You will write a 1,500–1,750-word current APA-formatted final paper on the student affairs issue of student debt. The paper must include a minimum of 15 scholarly sources, 3 of which must be current (within the past 5 years), empirical, peer-reviewed journal articles. You must synthesize all research into a well-blended paper that clearly addresses the research question/topic, and provides insight into best practices/strategies to address the issue, or improve the issue, with the intent of improving the overall Department of Student Affairs. Review the Student Affairs Issue Project: Research Paper Grading Rubric to note how this assignment will be evaluated. Paper Components: Your paper must include the information outlined below. 1. Title Page a. Title: The title summarizes the paper and its focus. The title must be clear enough to give the reader an idea of what to expect in your paper. Avoid statements that sound vague or flippant. b. Other Title Page Information: • Student Name • Institution 2. Abstract a. Write a well-written paragraph (100–120 words). b. The Abstract is written last. The content is to be a synopsis of the main findings of your paper. Consider this paragraph an abridged version of your full paper. 3. Body Paragraphs and Headings To ensure that your paper meets the requirements of the rubric, the following elements must be clearly identified with headings. Introduction a. Although not labeled with a heading on your paper, this section will introduce your topic and provide your specific research question that will be developed throughout the paper (250 words). b. Discuss what interested you about this topic. Give a broad overview of the scope of the work you are reviewing. c. Best practice is to place the research question at the end of the introduction. In doing so, you are creating a transition for the rest of the paper that supports your topic. Importance a. Discuss why this issue is important to study. b. Defend the importance of the topic. Give a broad overview of the scope of the work you are reviewing. Clarify what the issue is you are looking at and the importance it has from your perspective. Significance a. What significant impact does this issue have on a student affairs department? b. Why is this topic significant or worthwhile to study? c. What, if anything, can be learned from this topic? Impact a. How does this topic relate to current practices? b. What important questions are answered today based on your topic? c. What has been learned from your study? Biblical Worldview a. From a biblical-worldview perspective, what are the issues this topic presents? b. Offer alternative ideas which incorporate a solid, biblical-worldview perspective. The use of Scripture is appropriate in this section. Conclusion a. Your conclusion must relate to the introduction in some way so that your paper displays coherence. b. If your introduction included a metaphor, quote, theme, etc., you may integrate that content once again. c. A minimum of 250 words is expected. 4. References a. Use a variety of sources, such as the following: • Textbooks for this course • Your methods and psychology textbooks • The Bible For citing religious texts include the translation (in italics), original translation date/republished date, and the passage reference (., (New American Standard, 1960/1995, 1 Peter 1:1)). Reference entry: King James Bible (2017). King James Bible Online. (Original work published 1769) • Educational journals • Books you have read that have influenced your worldview or educational philosophy b. Do not use Wikipedia or other wiki-type pages as sources in an academic paper. Because it is an open environment, the information is constantly being changed by registered users and is not always reliable. c. Include at least 15 scholarly references, and make sure at least 3 of the references are scholarly journal articles. Variation of references is important; use at least 1 book, 1 academic journal, and 1 online source. 5. Point Of View When writing in current APA style, you may use the first-person point of view when discussing your opinions or what you have learned from writing your paper (“I learned…”). 6. Tense Current APA style requires authors to use the past tense or present perfect tense when using signal phrases to describe earlier research, for example, “Jones (1998) found…” or “Jones (1998) has found…” 7. Pronoun Usage Common writing problems include pronoun-antecedent agreement and the gender issue of “he or she.” 8. Gender Issue It is considered sexist if you repeatedly use singular antecedents and follow them up with masculine pronouns. For example, “Each teacher should manage his own classroom.” It is also problematic if you redundantly use “he or she” and “his or her.” (Do not use “he/she” or “his/her.”) 9. Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement a. Pronouns must agree in number with their antecedents. It is incorrect to write, “Each teacher [singular] should manage their [plural] own classroom.” b. To assist in avoiding both of these problems, it is recommended that you write in plural as consistently as possible. For instance, use students, principals, teachers, parents, schools, etc., instead of their singular counterparts. Follow these antecedents up with “they” or “their.” This avoids the gender issue altogether. c. When you find that you must use a singular, you may periodically use “he or she” or simply restructure the sentence to avoid the “he or she” if possible. Rare use of this phrase is acceptable. 10. Academic Integrity Plagiarized papers will be rejected. The following tips will help you avoid any problems with plagiarism: a. Direct Quotations: No more than 10 percent of your paper may be made up of direct quotations. Short quotations must be in quotation marks, and longer quotations must be indented. If you do not set off direct quotations in this manner and cite them, you have plagiarized. b. Ideas and Facts: If the idea or fact is not your own, you must cite its source. When not directly quoting, you should summarize or analyze the idea in your own words.
