Running Head: Long Title of Your Paper

Short Title 1

Running head: Long Title of your Paper

Long title of your paper

Presented in partial fulfillment of

Course Number

Course Title

Semester and Year

Amridge University

Your Name

Professor Scott Graverson Short Title 2

Abstract

Your abstract should describe your paper to the extent that the reader is interested in reading the entire paper. It should be no more that 250 – 300 words and should contain the topic of your research, its purpose, your hypothesis (or what your intend to show in your research), and a brief conclusion. Short Title 3

Introduction

Provide a brief, two to three paragraph introduction of your topic. State the purpose of your research, what you hope to prove (or reveal to the reader), and why your research is important. State these objectives clearly and succinctly. Remember your

ABC’s (Accuracy, Brevity, and Clarity).

Main Point One

If you wish, you can provide a brief review of literature relevant to your research.

Remember to use reliable sources. Scholarly, peer-reviewed, or unbiased sources are best. These may include reputable trade magazines, publications from professional organizations such as the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) or IEEE. Next preferred are trade publications; least preferred are unofficial or unedited publications and/or websites. If you choose to interweave your literature review into the main body, that is fine as well. Each main point should have a header to help your reader follow your train of thought. The header is centered on the page, uppercase and lower case without a period at the end. You can follow the outline you developed in your prospectus as your guide.

Major Sub Point One

The first and subsequent supporting major sub points also have a heading to help the reader follow your logic. The header is left justified and italicized, upper and lower case, without a period at the end. Short Title 4

Major Sub Point Two

Again, this is a major sub point to support Main Point One. As with the main point, the major sub points will correlate to the outline you developed.

Minor sub point one.

The minor sub points support (if necessary) the preceding major sub point; in this case, this would support major sub point two. The heading has the first letter capitalized, is indented ½”, italicized, and has a period at the end.

Minor sub point two.

If you have one sub point, you should have at least one more to back it up.

How To Write Scholarly Research

When presenting research, you are an unbiased, objective observer. Much like an attorney, the author’s objective is to present an argument based in fact, not opinion, to the reader. This allows the reader to critically evaluate the researcher’s methods, presentation, and argument and decide for him or herself if the argument is valid.

The Attorney Analogy

When presenting a case before a judge or jury, an attorney will cite both laws enacted by authorities and case law as previously adjudicated by prior trials. As an example, if an attorney believes the authorities violated their client’s rights by an illegal search and seizure, the attorney would argue to the judge based upon the fourth amendment of the constitution that forbids law enforcement from entering a citizen’s residence without probable cause. Further, the attorney can cite a previous case (The Short Title 5

State v. Jones, 1999) in which similar circumstances occurred which prompted the judge to disallow the evidence.

In a similar fashion, the researcher relies upon the work of his or her predecessors in the field, to, “Stand on the shoulders of giants,” as it were, to build a body of evidence to support the researcher’s claim. This can be used to prove a point (or hypothesis), or to lead the reader to believe one way or another, or to simply inform or educate the reader on a new theory or technology.

Proper Writing Techniques

As with any profession, scholars use their own language and format. Previously, this paper has described general APA 5th format. Notice that there is a cover page, an abstract page, then the actual research itself. Following the research will be a bibliography with a list of sources the researcher used to formulate their argument.

Most scholars will read research in this order:

1. Abstract – to see if the research is worth reading or supports the point

the researcher is trying to make.

2. References – to see if the research is built on a solid foundation (see

section in reference to preferred references). If the references are mainly

unedited journals or biased websites, the research will likely be biased

as well.

3. The research itself, usually Introduction, Conclusions, then the body of

the research. Short Title 6

Proper use of voice.

Researchers should write their research in third person, past tense, active voice.

Using pronouns such as “I” or “you” (first and second person, respectively) removes the objective nature of research. Refer to yourself as, “this researcher,” if absolutely necessary; however, if the research is truly objective, it will be written by other authors

(your references) to provide a foundation that those who are experts in the field have already laid.

