RESEARCH PROJECT: PAPER ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
This assignment is the culmination of the research, planning, and pre-writing you have compelted thus far in the course. The end product of this paper is a final draft of your paper for review by your instructor. Ultimately, this paper will answer the research question you identified in the first module by presenting you conclusions in the form of an organized argument that is supported by scholarly research. The instructions below explain precisely what is expected of the paper.
INSTRUCTIONS
The following are the basic guidelines for the paper:
• The research paper should be between 2,000–2,500 words.
o This minimum and maximum are the range for the paper. You have flexibility within that range, but you must be within it.
o This range does not include the Title Page, Bibliography, or Footnotes. Any words accumulated for those Turabian elements are additional to the minimum/maximum word count.
• The paper should include these basic elements of a paper:
o An Introduction paragraph that introduces the problem within the scholarly context and offers the thesis as the last sentence of the first paragraph. This pargraph should be about 10% of the length of the paepr.
o The Body of the paper should be the supporting paragraphs represented by the outline the student submitted.
Each paragraph of the Body should include a topic sentence, research to support the claim, and a statement that explains how the research relates back to the thesis.
Every paragraph in the body should present research and should cite the research with footnotes.
o The Conclusion of the paper should summarize the main points of the argument without introducing and new information. This paragraph should be about 5-10% of the length of the paper.
• The paper must include at least 8 scholarly references in addition to the Bible.
o These sources should reflect the previous submissions you have used in this course with any recommended changes.
o Sources are introduced with signal tags in the body of the paper.
o Sources should be used in a variety of ways including quotes, summaries, and paraphrases.
o Sources that are not scholarly or are tertiary will not count toward the minimum scholarly research requirement.
o The Bible, while certainly an important source, is not scholarly and should not be included on the Bibliography.
• The paper must be formatted in correct Turabian style using the Notes-Bibliography style. Please see the sample, guide, and template provided through School of Divinity Writing Guide to ensure you format the elements of the paper correctly.
• The paper should not use headings and subheadings as these are typically reserved for longer papers (20+ pages required, or 10+ pages recommended). Since we are less than those guidelines for this course, we will not use them.
Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.
