Skip to content
Criminology and Penology · Unit 1

Criminology exam question: Write a critical note on the

The question (15 marks)

Write a critical note on the classical school of criminology and its neo-classical correction. (15 marks)

MU Module I, the classical school; study of the classical and neo-classical schools, and the chapter on the schools.

Plan your answer on paper before you look at the authorities — issue first, then the rule, then apply it to these facts.

It tests Unit 1 · Nature and Scope of Criminology, and its Schools of Criminology and Penology.

Authorities you will need

  • Beccaria, On Crimes and Punishments, published anonymously at Livorno in July 1764
  • Aquinas, and the sentence on Jean Calas
  • Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Voltaire and Rousseau, on the social contract
  • The French Code of 1791, and the neo-classical revisions; Dagge and Dawes, in the 1760s and 1770s
  • Garland, on the genealogical charge; Roshier, on narrowness; Beirne, on the classical and positive schools as one enterprise

How an answer is marked

A full-marks answer names the issue in one line, states the rule with its section, cites the authority, applies it to these facts and concludes — in that order. The app's model answer for this question is written in exactly that shape, with a checklist to mark your own attempt against.