Research Topic: Racial Gang Segregation Affecting Male Prisons and Jails in the U.S.

The paper can be very difficult if you do not start early with a good assumption of something that interests you. Jen states to pick a topic you enjoy, LISTEN. You don't want to write about something that you don't like and then later, you will be making stuff up. So choose wisely.

As far as the research itself, do it with enough time. As soon as you know your topic, start searching for books, journal articles, etc. Anything that may be beneficial to your topic. I found books to be very useful to my paper, since there were many topics on prisons around the world, especially in California. I found a certain amount of online articles, but that helped me more with my Lit. Review.

My topic wasn't that difficult to research on. I tried to obtain a topic that had many reviews and relevant information. I did learn a lot, so don't just skim, actually try to learn something, because eventually, you will be presenting it in class.

I know the class may seem like a lot of work in the beginning, but in the end it pays off because you get more experience with English grammar and how to format certain papers. Ref works from the library helped me a lot in obtaining articles, especially the annotated bibliography, so USE IT.

One source I found useful was a book called, PRISONS-Revised Edition by Jeffrey Ferro. Very beneficial because it explains a lot of the criminal cases that eventually led criminals to prison and jails. Also gives the background on prisons.

-Blanca Machuca