1. 100 points
Purpose
:
The goals of this assignment are to help you:
become more knowledgeable about finding and using
varied research sources
in
your major
.
further develop your
critical thinking skills
and
back up your points with evidence
.
become more adept at
synthesizing information
and
developing informed views
.
discipline yourself to
follow a scholarly research format
to
document in-text sources
and a
reference page (bibliography).

2. compose a
well-organized, clear, concise
,
research paper
to expand your knowledge on a subject in your major.
Preparation
:
Follow through with the research done on your selected topic.
Research information regarding topic for research essay.
Provide pre-writing/outline for research essay.
Follow APA guidelines for final product of research essay.
Participate in the forum discussion for commentary on research
essay.
Writing Task
:
Write an six to eight-page, Times New Roman, 12-point font,
typed, double-spaced APA-guidelined research essay. The
student writer will...
Clearly state a thesis that indicates where writer stands on the
issue.
Produce an introduction (that includes the thesis), body (3-4

3. paragraphs), and conclusion.
Provide substantial examples for each point, accurately using
quotations and citations for at least seven outside varied
sources.
Incorporate good transition words/phrases throughout essay,
allowing readers to follow writer in a cohesive/coherent
manner.
Use of counterarguments to summarize and refute opposing
positions.
A conclusion that emphasizes your central idea without being
too repetitive.
See rubric attached for grading criteria.
DIRECTIONS:
[You will need to check out the library’s databases to do this
assignment. Do not expect to get all of our resources off the
Internet.]
FIRST STEP:
At this point, you should have already started brainstorming and
doing some initial research. For additional assistance, please
feel free to read Virginia Montecino’s, "
Help with Writing Research Papers
”
(http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/writ-pap.htm), which can be
very helpful.
I. Research Paper Proposal:
At this point, you will have already submitted a research paper

4. proposal. If anything has changed, please attach a copy of the
final proposal to the end of the final version of your research
paper to be turned in with your final draft.
II. Research Paper:
Your research paper must be
your own work.
Please review the
CSUSB policy on academic dishonesty
and
the form
I will have to fill out if you do not follow the policy.
Topic:
Your research paper project begins with a fact finding search
on some
current
issue in your major to advance your knowledge. After you
brainstorm about possible subjects and then select one, narrow
your topic down to a manageable issue. Investigate possible
approaches to your chosen topic and map out your strategy.
Your final product will be judged on how well you succeed in
producing a well thought out, clear paper which shows you can
interpret and intelligently discuss the issue and how well you
can back up your findings with evidence.
Science and technology rapidly advances; therefore, "old
"stuff," other than as background information, can be
misleading and lead to wrong conclusions. Look for possible
topics and background information in specialized
encyclopedias, such as
McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, Magill's
Survey of Science: Life Science Series, Encyclopedia of
Computer Science and Technology, American Medical
Association Encyclopedia of Medicine.
Encyclopedias should not be your main sources, but can give

5. you good background information and clarify concepts. If you
are taking a course in your major this semester, you can
research a topic for that course.
Approach:
Your paper does not have a chance to be substantive unless you
have substantive sources. Find
5 to 7 VARIED
(
NOT
all Internet sites, for example) sources - including professional
journal articles and professional publications, Internet sources,
and possibly (but not required) an interview. It is a balancing
act to find sources that you can understand - that relate to your
level of study in your discipline, and, at the same time,
challenge you intellectually. In this paper I do not want you to
try and solve a problem or necessarily reach a conclusion. What
I am looking for is evidence that you can gather a body of
knowledge on a particular subject, narrow it down to a
particular focus and show that you can synthesize the
information and make some intelligent, insightful observations
about the subject. What I don 't want is just a regurgitation of
information strung together. A significant part of the paper
should be your interpretation of the information and how your
knowledge about the subject has been enriched.
Your paper should contain these parts:
Introduction:
Your introductory material should set up your topic for your
audience. Briefly summarize your findings on the subject - If
the sources disagree about the value of or perspective on the
subject, point out the areas of disagreement. Your introduction
should not meander around the point of your paper. It may be
more than one paragraph in length, but at some point, very early
in the paper you then need to start the substance of the paper.

6. Your thesis should come at the end of your introductory
material. State your thesis in the form of a sentence or two.
It should
not be in the form of a question.
Your thesis should be a brief statement, in your own words, that
points out the major issues about this topic that you discovered
in your research. If you can't articulate in a sentence or two
what your main point is, then you probably don't have a good
idea of what you will be writing about.
Body of Paper:
Use subheadings, where appropriate, to separate different
aspects of your paper which support your controlling idea (your
thesis). The body of your paper should provide supporting
evidence to support your thesis, in a logical, fully developed
manner. For each new topic which supports your overall thesis,
provide a topic sentence or two which is, in effect, the thesis for
that sub-topic. If you do not use subheadings, you need to
provide transition sentences to move your reader from one
paragraph to the next. Your supporting sub-topics should
address these issues: How will this knowledge advance science
or technology or society - not in broad, abstract ways, but in
concrete ways? What is the major impact of these findings?
How will they affect people? What are the benefits to people?
Are there any disadvantages? For example, if you are a nursing
major, you might summarize findings on various treatment
options or recent research findings for a particular medical
condition. A computer science major might address a particular
technology breakthrough with its plusses and minuses in
application.
A writer of a research paper should synthesize the information
gained from sources and weave them into a well ordered
discourse, using the sources as evidence to support key points.
A paper which is just a string of quotes shows that the author

