Your paper should be at least 6 pages and no more than 8 pages (excluding references) long. Do not resort to large font sizes (no more than 12 c.p.i.) and wide margins (no more than 1 inch on all sides) to extend the length of your paper. Points will be subtracted for such submissions. A hard copy of your paper (with two journal articles that your paper is based on) is due before midnight of May 2nd in the specified assignment drop box of D2L.
Follow APA guidelines when citing authors in the body of your paper or see handout. No cover page is necessary nor is an abstract. Use the following headers to organize your paper.
– (a) Introduction. A page or so that clearly and concisely describes the topic of your paper, any relevant statistics, the questions you will investigate, and the various points of view or differing explanations proposed in the scientific articles on which you are basing your paper. You may consult several sources (books, web resources, magazines, journal articles or monographs) for the introduction, and are strongly encouraged to include a cross-national statistic or diversity focus.
– (b) Research. This is the core of the paper (3-5 pages suggested) that must include a discussion of the scientific evidence you have reviewed. Remember, the research gathered from two journal articles is presented in this section. It is important that you provide your understanding of the research work that has been conducted. In other words, paraphrase in your own words and not rely on quotes. To effectively use the contents of the journal articles to support your ideas, be sure to clearly describe (1) the topic of the research being reported, (2) the research methodology (instruments used, sample, procedure, research design used), (3) the conclusions and questions that the study raised.
– (c) Evaluation. This section is primarily based on your own opinions and ideas, based on the research you have read and various theoretical perspectives that may be relevant (1-2 pages). In other words, critique the journal articles. What do you agree/disagree with? Why? What conclusions can you draw from your reading? Was the research conducted adequately? How could methodology be improved? What questions related to your topic remain unanswered? What theoretical perspective addresses this topic suitably?
– (d) References. All sources used for your paper (books, magazines, journals, film, etc.) should be listed alphabetically at the end in a manner that is consistent with the APA manual (7th edition). See ‘Writing Resources’ on D2L.
