Paper: To ensure you are improving your writing ability, a paper is assigned. The topic of the paper will be discussed in the first week(s) of the course. It will be at least 8 pages  Doubled spaced, TIMES ROMAN 12 font 250 words per page with word count on each page (not including the title page and references page or any pictures, charts, graphs, etc. you include), in APA format, and will demonstrate your use of both scholarly articles (a minimum of 6) and other references like current news coverage, trade journals, government reports, etc. (a minimum of 6). Textbooks should not be considered references, though they can be good sources for references. References in higher education do not typically include news articles or entries in dictionaries or encyclopedias. I recommend you get most of the references from the online library at library.mtsu.edu.   Scholarly references: These should be listed on an APA-formatted references page, and be 1-2 pages in length. It should appear as if it were the last page in a paper. You should include a review of various scholarly and investigative research sites to find a minimum of ten (10) scholarly references that do not include dictionaries, news articles, or encyclopedias. Get most of the references from the online library at http://library.mtsu.edu. Textbooks should not be considered references, though they can be good sources for references. What are Scholarly articles: Scholarly journals are also called academic, peer-reviewed, or refereed journals. Strictly speaking, peer-reviewed (also called refereed) journals refer only to those scholarly journals that submit articles to several other scholars, experts, or academics (peers) in the field for review and comment. These reviewers must agree that the article represents properly conducted original research or writing before it can be published.       Scholarly journal articles often have an abstract, a descriptive summary of the article contents, before the main text.       Scholarly journals often have graphs and charts.       Scholarly journal articles always cite their sources through footnotes or bibliographies.       The main purpose of a scholarly journal list or report on original research or experimentation in order to make such information available to the rest of the scholarly world.     Your choice of topic, written as the proposed and working title of the paper should be identified before the end of the 2d week by posting in the dropbox. Note in the calendar section of this syllabus that there are several steps for the paper that are required – each of them worth part of the project grade and each of them with a deadline. There is more information in the dropbox listings for these steps.   I must approve all topics, with specific parameters, so provide as much detail as you can without sacrificing creativity. If I do not respond to your post in the dropbox within two weeks you can assume that the topic is appropriate. Check the commentary or notes section to ensure you see observations about your topic. Obtaining approval for one topic and presenting another without getting approval will be considered an immediate forfeiture of one letter grade.   The paper should be saved in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format and uploaded to the dropbox. If you do not have Microsoft Office (including Word and PowerPoint) software available for your use, you may have access to a free version as a benefit of your student status. Access your MTMail account and follow the instructions on this document. http://www.mtsu.edu/mtmail/faq/MSOffice4Students.pdf. You can also purchase a very affordable copy (search Microsoft.com for student discounts or downloads, or purchase a used copy, perhaps of an older version, in a reputable store like Amazon.com); download Open Office (freely available at http://www.openoffice.org) or use another office suite like http://docs.google.com or Apple Pages/Keynote. Just make sure you save the file in Microsoft format so the rest of us can read it.   I recommend that you spend enough time on all your writing assignments (I suggest 10-20 hours each at a minimum), as I have learned that the grades given on these projects are usually reflective of the time spent. The assignments will have the requirements spelled out in each dropbox. All should be in APA format (which requires specific formatting for the title page, in-text cites, and references page). At some point in your academic adventure you should purchase the APA manual (http://www.apastyle.org/). If you have not done that yet, use a reliable APA guideline website (I recommend reviewing the Citation Style Guides (http://libraryguides.mtsu.edu/content.php?pid=341697&sid=2793689), using the university writing lab (http://www.mtsu.edu/uwc/) and printing out the APA style sheet (http://libraryguides.mtsu.edu/loader.php?type=d&id=900606).