CULT3018 Perspectives in Criminology - Assignment 1: Annotated bibliography
Psychology and Community Service
21st Sep 2025
2
Team/Individual task: Individual
Word/time limit: 1,500 (+/–10%)
Weighting: 50%
Due date: 5pm AEST Monday 29 September 2025 (Week 5)
After you have read this information, go to the Assignment 1 Q&A discussion board to ask any questions and see what your peers are saying about this assignment.
To pass this subject of study, you must achieve an aggregated grade of at least 50%. Although this assignment is not a mandatory submission, completing this assignment will give you the best chance of achieving this minimum requirement.
This assignment is an annotated bibliography, which is a list of sources used for researching a topic that is presented alphabetically and by author's surname. You will select one of the five essay topics from your Assignment 2: Essay as your focus for this annotated bibliography, and find source sources that you intend to use in your final essay.
This assignment supports Subject Learning Outcomes 1 and 2.
In this assessment task, you will not be able to meet the learning outcomes related to the development of writing skills by using generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Working with another person or technology in order to gain an unfair advantage in assessment or improperly obtaining answers from a third party, including generative AI, to questions in an examination or other form of assessment may lead to sanctions under the Student Misconduct Rule (Western Sydney University, 2023). Use of generative AI tools may be detected. More information is available on the Library web page Turnitin's AI writing detector (Library Study Smart, 2023).
If your studies have been adversely affected by circumstances beyond your control, you may request an extension using the following options.
Note: A request must be made within 48 hours of the assignment due date.
Read through the following steps to understand and meet the requirements of this assignment:
Step 1: Select your topic
The topic that you select will form the basis of your Assignment 2: Essay, therefore it is important to choose your topic carefully as this assignment directly builds on and will inform the contents of your essay.
• How has globalisation impacted criminal justice in Australia?
• In what ways does environmental crime cause harm on a mass scale? Cite one to three examples.
• Should torture be dealt with through the traditional criminal justice system (i.e. police, courts, prisons)?
• How is terrorism defined and governed in Australia? Is this a fair approach?
• Are international bodies (i.e. the United Nations and International Criminal Court) necessary to deal with crime? What are the advantages and disadvantages of an international approach?
Step 2: Write an introductory paragraph (300 words)
In your introductory paragraph, you should explain the scope of your investigation into your selected topic and provide a rationale for your selection of sources. Your rationale for your sources should explain how and why the sources in your bibliography are useful for answering your question. This paragraph is an opportunity for you to demonstrate how well you understand your topic and will be referred to by your OLA to provide feedback, corrections or recommendations to aid your comprehension if needed.
Step 3: Locate six sources for your bibliography
You must locate six sources that you intend to use in your final essay and base your annotated bibliography on these six sources. Only two of these sources may come from the unit content.
For this assignment, you are expected to have no less than six academic references. Media articles do not count as academic sources but may be used. Keep in mind that these figures are the minimum required to pass the assignment—it is highly recommended that you engage with as many relevant texts as possible.
You are expected to utilise the Western Sydney University Library (n.d.a) to conduct your search for resources. Log on to the UWS Library website and have a look at the e-resources database for peer-reviewed work that you may reference in your essay. If you are not sure about how to best utilise the library website, first read through the Successful Searching (Western Sydney University Library, n.d.b) page for information on how to start your search, or ask your OLA for assistance.
Step 4: Write annotations for your six resources
The annotation accompanying each of your sources should be approximately 200 words each and should summarise and evaluate each included source. These six sources must be used in your Assignment 2: Essay. Provide the citation of the sources as they would appear in the reference list of your essay using Harvard WesternSydU referencing style. Refer to the Harvard WesternSydU referencing style guide (PDF 199 KB). (Western Sydney University Library 2019) for guidance on how to format your referencing and citation.
The 2.4 Activity: Responsibilisation and the liberty or security perspective will take you through the steps of writing a clear annotation to accompany your resources.
Note: You do not require an independent reference list at the end of the annotated bibliography.
Assignment tip
View the marking guide under 'Assignment criteria' to see a detailed breakdown of how your work will be assessed. This is an excellent place to start your preparations for this assignment.
Refer back to the marking guide frequently to make sure you are meeting the requirements.
Supporting resources
• Annotated bibliography (PDF 229 KB) (Library Study Smart, 2017a).
• Harvard WesternSydU referencing style guide (PDF 199 KB) (Western Sydney University Library 2019).
• Harvard WesternSydU style – In-text citations (Western Sydney University Library 2020).
• Library Study Smart—a library resource that will assist you in completing your assignments (Western Sydney University Library 2021).
• Western Sydney University Library has further information about referencing on its Referencing and citation page.
As you’re finalising your draft, don’t forget that the Alvie Assignment Feedback Tool is available 24/7 to help you refine your grammar, referencing, writing style, and more. For more details, see the Assignments and support page in your Welcome Module.