The long range research paper is designed to incorporate writing and research skills developed throughout the semester. Consequently, the topic is far more open ended than the other papers assigned to this point. In this assignment, you must select an issue or controversy within a particular academic field of study. This academic field is of your choosing, but you may find it most useful to select your major or a field closely related to your career goals. See this as an opportunity to explore and research within a discipline that is important to you. This paper should be robust enough to require the use of secondary sources, but not so complex that it cannot be adequately discussed in five to seven pages. (Don’t get hung up on the page count—it isn’t an end in itself. Obviously, the intrepid and inspired student may have more to say.) This paper is to be thesis-based, well-developed, and use a minimum of six secondary sources. These sources should be well-chosen, quality sources. Since this is an academic examination, academic sources are the best option. Ideally, this paper will build on work from the literature review (more on that later in the semester), but this is not a requirement. Further, this doesn’t have to be an argument paper. While you may argue a particular point, this paper can be informational, but should be more than literature review. The key is the thesis. Since a thesis is an opinion, the paper cannot merely be a “here’s some information I found about my major!” report. Instead, you are delving into a topic that concerns people who are already in that field. In addition to the paper itself, a portion of your grade will consist of two related assignments: the research proposal and the annotated bibliography. These assignments are designed to move you along the timeline of the larger assignment. Prior to the due dates for these smaller assignments, don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns. Research Proposal: The research proposal is a preliminary assignment that shows you have started to think about your topic and have conducted enough quality research to show it is viable. It should include the following information: -The academic field you are writing about -The specific topic you wish to research and why it is significant At least four sources you have consulted in beginning your research—this list should be in APA Style Annotated Bibliography: This is a list of the sources you have consulted through your research to date, as well as brief notes about each source. The bibliography should contain at least twelve sources that you have consulted in your research. Each entry must conform to APA standards just like those you will use for your references page. In addition, each entry will contain an annotation in which you describe and summarize the source, and how it may be relevant to your topic. Note: these sources do not have to end up in your final paper. The bibliography will be evaluated on the relevance of the sources to your topic, the annotations, and your adherence to APA Style.