RP Instructions

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.

• 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 papers from the paper copy of the paper.

• Reading from your PowerPoint files is to be kept to a minimum.

• Do not stand in front of the computer monitor throughout the entire presentation and read your PowerPoint slides from the monitor.

• Do not stand in front of the projection screen and read your PowerPoint slides. This makes for a rather tedious presentation.

• Try 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, even if you are using a microphone.

• Stand with a confident posture and maintain a calm demeanor throughout the presentation.

• Do not slouch, fidget, or pace back and forth.

• 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.