Term Research Paper
The term paper is the bane of al college freshman and rightly so. It is the culminating project that measures how much you managed to learn over the course of the semester. If any final exam could measure your progress faithfully, the term paper would be that exam.
The most important element of this assignment is the subject which you choose to research and use to develop your thesis. If you choose the correct topic and pursue it diligently you will do fine on this assignment. Below are the due dates for each portion of the assignment. If you fail to complete ANY of the pieces of the assignment or miss a meeting it will result in a full letter grade penalty to your term paper final grade.
April 8th: Tentative thesis due. This should be a close approximation of what your final thesis looks like and after this date you may not change the topic for your paper. Submit via the Blog.
April 22nd: Rough Draft Due to be submitted via Boxnet. I will read the rough copies and meet with all of you on April 25th
April 25th: Rough Draft Meeting. You will need to bring in a Works Cited page and HARD COPY of all your sources. Be prepared to discuss any and all aspects of your sources and paper. By this point your essay should be organized and need revision. Don’t come without your resources as you will lose credit for the meeting.
May 9th: Final draft of Term Paper due. No essays will be accepted after this date. Make sure that your essay includes all of the following:
1. 5-10 pages of researched writing
2. Strong thesis which is present throughout your essay
3. All research formatted according to MLA guidelines including Works Cited page.
4. Hard Copy of all sources used on your Works Cited page.
5. Enclosed in a labeled manila file folder available for purchase at the Lac for ten cents.
Research: We will spend some time in the computer lab going over how to use and access the research databases available at the college. These will be invaluable to you as you complete your research. We will discuss which sources are viable for your paper and which are not. A good rule to follow is to avoid dot com sources at all costs.
