All ENG101 students will write a formal research paper that is at least 6 full pages not including the Works Cited page in MLA style and not including the Title Page and References Page in APA style. This means that you will ultimately submit 7 pages if you select MLA style and 8 pages if you select APA style.
Here are the details:
- The research paper will need to be at least 6 pages long. *If you desire to go over the 6 pages, please ask your instructor. Instructors will vary in how much over the page limit students may go.
- The paper will have either MLA or APA Style for documentation of sources and formatting. You must remain consistent in your formatting style throughout the entirety of your submission.
- Include proper in-text parenthetical citations.
- The paper will need to have a thesis to keep the paper focused and organized.
- Include a visual aid such as a picture, graphic, table, chart, etc. in the research paper and give credit to the source of this visual aid. In the six pages this assignment requires, the graphic should take up no more than one-half of one of those pages. (That really means 5.5 pages of writing with .5 of a page allowed for the visual aid). This visual aid requirement is to be in compliance with state guidelines for the class.
- The paper needs to have at least 4 outside sources. At least half of the sources you use need to be non-internet. By non-internet, this means general web pages found through a search engine such as Google or Yahoo. It is acceptable to use library sources that are accessed online, such as the college’s system of OhioLINK and the EGCC Gateway. Please refer to the links below for assistance in accessing these library sources.
- The paper must use a formal, academic tone of voice.
- The paper is an original creation for this course session and not a reworking of any previous essay submission from any prior course experience.
- The paper also includes a large amount of the student’s own ideas and words and is not merely a linking of a series of quotes or paraphrases.
- Finally, as discussed in this course, with any research paper you MUST include proper in-text parenthetical citations.
Note: I’ve attached a sample of an APA style and MLA Style paper. You will notice that the APA student paper has bold-type subtitles before the body paragraphs. These are known as Level 1 Section Headings. This is an element found in APA research paper formatting that is not found in MLA format. For these Level 1 Section Headings, please use the main points of your essay as a guide. For example, every time you transition to a new main point in the body paragraphs of your essay, you will include a heading. The headings are formatted in the same way that you would format the title of your paper. They are centered, in boldface type, 12-point, Times New Roman font, and written in Title Case.
Special note: I’ve added a small research proposal as well that has some main points so I would greatly appreciate it if those points in that proposal be implenmented in the research paper somehow.