Preparation of the Term Paper
Your essay will be based on a newspaper article on a topic related to sexuality that appeared in print sometime between September – November 2009. The essay must be 5 pages (not including references), double-spaced, with 12-point font and 1” margins. There should be at least 7 references from empirical papers (journal articles). Standard APA format should be followed (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th or 6th Edition). An Abstract is not necessary. You should arrange for a Medline, PsychInfo, or PubMed tutorial at Woodward Library if you are unfamiliar with how to perform a literature search for relevant articles.
See this page for examples of APA formatting. Your paper should exactly follow the format outlined. The UBC libraries also carry hard copies of the 5th edition of the APA manual
This document from the UBC library provides examples for how to cite articles in the text and references section of your paper.
The paper should be organized as follows:
An overview of the newspaper article topic. What is the specific aspect of the article that you will focus on in more detail? Provide a background to the topic (approx 1.5 pages)
Use the findings from 7 empirical papers to discuss the issue in more depth. For example, you might choose 3 articles arguing one side of the topic and another 4 articles arguing a different perspective. Or, all articles may be on the same side, but offering slightly different points about the main topic. (approx 3 pages)
Your conclusion on the topic based on the literature you reviewed and discussed. End the paper with your opinion on the debate. You do not have to indicate in the paper how you truly feel, however, for the purposes of the paper, you must take one side and argue why you have chosen that side based on the literature you reviewed (1/2 to 1 page)
References in APA format (7 references from empirical sources).
Your paper is worth 10% of your final grade. A hard copy as well as an emailed copy to the TA is due on November 18, 2009 at the start of class but feel free to hand it in at any time before this date. A late penalty of 5% per day will be applied after Nov 18, 2009. No exceptions to handing in the paper late will be accepted for any reason.
Your paper will be graded based on:
(i) Content – Are you using the scientific literature to outline the topic? Is your evidence from the most recent sources? (7 points total)
(ii) Format –Does the paper follow the organization as explained above? Does your opinion follow logically from the material you reviewed? Is the paper well-written with accurate citations, and using APA format? Is complex information explained/presented well? Did you stay within the space limitations? Is there “flow” to the paper? (2 points)
(iii) Introduction and Conclusion – Do you carefully outline the issue, providing the relevant background history to the topic? Do you conclude with your own opinion? (1 point)