Final Paper Guidelines
· As a component of your total course grade, you are required to complete a final paper for Special Topics: Career & Faith. i HAVE ATTACHED SOME CHAPTERS FROM THE BOOKS.
· The final paper is intended to be a cumulative reflection of your learning throughout the course and will constitute a synthesis of the what you have learned throughout all eight units of the course.
· To successfully complete the final paper, you will need to do the following:
o Construct an 5-10 page double-spaced paper (plus title page and reference page) discussing the major points from each week of the course and how these points shaped and informed your own personal understanding of God’s plan for work.
o Discuss specifically how the major concepts and themes from each week changed your thinking and perspective on work. If a major concept didn’t change your thinking on work, discuss why your view didn’t change and how your view was reinforced.
o Your final paper should cite ideas, themes, and concepts from the Keller & Alsdorf book and the Grudem book. It can also include material from the Watch components, news articles, scholarly articles, books, blogs, other videos, etc. so long as these sources are properly cited in the paper.
o The final paper should be completed in APA format, including an APA-style title page, headers, section headings throughout the paper, in-text citations of sources, and an APA-style reference list. Failure to construct the final paper using APA-style guidelines will result in a reduction of your score. For APA style helps and information, see the “Information” tab in iLearn. You are also welcome to contact Prof. Brock with specific APA-style questions.
o The final paper should reflect professional writing skills as well as good grammar and spelling appropriate for a 400-level business course.
· Additional Notes:
o The final paper constitutes a cumulative synthesis of topics and concepts learned throughout the course.
APA STYLE DIRECTIONS:
In-text citations
have 3 main components:
1. Author Name(s)
2. Year of Publication
3. Page Number(s)
All in-text citations always include author name(s) and the publication year. The page number is required if a specific quote is included. If in doubt, include the page number(s). If there are multiple authors, don’t leave them out. Pretend you’re the name listed second on a book you co-authored with a friend. You’ll want your name included on citations too. (NO AUTHOR LEFT BEHIND!!). The citation at the end of a sentence always comes before the ending punctuation. If using a direct quote, first close the quotes, then include the citation, then end the sentence.
In-text citations take 2 main forms:
1. In the first form, you simply give the author honorable mention at the end of the sentence to let people know he/she/they inspired, influenced, or informed your writing.
a. Ownership is not an inherently evil thing in and of itself (Grudem, 2003).
b. “Many people make the mistake of thinking that work is a curse” (Keller & Alsdorf, 2012, p.40).
2. In the second form, you call out the authors by name in the body of the sentence.
a. Some people demonize work. Keller and Aldorf (2012) described how many people consider work a curse (p.40).
If you only have two authors, you must always list both author names on in-text citations. If you have 3 or more authors, you get to shorten it down by using the magic little phrase “et al.”
· For sentences with two authors (Smith 2020 & Brock, 2019).
· For sources with three(+) authors (Accominotti et al., 2011).
References.
Anytime you include in-text citations, you must include a reference list. In-text citations don’t tell the whole story. Your reference list, however, hides no secrets. All authors must be included in the reference citation. Whether there’s 1, 2, or 20. All doesn’t leave anyone out. (NO AUTHORS LEFT BEHIND!!)
For books, references typically have:
· LastName, F.M. (Year).
Title in italics.
Publisher.
· LastOne, F., LastTwo, F.M., & LastThree, F.M. (Year).
Title in italics.
Publisher.
Scholarly articles are handled a bit differently, but look similar:
· LastName, F.M. (Year). Title is in plain text: Only capitalize Proper Nouns and the first words.
Journal Article Title, Volume(issue), pages.
· Accominotti, O., Flandreau, M., & Rezik, R. (2011). The spread of empire: Clio and the measurement of colonial borrowing costs.
The Economic History Review, 64(2), 385-407.
For Videos, references look a bit different but include much of the same material:
· Last Name, F.M. (Year, Month, Day).
Title of video in italics
[Video File]. Website Name. URL.
· Wood, J.B. (2013, March 19).
“If we are supposed to be selfless, should we strive for a successful career?” – J.B. Wood
[Video File]. Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkRW9he4BV8&list=PLEmk4ndrLjWS99_ErItmzxeAdn6AwDnnp.
For Articles published on a website, the Reference looks the same as a scholarly article, with a couple of additions:
· LastName, F.M. (Year, Month, Day).
Title of article in italics: Only capitalize Proper nouns and the first words.
Website Name. URL.
Title Page.
A title page is not required for discussion board posts. A title page is required for Accomplish and Reflect submissions. Your title page needs to include:
· Page number in plain text in the upper right corner
· Centered in the page, you will include the paper title, your name, and the university name in plain Times New Roman size 12 font. APA is Spartan. It doesn’t allow for pretty colors or bold patterns or other assorted fun selling features to distract from the presentation of your glorious written content. Your writing is the star of the show. No fancy clothes needed.
For accomplish and reflect assignments, DO NOT include an abstract. Yes, it is technically required for proper APA, but it’s ridiculous for papers two pages or less, so please do not include them.
I’ve included a basic paper template to help you out with formatting and such because they can be a bit squirrely to set up the first time.
Once more, for posterity, I’ve included a link to Purdue Owl’s APA Guide which is more comprehensive than what I’ve provided above.
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/apa_sample_paper.html