Instructions for the Research Paper and the Research Paper Convention
Research Paper Convention/Spring 2022
A. Instructions for Composing the Research Papers
• The research paper should be typed with double spacing, and should be 10-14 pages in length (excluding the outline, the appendixes and the works cited).
• Students should submit 3 drafts of the Research Paper in the Spring semester.
• Word Length: 2600 words (about 10 double-spaced pages) - 3640 words (about 14 double-spaced pages) maximum (about 260 words per page).
• The research paper should have a clear thesis statement/aim and/or research questions.
• The research paper should have a clear organization (including clear divisions and logical transitions between different sections).
• The research paper should have less than 1% grammatical and spelling errors (meaning that there should be fewer than 8 errors per 800-word page).
• The research paper can be based either on first-hand data collection and analysis, or on textual analysis and observations.
• The minimum number of questionnaires or interviews for the data collection should be 30 questionnaires and 5 interviews (students can choose to do either).
• The research paper should exhibit proper documentation following the MLA or APA formats.
• The research paper should include a minimum of six secondary sources, with at least TWO non-Internet media sources.
• If you signed up to use RP for Learning Outcome Demonstration (LOD), you must receive 83 or above for RP to be considered for it.
B. Instructions for Presenting the Research Papers
• The presentation of the paper should 15-17 minutes in length. The speaker will be penalized if the presentation is too short or too long.
• Q&A Period: 5-3 minutes (Total time per person: 20 minutes)
• Please avoid reading your paper from the hard copy of your paper.
• Reading from your PowerPoint files is to be kept at a minimum.
• Do not stand in front of the computer monitor throughout the entire presentation and read your PowerPoint slides.
• Do not stand in front of the projection screen and read your PowerPoint slides. This makes for a rather tedious presentation.
• Make an effort to make eye contact with all members of your audience, not just the professor who will be grading your presentation.
• Speak clearly and concisely and at a steady pace. Pronounce and enunciate clearly.
• Project your voice so that all members of your audience can follow your presentation.
• Stand with a confident posture and maintain a confident demeanor throughout the presentation.
• Do not slouch, fidget, or pace back and forth.
C. Presentation Rules and Regulations:
Please Note:
If a student is 5 minutes late for his or her RP presentation, 10 marks will be deducted from the student’s presentation score as a penalty for tardiness.