The Term Paper is a comprehensive semester-long project. Students will complete this project in the steps described below. Your Term Paper is your major contribution, where you will exhibit your learning. Students will individually select a nonprofit organization, assess its effectiveness and make recommendations to improve its strategic plan through the approaches, principles and methods learning in the class. You are free to choose an organization that you are familiar with, including an organization for which you have already worked.
This paper will incorporate important concepts and frameworks introduced throughout the course and will demonstrate the students’ ability to understand and properly apply these concepts in real-life contexts.
Parameters and guidelines for the term paper are as follows:
Select a nonprofit organization for in-depth analysis. Please do not use material you have written from a previous course – this will likely increase your similarity score, which could become a plagiarism issue, as discussed below. Please carefully review the section below on Turnitin & Plagiarism to avoid receiving a 0 grade for similarity.
The term paper should be at least 1,500 words. Please keep in mind that the word count requirements point out the minimum amount of effort that should be put into the paper. Word count isn’t everything because quality of writing and research matters as well, but it is an indication of the quantity of effort put into the assignment. Note that word count does not include title, abstract, or reference pages. Not following this requirement will significantly impact the grade.
You should support your paper with at least 3 scholarly peer-reviewed references in addition to your eText for a minimum of 4 total references. Be sure to go to: https://berkeleycollege.libguides.com/scholarlysourcesLinks to an external site. to help you find references.
Use scholarly peer-reviewed references rather than websites. Scholarly references are generally more credible and make a more persuasive argument. Non-academic websites are not typically recommended for academic writing. While most of the information generally is correct, it is not always reliable because anyone can change the content, bias is often present, and it is not peer-reviewed. For example, it’s best not to use news websites, Wikipedia, investopedia.com, about.com, smallbusiness.chron.com, huffingtonpost.com, ehow.com, forbes.com, cnn.com, online encyclopedias, or similar non-academic websites. Articles in these types of websites are written by reporters or individuals who may or may not be experts in the field, and consequently may have incorrect or biased information. Instead, it adds much more credibility to use the class eText, other related textbooks, and peer-reviewed articles, i.e. scholars have analyzed and evaluated the content for accuracy, quality, and reliability. Be sure to use the university library to help you find these types of scholarly references. The library has a setting in database searches that allow you to search for peer-reviewed articles only.
It is acceptable to use a company website for research, say for example if you are researching Salvation Army, it’s ok to use www.salavationarmy.org to describe their mission, strategy, volunteerism, funding, etc.
The Term Paper should be well organized and encompass the above subject and content guidelines, and an electronic copy of the project should be submitted via Turnitin.
The Term Paper structure should be as follows:
Background and Context: Discuss type of industry, products/services, and how organizational vision and strategies have influenced their history.
Analysis: Review your eText and focus on 2-3 chapters that really interest you in regard to this organization, e.g. governance, executive leadership, developing strategy, managing staff and volunteers, marketing and communications, lobbying, fundraising, etc. Describe and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your organization in relation to these topics. Be sure to utilize key nonprofit terms and principles learned in class and how they relate to the organization.
Recommendations: Your recommendations for the next 1-2 years of the organization. How can they capitalize on their strengths and how can they improve in their weaknesses? Ensure that these align with the organization’s vision and values.
Turnitin & Plagiarism
Please note that your rough draft and final draft will be checked by Turnitin for similarity. It is essential to use your own words, carefully paraphrase, minimize quoting, and fully review the plagiarism policy before submitting. For similarity higher than 15%, it is possible that your paper will receive a 0 if plagiarism has occurred.
Paraphrasing is recommended rather than quoting. Here is a great source on how to paraphrase effectively: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/619/1/Links to an external site. Please review each of the six steps and the examples to compare. As you proofread your work, check each direct quote and determine if it is actually needed (almost always, it won’t be). If not, it is better and more credible to demonstrate that you have thought through the material by paraphrasing it.
Work from previous Classes
It is not allowed to use word-for-word research from previous classes. Reusing substantial portions of your own work from a previous class is called self-plagiarism…
Definition of self-plagiarism: The act of using part or all of an assignment you submitted in another course without permission from your current instructor or without citing your work correctly.
Scenarios in which you may reuse prior course work:
Scenario A: If you withdrew or received an F and are retaking the class you are allowed to reuse papers from that course. You must inform your instructor of your intent to reuse this paper before submitting.
Scenario B: If you want to use a small portion of a paper from a prior course that you feel would aid in communicating information in this current course, you must secure permission from your instructor and cite your information according to the APA Style Guide. These requests are rarely approved, since each assignment is unique and designed to offer an opportunity for you to expand on your knowledge of the subject matter rather than recycle prior information.
