What is a secondary source?
This week you will submit a current events paper. In it you will look in the daily news for a scientific topic that interests you, and then you will go beyond what is reported in the article by discussing the long range history of this topic. There are many sources in which you can go to find a current events science story. Good examples of websites where you can find an article include:
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/
http://www.wired.com/
http://science.nasa.gov/
http://www.sciencenews.org/
http://news.sciencemag.org/
http://www.scientificamerican.
The article must have an author and a publication date. Avoid selecting a topic which has very little history associated with it. The topic must be related to our textbook in some way that you can connect in your paper.
Technical and Formatting Requirements: With this assignment, you will learn how to do proper and adequate research and write a short paper with a central thesis statement. This paper is at least TWO complete double-spaced pages of text (Times New Roman, font size 12), not including bibliography or title page, and you must cite a minimum of THREE sources, in addition to the selected current events article and our textbook. These sources are as follows:
a. ONE primary source from the era in which you are writing about. As a reminder, a primary source “is a document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event.” http://www.princeton.edu/~
b. TWO scholarly secondary sources from peer reviewed journals or books. These must be from reputable publishers (such as university presses for books or databases like JSTOR) as found in the APUS library. What is a secondary source? “A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps removed from the event.” http://www.princeton.edu/~
I will submit all of the final papers into TurnItIn which is a plagiarism checker. If I find evidence of plagiarism, I will give you a zero for the paper. To ensure this does not happen make sure you familiarize yourself with the meanings of plagiarism (see the policies section of this syllabus), take careful steps in your note taking process to avoid a potential for a mistaken plagiarism, and then finally submit your own paper to TurnItIn prior to the course deadline. This review will serve as an important check for you.
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APA
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