Description

Essay 3: The Term Paper Instructions

I will refer to this essay by different names—sometimes “Essay 3,” sometimes “the Term Paper,” and sometimes “the Research Paper.” Know that all three names refer to the same assignment.

Essay 3, the Term Paper, uses sources acquired to write your Annotated Bibliography, and it employs your better understanding of your topic for having read widely in the area you have chosen. Essay 3 is the fully developed culmination of your semester of exploration and research.

Because Turnitin.com will flag language from Essay 2 as plagiarized, we cannot reuse that writing here. All of the language of Essay 3 must be brand new in order to avoid a charge of plagiarism.

The paper must be both informative and argumentative (thesis takes a stand which claims support), and it will conform to the following conventions:

·         Written in Edited American English

·         APA documentation style applied

·         12pt., Times New Roman font

·         Double-spaced consistently

·         Applies what you have learned this semester of synthesis/conversation between texts/adding your voice to the conversation [these lessons are forthcoming]

·         Begins with an original title

·         Thesis is a statement, not a question, is only one sentence long, and it takes a stand

·         Topic sentences/claims should be in your words, not quotes pulled from sources

·         Adheres to conventions of formal writing

·         Is well-organized, applying Classical, Toulmin, or Rogerian methods of development [these lessons are forthcoming]

·         Uses at least one source per body paragraph

·         Uses at least two sources per page of text

·         Uses at least one direct quotation per body paragraph

·         Only uses sources pulled from U.S. Major Dailies, Academic Search Complete (  EBSCO), JSTOR, or another approved library research database. Consult with Professor Brown if you wish to work outside of this list.

·         D2L upload required

·         Contains 2 unique sources per page, so 12 to 16 sources, total

·         Contains correctly formatted in-text citations

·         Ends with a correctly formatted “References” page or pages

Remember, make certain your topic is neither too broad nor too narrow. Be specific where needed, and know that great research begins with a great question.

Length requirement: At least 6 full pages of text plus cover page, abstract, and references

Early Draft Due: 

8/5, but earlier uploads are welcome as soon as the dropbox opens

Upload the final draft to the Drop Box in D2L for a Turnitin.com originality check and grading in .doc, .docx, or .rtf format. I will not upload electronic copies of your papers to D2L since this constitutes extra work for me, and therefore undercuts my class preparation and grading time. If you wish to receive credit for your work, make certain to submit the final draft on the due date, as required.

All student work for this course must be original to the student and original to the course. If clear evidence of academic dishonesty is found for any assignment, a 0 (0 points) for the assignment will be recorded. If a second incident of academic dishonesty occurs, an F for the course grade will be recorded.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the act of copying someone else’s writing and/or ideas and submitting them as your own. Cutting and pasting work from the internet into your paper without the use of quotation marks and citation constitutes cheating. Copying from any source without proper attribution constitutes cheating, whether the student lifts a phrase, a line, a paragraph, a page, or an entire essay. See the Lone Star College System note on Academic Integrity toward the end of the syllabus for further definitions. As per English Department policy, if I catch one act of plagiarism, the offending paper/assignment will receive a grade of “0” and the dean will receive notification of the offense. A second act of plagiarism will result in failure of the course and notification of the college. Students must submit all essays to Turnitin.com when they turn in final drafts. Students must avoid plagiarism in all written work for the course. If I allow you to resubmit a corrected version of the first instance of a plagiarized paper, it will receive no higher than half credit (for example, a 50 on a 100 point scale), and as stated above, a second instance of plagiarism results in failure of the course.