American education
* The first two step are previous assignments, which are not required in this paper
1. topic brainstorm
Formatting Reminders:
All paper assignments should use 1-inch margins and 12-point Times New Roman or Calibri font. Assignments should be doubled-spaced. For instances where you need to cite, use APA formatting for your citations.
—-
Assignment Description:
This assignment is in place to ensure that you have a viable topic for the final paper. You should turn in a one-page discussion of a topic related to course material that you would like to write about. This should be a very general overview of something you hope to write about.
In addition to this discussion, please submit the citation information (e.g., author name(s), year published, article title, journal name) for two potential sources that relate to your topic idea. The sources should be published since 2005, but if you can find more recent work, that is best. APA is not required yet, but this is a good time to practice.
At the end of the assignment, please provide three questions or concerns about things you are unsure of in the course (e.g., anything that is unclear about a literature review, what counts as a topic, concerns about writing).
2. topic proposal
For this assignment, you will need to turn in a two-page (approximately 500-700 word) description of a topic that you would like to write about for your final paper. This should be a brief overview of a topic in American Culture that seems relevant, interesting, or important. Briefly describe the topic (history, background, statistics, and/or influences), why it would make a good subject to discuss in your paper, what the significance of the topic is in society, and what drew you personally to the idea. While your other assignments should not include your personal perspective, this is an opportunity to explain why you are interested in writing this paper. You can also use this to practice an APA bibliography
(Links to an external site.)
.
3. Annotated bibliography
Format
All paper assignments should use 1-inch margins and 12-point Times New Roman or Calibri font. Assignments should be doubled-spaced. For instances where you need to cite, use APA formatting for your citations.
Instructions
Your summaries must be paraphrased. If you copy and paste anything, it will count as plagiarism. You may want to reference An Important Note on Citing and Paraphrasing. You may also want to refresh your memory on how to approach this assignment with the materials in your Week 4 Navigation.
For this assignment, you will begin thinking about your major themes and your literature review. This should be a three- to five-page (approximately 700-1000 word) annotated bibliography of three to five sources. Please note that each source should have about a page dedicated to it. Select the academic articles that you want to look at on three themes relevant to your broader topic. For instance, if you want to study education as a major topic, you might be interested in family dynamics, gender, and immigration. You will center your writing around these themes, using academic research to build a case and make points about the state of your topic in American culture. To complete this assignment, list your sources and summarize the article information below the citation. You want to summarize the entire article, from their methods to the findings to the conclusion. Highlight major points that fit within the topic that you have chosen. Please note that your articles should be published since 2005. Additionally, based on our discussion of methods and information presented in your Social Science Research text, assess the methods of the articles you have chosen as part of your discussion.
