POS T

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POS 230 (Simpson)

Research Essay (225 points total, 75pts- Prep, 150pts- Final Draft)

Requirements: 2,000-3,000 words (roughly 8-10 pages) in the body of the paper (slightly longer is

acceptable, but please do not exceed 4,000 words) double spaced pages (12 pt font, Times New Roman,

one inch margins). This word total does not include things like your name, the date, the class number, any

block quotes, or your bibliography. Students who fail to submit a paper that meets these presentation

guidelines will receive a 5 point deduction in their overall score for the assignment.

Final Draft of the Term Paper is Due Tues. May 1 at Noon.

Assignment: Pick a current issue in American politics to investigate for a semester long research essay.

This should not be a topic that we discuss in class. However, students can examine a specific aspect of a

larger topic that we covered in class (example: We will examine issues in the American education system

in class. However, a student is welcome to investigate efforts to improve high school graduation rates).

This is a persuasive call to action paper. Please design your paper to describe the problem, explain why

it is harmful, explain what should be done about it, and why a proposed solution(s) will actually help.

Students can also discuss what is not being done to address the issue(s), as well as what efforts to fix the

problem have failed in the past (and why?). What solutions are experts recommending/proposing? What

actions are government officials (can be local, state, or federal) taking to address the issue? Arguments

should be the result of a thorough research process of source materials from acadcemic/peer reviewed

journals, government reports, books, industry publications, and credible news agencies.

Every student must have a different topic. All topics require instructor approval.

You may use articles provided in class, lecture slides, and your notes to help provide context and to frame

some of your points. However, I would like all of you to explore these topics in significantly greater depth

compared to how we cover issues in the course. So, a decent amount of outside research is mandatory.

Please cite a minimum of ten outside sources in your essay. Include a bibliography at the end of your

essay (this does not count towards the length requirement) and cite sources within your paper. Please

make sure that direct quotes are cited within the text, as well as any information that you have

paraphrased from your sources.

Essays should be bound together with an introduction, thesis statement, body paragraphs, and a

conclusion. Students should underline, bold, highlight, or otherwise mark their thesis statement on their

final submission.

You may use MLA, Chicago, APA, or Turabian style. Please see me with any questions regarding

citations.

Papers should also include the page number on each page of their submission (not required on the first

page). Anyone who submits a final draft of the paper without page numbers will receive a 2 point

deduction in their overall grade for the assignment.

Sources and Citations

Remember to support your arguments with evidence from your sources. If you are making a point, or

stating an opinion, provide a few facts and examples as support.

Also, beware of poor sources (Ask.com, Wikipedia, Yahoo! Answers). Stick to sources that you can trust

online such as PBS, Time Magazine, the Smithsonian, Al Jazeera, BBC News, the Atlantic, the

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Economist, Bloomberg Businessweek, whitehouse.gov, senate.gov, house.gov, Harvard Library Open

Collections- ocp.hul.harvard.edu, , JSTOR, CBC News, Academic Search Premier, Ebsco, CBS News,

the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles

Times, gilderlehrman.org, newsbank.com (online historical newspapers) or the Library of Congress.

***Students who use poor sources will automatically lose 10 points. Please do not hesitate to ask if you

are concerned about the trustworthiness of a particular source! You Tube video clips work fine as sources,

provided that they are uploaded and produced by trustworthy sources, such as ABC News, the Discovery

Channel, or National Geographic. Just beware of You Tube videos that were created as part of some 5th

grade social studies project!

Don’t hesitate to check out a book from our library either! Library books are the original reliable source.

Academic journal articles obtained from the ASU Libraries online database also make excellent source

materials.

Any information included in the paper that is drawn from source materials must be written in your own

words and the author must receive credit with an in text citation. Students who fail to use in text citations

(with any material where ideas/examples/information within the paragraph comes from an outside source)

will automatically lose 20 points.

Students who try to pass off material from a source as their own words will receive a zero for the paper.

This includes sentences that are copied from a source, with a couple of words modified within the essay.

Please see the policies in the syllabus on academic dishonesty and plagiarism for additional information.

A 2,000-3,000 word paper should not include more than 7-8 quotes. Papers can have substantially fewer

quotes, or even none at all. Students should avoid using quotes that are longer than 3-4 lines in length.

Students should not use more than two block quotes in a paper this long. Anyone who uses excessive

quotations, or several block quotes, will be assessed a 25 point penalty. All quotes should be accompanied

by an in text citation immediately following the quote. Students who fail to include a citation directly

after a quote will be penalized 5 points per violation.

