Course Paper

Requirements

The full paper assignment is worth up to 200 points and counts for 30% of your overall course grade. Your grade will be made up of the following components:

CRITERIA POINTS
First Paper Draft (Optional) 0 - 100
Final Paper Draft 0 - 100

Each of these criteria are discussed below, including submission instructions. Additional details are provided in Brightspace.

NOTE: The first draft of the paper is optional and will give you the opportunity to get feedback prior to the submission of your final draft. If submitted, your first draft will be graded against the criteria below, and the scores from both drafts will be averaged as your final paper score. If you choose not to submit a first draft, your final draft will count for 40% of your course grade on its own.

First and Final Drafts

Once you have selected your topic, you will write a brief (5-7 FULL pages of content, excluding title page and references) policy paper that (1) outlines the proposal you have chosen, including its historical foundations, and (2) demonstrates how such a proposal would be successful at either minimizing the occurrence of mass shootings or their lethality. In other words, your paper should be a persuasive argument for why such a policy is needed (assuming that the policy you have chosen has yet to be enacted or adopted uniformly, even if it has [e.g., police entry practices]). Your intended audience for this piece is lawmakers, and your writing should reflect that level of professionalism. Your policy statement must be backed in empirical evidence - thus, a minimum of five academic sources (e.g., books, journal articles, government reports) are required to be incorporated.

Your paper should adhere to APA formatting guidelines (NOTE: Clicking this link will open it in a new window, so be sure your pop-up blocker is disabled). Specific requirements for the paper formatting are as follows:

• Your document should be submitted as a Microsoft Word file with a .doc or .docx extension. PDF files will not be accepted.

• Your paper should include a title page and your name should appear on your document as well as in your file name (e.g., Schildkraut - Course Paper.docx).

• Your document should use standard 1" margins all the way around.

• Your document must use Times New Roman font, 12-point.

• Your assignment must be double-spaced.

• Be sure to run your spelling / grammar checkers and address any errors that Microsoft Word flags. This is a writing intensive course, so the quality of writing will also be assessed in addition to the content.

• Both in-text citations and end of paper references must be formatted per APA guidelines. For help with APA citations, check out the Purdue Owl's website (NOTE: Clicking this link will open it in a new window, so be sure your pop-up blocker is disabled).

Grading Criteria (0 - 100 Points):

• Paper is formatted according to APA and course guidelines, including requirements above (10 points)

• Paper includes a complete introduction, including overview of topic and roadmap for reader that makes it clear the position the author is taking (10 points)

• The overview of the topic includes (but may not be limited to) relevant background information introducing and summarizing the proposed policy, its history of use, and legislative history if applicable (20 points)

• The policy argument persuasively describes why the chosen policy is necessary to prevent mass shootings from occurring and/or mitigating the loss of life when they do and arguments are supported by academic research and evidence (35 points)

• Paper includes a complete conclusion that summarizes key takeaways (10 points)

• A minimum of five academic sources are included (5 points)

• APA style is used properly for both in-text citations and references (10 points)
  

The following resource will be useful in helping you find relevant research to support your position statement.