Argumentative Research Paper Guidelines
The basic assignment for the argumentative research paper is that you write a formal academic argumentative research essay, one that is geared to the needs of a Service Learning Partner (SLP). The required length for this paper of 10-12 pages as measured from the first word of the introduction to the final word of your conclusion. In addition to those 12 pages of text, you will also be including preliminary and Reference pages: (1) preliminary pages include the title page, an abstract, a table of contents or formal outline, and a list of figures; (2) Reference pages include a list of all the sources cited in your paper (in this class, this page needs to follow APA citation rules). So, your overall page count for this research paper including the text of your essay, preliminary pages, and Reference pages may be about 20 pages.
The 10-12 page research paper needs to be issue oriented (e.g. ask a question, solve a problem, improve a condition) and the topic needs to be geared in some way to the needs of a service learning partner. For example, an issue oriented paper about the general topic of “dogs” would look at issues within that topic area (training issues, health issues, behavioral problems, enclosure impacts, cruelty, etc.) and tie such an exploration to “serving” a learning partner (a local non-profit group, a local pound, a training facility, etc.). The paper should be supported by research from credible and authoritative sources, which usually means you will be using peer reviewed or professional sources found through UVU library’s databases. One of the key aspects to consider when selecting a topic for research is that it must be focused. Most students use the components of time, space, system, and discipline to create an appropriate focus for their research papers.
Because the paper requires a semester-long research effort, there should be ample evidence in the draft of your paper that you have completed an in-depth research effort among peer reviewed and professional sources. Most students will end up with a range of 20+ cited sources in their paper, averaging 2 or so source citations per page of the research paper. Most paragraphs you write will make reference to support from your research efforts, so while this requirement may seem difficult to achieve at first, it ends up being a natural consequence of writing a 10-12 page paper.
The type of academic research paper required in English 2010 demands that you have completed an in-depth research effort within scholarly and professional research resources and that you have not merely relied on “googled” news, popular magazine, and advocacy group information regarding your topic. In today’s world, any writer can find “googled” sources on any topic within minutes, but this paper requires you to dig deeper into peer reviewed databases. The majority of your sources (i.e. over 80% of them) should come from credible, peer-reviewed academic and professional journals and books that you have discovered by using the UVU library databases presented in the first several weeks of this course.
* Please use the files below to base paper off, the final paper needs to reflect the files below.
* also use the sources provided, others can be added as well