Problem Solving Essay

Full Paper Title

Your Name

Course Title

Instructor’s Name

Date

Title

Your first paragraph introduces your topic and provides an overview of what you are about to present. (An “Abstract” page usually precedes the first page your paper; I am not, however, requiring you to include this page for the assignments in our class.) A thesis statement should end this paragraph, stating what you will prove in your work. There should be two spaces between each of your sentences and every paragraph should be indented. Use the tab key to indent your paragraphs rather than the space key to ensure that your indent is correct and consistent throughout your paper. The title of your paper should be related to the topic of your paper; it should not be the assignment (i.e.: Week 8 Assignment 3). Subheadings can be used but are not necessary. If used, they should only be a few words long (no sentences) and should be centered above the section that they head.

Your main section will cover the topic points of your paper. Be sure to address each point in the instructions for the assignment. Every source listed on your “References” or “Sources” page should be cited at least once in your paper. Cite your sources by using the last name of the author (or a portion of the title if there is no author) and the date of the publication if you are using APA style ((Author, 2015) or (Title, 2015)).

If you are using SWS (Strayer Writing Standard), use the last name of the Author or a portion of the title and the number reflecting the order you first use the source in your paper. If it is the first source you use, it should be cited parenthetically as follows (Smith, 1). When you use the second source it would be as follows (Jones, 2). Your parenthetical citing should be inside of the period at the end of the sentence to which it refers. “Use quotation marks whenever inserting information that is taken directly from your source and enter it verbatim as it appears in your source” (“…” (Smith, 2015). or “…” (Smith, 3).).

Your last section is your conclusion. Here you will wrap up and end your work. You will state what you have proven and share general reflection on your topic to bring your paper to a close. If the directions say your paper should be 3-4 pages, do not write a 6-8 page paper or a 1 to 2 page paper. I will send papers back to students to be edited down if they are more than a half a page longer than the maximum length of the assignment. If your paper should be 3-4 pages long, do not write a paper less than 3 FULL pages long. A paper that is more than 2 to 3 lines short of the minimum length will lose a letter grade; if it is a half-page or less, it will lose 2 letter grades.

The References or Sources page should look like one of the ones below based on which writing style you are using. Use “References” as the title for APA and use “Sources” as the title for SWS. Both should be bold and centered on the first line of the last page of your paper. Your sources should be listed in alphabetical order if you are using APA; they should be in a numbered list in the order they first appear in your paper if using SWS (first source used is listed first, the second source used is listed second, etc.). Follow SWS for the formatting of each entry; every effort should be made to include the required information in the correct order for each entry. Simply listing a website will not suffice. Be sure to remove the hyperlink (blue underlined text) whenever a website is provided within the entry. Also, enter a space in the website if necessary to prevent it from being forced entirely to the second line of your entry. This will ensure the first line of your entry is a full line.

The entire paper, including cover and References pages should be double spaced and written in 12 point Times New Roman font. SWS gives you the option to use Ariel font or Times New Romans but I want everyone in the class using the same font so the length of your papers is evaluated consistently. MS Word will sometimes add space before and/or after paragraphs; you need to remove this setting to ensure extra space is not being added in your paper. Your margins should be one inch, top to bottom and left to right.

The text of your paper should be justified left, leaving the right side of your paper jagged. Again, your entire paper should be in this format. Do not, as a rule, adjust your cover page from the format shown above unless you first get approval from your professor to do so. Creativity is nice but not if you have not gotten approval to change the expected format of your cover page. Doing so will cause you to lose points from your grade.

One of my goals for each of my students is that they will leave my class writing better than when they came into it. What you put your name on represents you, whether in the classroom or in the office on your job. Make sure what you write is written well and presented well. This guide will help you in that effort.

References

Author, A.A., & Author, B.B. (Year of Publication). Book title. City published, State initials:

Name of Publisher.

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume #

(issue #). Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/.

Name of Article. (Year, Month Day). Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/.

Sources

1. Author, A.A., & Author, B.B. (Year of Publication). Book title. City published, State initials: Name of Publisher.

2. Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume # (issue #). Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/.

3. Name of Article. (Year, Month Day). Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/ url/.