Overview:
Should you miss any exam prior to the final exam, you must submit a 2000-word essay comparing two books, besides those required for the course, relevant to that section of the course that the exam you missed covered. Class texts do not count for this assignment. If you miss the final exam, you will receive a zero.
Length: Minimum 2000 words.
Presentation:
Use Microsoft Word to write your paper. No use of AI mechanisms is permitted for exams, makeup papers, or other assignments.
Focus:
You are to compare and contrast two books that deal with one of the topics covered by the exam you missed. The books and articles must be different that the required texts for the course.
Focus:
You are to compare and contrast two books that deal with one of the topics covered by the exam you missed. The books must be different that the required texts for the course.
Substantive Format:
The introductory paragraph should indicate the purpose of your paper and how you will organize the sections of your paper. Use section headings in bold print to differentiate the sections of your paper.
Summarize the themes of the first text in the first section – minimum 650 words.
Summarize the themes of the second text in the second section – minimum 650 words.
Compare and contrast the themes of the two texts – minimum 700 words.
Provide a conclusion to your paper.
Stylistic Format:
• Write your paper in Microsoft Word – 12 point font & one inch margins.
• Provide a topic statement in the first paragraph of your paper.
• In your subsequent paragraph, discuss how your paper will be organized into sections and what those sections cover.
• Divide your paper into sections and give each section a title in bold print.
• Make sure your paper has a clear conclusion, preferably in a separate section.
• Close paraphrases as well as quotations need to be referenced either by a parenthetical reference which then points to a Works Cited list at the end of your paper.
• Number the pages of your paper.
Documentation:
You must provide a reference for all quotations and close paraphrases that you use in your research paper. Use quotations to reinforce points you have already made, not to make points. When quoting or using close paraphrases from your research source, use the “Author-Date System” reviewed in Schmidt 2005 (3rd Edition), Writing in the Political Science: A Practical Guide, New York: Pearson Education 153-61. Be sure to include page numbers, when possible, in these references. For instance, if the two authors you are comparing are Smith and Jones and the dates for their texts are respectively 2000 & 2002, you would reference their works as follows: (Smith 2000, page#) & (Jones 2002, page#). At the end of your paper, provide a Works Cited page that gives complete references to the two books you are comparing.
Illustrations:
Write your essay in your own voice, but use passages from these texts to substantiate the points you are making. When you cite direct passages from the text to amplify points, at the end of the passage put in parentheses (Burke 2002, p.6). You should use quotations to give examples of points you have already made, not to make the point itself. Therefore, before any quotation, there should be a lead-in sentence on your part that culminates in a colon, after which is the quotation.
Example- Brother Francis is a stellar example of the Augustinian notion of the pilgrim who seeks the City of God, especially when he undertakes to take his tapestry to New Rome: “[passage from the text]” (Miller 1997, page number of passage).
Quotations over one sentence long should be indented from both margins. At the end of your paper, put a reference in the Works Cities list at the end of your paper:
Miller, Walter M. 1997. A Canticle For Leibowitz. New York: Bantam Books.
Note how the lead work in the parenthetical reference “Miller” points to the first word, “Miller” in your parenthetical reference. Your readers should not have to go on a fishing expedition to find the source your parenthetical reference points to in your Works Cited list.
Finally, I not only want you to provide references for direct quotations, but for paraphrases – narratives which are in your voice but are very close in content to the original source. Consequently, you should have a lot of parenthetical references in your paper.
Citing Sources:
For citing sources and especially website sources, utilize the Purdue Online Writing Lab at https://owl.english.purdue.edu/
Whether you use, MLA, APA, APSA, or Chicago Manual formats, I want your parenthetical references to include, Author, Date, and Page Number. If the electronic source does not have page numbers, then you obviously cannot provide a page number. However, if you find a scholarly article or a scholarly monograph from a website, then you need to provide the page number of the article/book in your parenthetical reference and for the article, the complete page numbers for the article in your Works Cited list.
Stylistic “Red Flags”
The following practices will lead to severe deductions in the grade for this assignment:
Not providing parenthetical references in the body of the paper and/or a Works Cited list in the body of your paper.
Not putting your Works Cited entries in alphabetical order.
One-page paragraphs in the body of your paper.
Not dividing your paper into sections and not providing section titles for these sections.
Not stapling your papers.
Not providing page numbers.
Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism (Substantive “Red Flag”):
As a student, you are a member of an academic community and are expected to uphold principles of academic honesty. Academic misconduct, cheating, plagiarism, collusion,
fabrication, and other academic violations will be dealt with according to Alamo Colleges policy. As Earl Babbie puts it, plagiarism is “the theft of another’s words and/or ideas – whether
intentional or accidental [my emphasis] – and the presentation of those words and ideas as your own” (Babbie, 2002, The Basics of Social Research, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson
Learning, 430-31). To learn how to avoid plagiarism, consult Schmidt 2002, Writing in Political Science, New York: Pearson Longman, 133-41.
Other Style Concerns:
• One-inch margins on all sides of the paper.
• Double-spacing in a 12-point word processing font.
• Be sure to staple your paper together before submitting it.
• Put a page number on each page.
• Avoid run-on sentences, sentence fragments, one-sentence paragraphs, and one-page paragraphs.
• Omit contractions, such as “isn’t”; instead use “is not.”
• Avoid slang or conversational wording unless they have an essential
bearing on your topic. Elevate your style above normal conversation.
• Omit ridicule and arrogance.
• Avoid excessive use of commas, semi-colons, and quotations.
• Check for spelling errors by use of dictionary or word processing spell checker; divide words where appropriate.
• Summarize after an extended quote within the same paragraph. If a quote is more than three lines, single space and indent.
• Include first name with the last name of a person when he/she is first stated.
• Eliminate unnecessary words or sentences.
• Do not raise unnecessary questions that you cannot answer or make
unnecessary assertions that you cannot prove.
• Avoid excessive use of one source.
• Avoid plagiarism. Carefully document and mention others’ ideas.
• Be careful with possessives (e.g., its, not it’s; men’s, not mens, etc.)
· Do not use profanity
