A research paper is required for this course. A list of topics will be posted; the student will pick one topic and write a 4 to 5 page research paper. Note: the title page and reference page are not considered to be part of the 4 to 5 pages. You must use APA formatting style for this paper. No other style will be considered. The list of topics will be posted as an Announcement on Blackboard.
The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) is an outstanding resource regarding APA formatting style.
Research papers must be submitted as a Microsoft Word document; no other styles of documents (WordPerfect, Google docs, etc) will be accepted.
Plagiarized work is easily discovered and will result in a zero grade for that assignment. Research papers will be submitted using SafeAssign. Evidence of plagiarism is forwarded to the BCJ Director; severe academic consequences may result.
Proofread your work. Points will be taken off for spelling, syntax, grammar, etc. You must have at least four academically sound sources for your paper. Wikipedia and Blogs are not considered an academic resource. There can be no verbatim sentences or paragraphs from any of your sources unless referenced and in quotation marks. This is an academic paper; it should be considered as such. APA formatting requires that you put a parenthesis in the body of your paper with that author’s last name and the year of publication of the source (known as a “short” reference-it points the reader to the complete reference at the end of your paper). If this “short reference” citation is at the end of your sentence the period goes after the parenthesis. The research paper must be submitted via Blackboard. Papers are not to be submitted via email unless prior approval has been given by the instructor.
Here are the three topics for your research paper; you should pick one of these three. Please refer to the syllabus for detailed information about the paper; information includes requirements for your sources, APA style, length, and more. The research paper is due at the end of week five; you may turn it in early. A word about grading in advance: every paper is returned with comments; we hope to give you information that will benefit you for future papers.