Guidelines for Culminating Paper

First Meeting With Your Advisor:

• Have an outline of your research topic completedand in typed outline form.

• Be ready to discuss your ideas and what you see as limitations or challenges to complete early.

Seek Help From the OASISCenter for Editing:

• Have your paper ready as if you were going to turn it in.

• Be ready to discuss your writing to make improvements.

• Bring a copy of your annotations for clarification.

Subsequent Meetings With Your Advisor:

• Have your outline of your research topic to use as a check list of what you have accomplished.

• Be ready to discuss edits of your ideas and research.

• Bring a copy of your annotations for clarification.

Draft #1 – Completed paper that is free of writing errors.

• Paper must be written in APA style (all components - title page, references, and format). Refer to APA manual (5thed.) for specifics.

• Should "look" professional - typed, 1-inch margins, double spaced. Includes title page, body, and reference page.

• Contents of Culminating Paper

  • Research portion of the paper should be a complete review of the current literature on your chosen topic (8 pages of text). Items to be included in research paper (not inclusive or binding) and titled in APA format:
  • Reference Page
  • Must be written in APA style.
  • Introduction: Opens the body of the paper and presents the specific topic/problem. Establishes the point to be made.
  • Purpose statement
  • Review of current literature: Support your point with evidence from the literature. Describe what has already been studied and presented and show its relevance to your topic. Cite and reference only works pertinent to the specific issue and only ones you have used.
  • Summary/Conclusion: After you have introduced the problem and background material, you are in a position summarize the main points which give you the rationale for concludingthat the project is necessary.

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  • Reference Page
  • Must be written in APA style.

Draft #2 – Completed paper that is ready for small improvements.

• Include draft #1when turning it in.

• Additional feature is the ABSTRACT.

An abstract is a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of your paper/project. The abstract will allow the reader to quickly obtain an accurate overview of your topic. A good abstract is:

1. Accurate: ensure that the abstract correctly reflects the content and purpose of the paper.

2. Concise and specific: make each sentence maximally informative, especially the lead sentence. Be as brief as possible (use APA format for number of words).

3. Coherent and readable: write in a clear prose and in third person rather than first person (Do not use I, me, us, etc.)

• Abstract should include:

1. Topic

2. Brief overview of literature

3. Purpose of project

4. Conclusion

• Must be in written in APA style (all components - title page, abstract, references, format). Refer to APA manual (5thed.) for specifics.

• Should "look" professional - typed, 1-inch margins, double spaced. Includes title page, abstract, body, and reference page.

• Standards should be included in the paper

  • Refer to PE or Exercise Science Standards document
  • Basically speaking, you are to support any content of your paper by defining which standard is applicable and in which class/classes you learned about that information. Following are examples of text from a paper/project:

Final Paper and Binder

• Refer to Project/Paper Grading Rubric document for specific guidelines on how your paper/project will be evaluated. Make sure to proof-read your final copy several times!

• Must be in written in APA style (all components - title page, references, and format). Refer to APA manual (5thed.) for specifics.

• Should "look" professional - typed, 1-inch margins, double spaced. Includes title page, abstract, body, and reference page.

• Draft #1, Draft #2, annotations, and a copy of all full-text articles must be submitted in an organized, tabbed binder with final paper.

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