Research Paper
Requirement: The primary goal of the research paper is to demonstrate the students scholarly comprehension of the concepts and theories associated with the study of American Government.
Papers are required to be analytical, rather than narrative, biographical, or your opinion. Students are expected to thoroughly explore their selected topic and detail how their specific subject is affected by political and social history. This exercise in critical inquiry and research should result in a paper of at least six pages with a minimum of eight citations (at least five from scholarly sources).
Format: Academic. Introduction, body (with subheadings), and conclusion. Papers must be posted in Canvas/Assignments. A cover or title page, and the reference page do not count toward the minimum page count.
Papers will be considered late if posted in Canvas after the due date, the last day of our class (not on the Exam date). Penalty for a late paper is one point deduction for each day it is late.
Paper must include a bibliography of at least eight (8) sources. Authoritative sources are the text book, academic books, academic articles, national newspapers and popular journals available through Tulanes library. Do not rely solely on Internet sources. DO NOT USE WIKIPEDIA AS A SOURCE!!!
Important: You must cite ideas that are not your own. With the exception of lecture material, when you borrow information from a source, you must provide citations within the text for your sources as well as listing them in a bibliography. Failure to cite authors, articles, books or Internet sites that you borrow information from is considered plagiarism and is against the honor code. The bottom line is this: be intellectually honest when you use someone elses material to help develop a position in your paper. PAPERS THAT DO NOT CONTAIN CITATIONS IN THE BODY OF THE TEXT WILL BE CONSIDERED PLAGIARIZED. Include the year of publication.