Since the research being referenced has already been written, referencing it will naturally be in the past tense. As an example, one might write, “According to a study conducted by Jones and Smith (1999), IT professionals are ...” Writing in active voice is somewhat more challenging. Often, authors place the action of the verb onto the subject of the sentence instead of the object of the sentence. “The car was driven to the lake” is an example of passive voice. “Jack and Jill drove the car to the lake” is an example of active voice.

Spelling and grammar count.

Before the question is asked, yes, spelling and grammar count. This is a college course, and this professor expects students to be able to spell (or at least use spell check), and to use proper grammar and sentence structure. While these elements do not comprise a large portion of the grade, they are counted.

Format.

Use this template for your research paper. Use the styles and formatting function in Microsoft Word to help guide your paper. Notice that each of the heading use the Short Title 7 format provided in Heading 1, Heading 2, and Heading 3. The References are formatted using the Bibliography format in the Styles and Formatting function. Likewise, the

Normal Style is set for Times New Roman 12 pitch. The Short Title at the top of each page is modified by double clicking on the words “Short Title.” This will open the

Headers and Footers menu.

Conclusion

What is the result of the research? Why is this research worth reading? What did it prove? What should the reader know after reading this research?

So now, you have a template for writing a research paper. (Yes, I know, I used both second and first person in these two sentences…)

Scott's vision on term papers... Brevity has merit; omission, none. That is, be brief and to the point, but don't leave anything out. Superfluous words detract from the point you are trying to make, so don't add extra words to fill up space. Remember the ABC's of good writing? Accuracy, Brevity, and Clarity.

That said, I don't count pages. I know that the syllabus says 20 - 25 pages, the course room says 12 - 15. Anywhere in that range is fine for me. I consider the topic you have selected, how well you have researched the subject, the sources you considered in your research, etc. The 25 pages is a maximum - if you cannot express your ideas in 25 pages or less, your subject is too broad; yet, if you can only manage 10 pages, your subject may be too narrow. Try to aim for 15 to 20 pages and you should hit that.

As for references (I know this is your next question) - there is no minimum or maximum number of references. Again, I'm looking at the quality of the references.

Scholarly references are preferred; reputable trade magazines are next, followed by Short Title 8 reputable web sites, other trade magazines, and non-reputable websites are least preferred. What I mean by reputable is do they have an agenda? If you want to write a section on the 802.11g wireless standard, I would prefer you use IEEE or ISO for a reference, not www.80211gisbad.com. That website sounds like they may have an agenda...(that's not a real website, so don't click on it...) but you get the gist. As a guide

(and only as a guide) you should shoot for 1 to 2 references per page of typewritten text.

So, for a 20 page paper, you are looking at between 20 - 40 references -- just a guide, not a standard.

Quality over quantity. You will submit a prospectus to me week 3; that should have your topic, what you hope to prove (or learn), and an outline that you plan to follow

- and maybe 5 or so references. You will also submit a rough draft to me (I think) around week 10. I'll comment on that and return it to you with suggestions and ways to improve.

I'll also include the Rubric so you can see what your grade "would be" if it were submitted as is, so you can get a sense of what I am looking for.

I'm also looking for format - APA 5th is the standard. If you are unsure of how to format your citations in the text or create your bibliography, you can use www.apa.org as a quick guide. If you still have a ways to go before graduating, or intend to go to grad school, I highly recommend purchasing the APA 5th Reference Guide. It's a life saver...

There are also a couple of books I recommend on the subject. The Professor's

Secrets: Breaking The Silence -- How To Write Essays And Term Papers by Professor

Bernie Gaidosch and How to Write a Term Paper (A Speak Out, Write on! Book) by

Nancy Everhart are both excellent How-to books. You can get them at Short Title 9 www.bigwords.com for less than $10 each. Just type in the title in the search bar and you will find them. 10

References

Graverson (2008). How to write a research paper. The instructor’s expectations for a properly written research paper.

Notice that the References have a hanging indent, are single spaced, but have a double space in between.