Failure to include a minimum of 10 outside sources in your bibliography will result in a 10 point

deduction in your final score. You can use class materials (the textbook, class notes, etc.) as sources.

However, these do not count towards that total. This means that students must locate their own credible

sources.

Failure to include a bibliography (works cited page), or any outside sources in the bibliography, will

result in a 30 point deduction in your final score.

The bibliography/works cited page is not included in determining whether or not an essay meets the word

count/length requirement.

Do not simply include a URL in your bibliography for a web source. At minimum, students should also

include the website name and the article title, along with the author (if known), publication date (if listed)

and the date that the site was accessed. Students who fail to fully cite web sites in their bibliography will

have their overall score reduced by 10 points.

Need help with citations, or your bibliography? Visit this site: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

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Writing

Essays should have a unique title. Failure to include a title will result in a 5 point deduction in your final

score.

Please maintain an academic tone in your paper. Try to avoid using slang and text-speak and remember to

revise for spelling and grammar. Papers with numerous spelling and grammatical errors will be penalized.

You may use images, maps, charts, graphs, or artwork in your paper if you wish. Some of these might

work well if you have a great deal of statistical data to present. However, this material will not count

towards the length requirement of the essay.

Essays that fall short of the 2,000 word minimum in the body of the essay will automatically lose 30

points. You can obtain the word count of the text of the essay simply by selecting the text in Microsoft

Word.

Students must include the word count for their essay at the end of the document. Anyone who fails to

include the word count on their paper will automatically lose 5 points.

All essays should have a thesis statement somewhere in the first few paragraphs. The thesis must be

highlighted, underlined, or otherwise clearly marked. Students who fail to mark their thesis statement will

lose 5 points on the paper. Essays that do not include a thesis statement will receive a 15 point deduction

on the paper.

Students must include an introductory paragraph and a concluding paragraph in the essay. Failure to

include either of these paragraphs will result in a 20 point deduction in your overall grade. Failure to

include both will result in a 40 point deduction.

***I will award 15 points of extra credit to any student who visits the Writing Center for assistance with

their essay. Each student should attach their Writing Center session materials (an edited draft that includes

the Writing Center stamp), to their final draft in order to receive these points. Students who use the online

tutoring can simply submit the draft and documents from the online tutoring session. Students must

complete at least one half hour session at the Writing Center in order to receive these points. In order to

receive these points be sure to attach the copy of the draft that you worked on with the tutor, as well as

your session slip when you submit your final copy to me.

I am happy to look at drafts of essays up until the end of the night on Tues. April 24. After that, there

simply is not enough time for me to get back to people with sufficient feedback. Also, please allow at

least 48 hours for me to get a draft back to you. Essay drafts are not something I can turn around on

demand. It takes me some time to go over them.

***Late papers for the final draft will not be accepted and will be scored as a zero (the essay draft, as well

as other “”drafting” activities can be submitted late, and will be penalized under the course late work

policy).

Communication is key with a large assignment like this. With that in mind, please do not hesitate to

contact me if you have any questions about your essay, or my expectations for the assignment.

Key Dates for Prep Work (75 pts):

1) Thurs. February 1: Topic selections due- Please submit a paper with two potential topics that you

would like to investigate. Let me know which one is your first choice. (5pts)

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2) Thurs. March 1: Bibliography Due (must include at least 8 credible outside sources)- This can be

created in APA, MLA, Chicago, or Turabian format. Think of this as handing in a works cited page. The

goal here is to make sure students have started their research and that they are looking at the right types of

sources for information. You do not have to include any of these sources in your final paper if you

discover sources that are a better fit after this date. (10pts)

3) Thurs. March 15: Introduction and Thesis Due- Please submit a draft of your introductory paragraph

and your thesis statement. The thesis can be included in the introductory paragraph, or written separately

if you intend to place it in one of the subsequent paragraphs. (10pts)

4) Tues. April 3: Essay Draft Due (Min. 1,500 words). Please be aware that the draft does not have to

meet all of the specific format/style guidelines that are required for the final copy (50pts).

5) Tues. May 1: Final Copy Due. Please attach a copy of the draft that I commented on in step 4 along

with your final essay.

Please email me any portions of your prep work before the start of class if you are going to miss class on

the day that they are due. Standard late work policies will apply for any prep work for the essay that is

handed in late.

Final drafts cannot be submitted late and will be scored as a zero if they are not handed in on time.

Everything that you submit for this assignment must be typed.

***The instructor will provide a checklist for students a week or two in advance of the due date for the

final draft. This will help to ensure that students have met all of the requirements for the assignment.