2 points)

Do literature review on Community Oriented Policing Services? Provide a minimum of 5 sources. (Books, Peer-reviewed journal articles and government materials only) (5 points)

Clearly state the police department (locality description), provide details number or any other interesting details (4 points)

List all the services that the police department provides and explain why they provide the services (4 points)

Conclusion (1 point)

1 answer

OK, let's start first with the writing process and then about other parts of this assignment
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1. DON'T start any paper's first draft by writing the introduction! How can you introduce a paper that you haven't written yet? Even though your reader will read it first, it's one of the last parts of the paper you should write.

2. Follow the writing process, whether you're writing a paragraph, an essay, or a research paper:

Prewriting: Brainstorm, research, plan, outline, thesis statement draft

Writing: Write first draft by starting with section II of your outline; write the introduction after the body of the paper is written and edited; write the conclusion last.

Polishing: Revise, concentrating first on the body of the paper, then the intro, then the concl (revision = making sure ideas are logical and sequential and support your thesis); proofread (spelling, grammar, usage, etc.)
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2-1. Suggested outline:
I. Intro including the name of the police department you're analyzing; put your thesis statement (what you intend to prove by the end of the paper) at the end of this paragraph.

II. Basic functions of a police department (then put your subheadings that relate to this topic, perhaps the obvious: patrolling, stopping speeders, responding to 911 calls, etc.)

III. Community functions of a police department (then your subheadings: maybe community policing, storefront substations, talks re safety precautions at local meetings, schools, etc.)

IV. Highlight (with or without names) a couple of police officers who illustrate the activities you have described and explained in II and III.

V. Conclusion
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3. For your literature review, use this for searching: http://scholar.google.com
You'll find books and peer-reviewed journals and articles by using this rather than the general www.google.com search engine.
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4. As you research (as above) and take notes, make sure you keep track of exactly where you get your information from.

Use this website for MLA: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

Use this website for APA:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

If you're not sure which to use, ask your teacher which one he/she prefers.

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5. Additional links to help with thesis statement, paper writing, etc.

http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/catalogue.html#org
from http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/catalogue.html

http://www.angelfire.com/wi/writingprocess/

http://www.ipl.org/div/aplus/
Click on Step by Step for the process. Click on Info Search for help with researching.

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
Check in the Essay & Research Paper Level.