7. made no attempt to come to grips with the subject and is relying
on the sources to speak for her or him.
Conclusion:
Your conclusion should make some "wrap up" statements about
what you learned about your chosen topic and the possible
impact of your findings on people and perhaps society in
general. Also, address any issues that may still not be resolved
for you. Don't be reluctant to address any issues that aren't
easily resolved or have negative or ambiguous outcomes. I am
not necessarily looking for a neatly wrapped up conclusion with
no loose ends. I am looking for a conscientious, thoughtful look
at some topic in your field, sharing of the major significance of
this issue, and any unanswered questions, if any, you are still
dealing with.
***************************************
Audience:
Your paper should be understood by a broader audience than
scholars in your field - for example, your classmates. You will
have to explain concepts and not expect your audience to
understand in-house jargon. Have a target audience in mind.
Who would be interested in and benefit from your treatment of
the subject? By anticipating your audience, you can anticipate
the kinds of questions that may arise.
Format: APA
(American Psychological Association) style.
Length -
6
to
8
double-spaced pages of text (not including graphics, cover
page, appendices, or reference page). Remember: eight

8. "rambling" pages is
not
better than six clear, fully developed pages.
Margins - 1-inch top, bottom, left, right
Cover Page -
in
APA
style (which should include your name, course and section,
date, my name. The title should give your audience a good idea
of what your paper is about - not tease your audience. For
example, a clear title might be: The Internet - Changing the
Way Students Learn and Teachers Teach.
Pagination:
Put page numbers in top right hand corner of each page,
including the cover page. Please follow
APA Style
.
Sources:
Be sure to utilize the
CSUSB Library
’s online databases for searching for your sources.
Use a minimum of five (5)
varied and as current as appropriate
sources - for example, journals in your major, Internet sources,
interviews (no textbooks, please or encyclopedias - unless they
are specialized encyclopedias in your field of study and you are
using them for definitions of concepts. Encyclopedia and
similar sources should be in addition to the five (5) minimum.
Books (often outdated by the time they get published) are
generally poor sources for scientific subjects except for
background info. Trade magazines or special interest group

9. sources have built in biases, but can have some valuable
information. But, for example, if you are writing about the
value of advertising on the Internet, a company whose product
is Internet advertisements would probably not be an objective
source, but might be a good source for showing what is being
done with Internet advertising. But you would have to point out
the possible biased interest of the source. Check the source of
all information for reliability. Is the Internet site sanctioned by
a reputable institution or organization? Does the person you
interview have credentials and experienced with your subject?
Does he or she have a built in bias you need to address in your
paper? What biases of your own may you have to be aware of to
produce a scholarly look at this subject?
Documentation:
Follow the online
APA
Style Guide (latest version) for documenting the sources in
your text and your Reference Page. If you are unsure about a
particular source, we can discuss it.
Use parenthetical citations (citation information in text between
parenthesis) for information that is someone's opinion and is not
common knowledge. Give parenthetical citation information for
quotations and paraphrases. Include page number for direct
quotes. APA requires the date be included in in-text citations:
As Smith (1993) stated, "magazines for the general public
generally have less reliable evidence than scholarly or
professional journals" (p. 2).
OR
As Smith said, "magazines for the general public generally have
less reliable information than scholarly or professional
journals" (1993, p. 2).

10. Paraphrased version:
Magazines written for a lay audience tend to have less
objective information than that found in scholarly publications
(Smith, 1993).
NOTE:
There are no quotation marks or page number for a paraphrase.
Paraphrasing means
restating in your own words
the original author's EXACT meaning -
not just rearranging words
in the author's original text. You can embed a short quote of a
key phrase in paraphrased material and give the page number of
the quote.
It is poor form to begin a paragraph or a sentence with a
quotation - letting the source speak for you instead of
incorporating the source into your text. For example, here is an
example of poor form, which shows no input from the writer of
the paper. He or she is just writing what the original author
said, without trying to paraphrase the information or, at the very
least setting up the quote in context:
"The proliferation of multiple births in this country speaks to
the need to formulate ethics guidelines to regulate the fertility
clinics" (Jones, 1997, p. 82).
An example of a more graceful form of setting up a quote is:
Because of significant number of multiple births in the United
States, Jones points out that this country needs to "formulate
ethics guidelines to regulate the fertility clinics" (1997, p. 82-
84).
All sources in your research paper, like the examples above, are
not only documented in the body of your paper, but must also be

11. listed in the proper format on the References page.
Use quotes judiciously.
Use them only when paraphrasing will make the statement
unclear or a kernel of an idea is so perfectly stated that trying to
paraphrase in your own words will ruin the impact of the
statement. See the
APA Style
Guides
for how to handle long quotes
Appendices:
Graphics or charts should only be used if they can clarify some
concept in your paper. Don't use them just for a "flashy" effect
or for "gee whiz" value. If you include large graphics or charts,
include each on a separate appendix page and label each one A,
B, and so on. Refer to such appendices in the text where you
discuss that issue. Graphs, charts, and appendices are not
included as pages of text. They must be in addition to the
6
to
8
pages.
© Virginia Montecino Jan 1997
You may use this assignment if you attribute the source and
include the URL
http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/researchpap.htm