Module 5:

Your essay will contain a Works Cited page with a minimum of ten sources. The research project requires that you examine a current issue, take a position concerning that issue, and argue your position with logical reasoning and sound evidence. Your ten-page research paper should include ten (minimum) different sources, a variety of citations (mostly quoted and some paraphrases), and must include at least one long quotation longer than five lines and no more than three long quotes. Each of your ten sources needs to show up somewhere in your paper. All papers use the MLA documentation format. Seventy-five percent (75%) of your sources must be accessed from the college library. You may use medical journals, government documents, the internet, books, etc. Do not use internet sources (or any sources) that do not give the credentials of the writer or the name of the supporting organization. Do not use an encyclopedia, Wikipedia, or blogs. Articles from sources such as Playboy, The Enquirer, or Reader’s Digest or Pro and Con,org are not appropriate for academic research, Save copies of your sources, as a file, with pertinent information highlighted. This must be included with the final draft. A Works Cited page must also be attached to the essay. Omission of source copies and/or the works cited page will result in an automatic “F” for this paper. In-text citations should properly match Works Cited. The paper contains no more than 35% of outside source material. (At least 65% of the paper needs to be your own ideas and writing.) All summaries, paraphrases and quotes should be correctly documented. The paper should be carefully proofread.

Topics:

Topics must be two sided where there is a clear “for” side and an “against” side. It must be a current debatable topic where there are credible experts (represented in peer reviewed journals) on both sides of the issue. Some banned topics are: Gay Marriage, Marijuana Legalization, Creation vs. Evolution, Stem Cell Research, Lowering the Drinking Age, Capital Punishment, Euthanasia, and any others that have been done over and over. Topics must be approved by the instructor!!! It is highly encouraged you pick a topic within your major or for which you have a passion.