ACBS 160D: Human and Animal Interrelationships

ACBS 160D: Human and Animal Interrelationships
Term Paper Instructions
You will prepare a paper on an issue concerning human-animal relationships (see Schedule for due
dates). In this paper you will develop alternative (pro and con) positions on the identified issue, taking
into consideration different perspectives (e.g., from the perspective of a medical research,
conservationist, ethicist, farmer, etc.). The Term Paper project will have 3 stages of development:
• Stage 1: Outline (100 points)
You will first develop a detailed outline. We recommend you meet and go over your outline
with your TA, but this is optional. The outline will be graded and you will receive feedback.
• Stage 2: Term Paper version 1 (100 points)
The feedback on the outline will guide you to successfully write your Term Paper. Put in your
best effort–write it as if it is your final version. The more you do for your version 1, the more
your TA will be able to help you! This Term Paper v.1 will be graded and you will receive
feedback.
• Stage 3: Term Paper version 2 (100 points)
You will be able to incorporate the feedback of Term Paper v.1 into a revised, rewritten paper.
This revised Term Paper v.2 will be graded. If you receive an A (90-100%) on the v.1, you have
the option of using that grade for your v.2 paper. (You MUST submit a Word document to the
Assignment folder in D2L saying “For Term Paper v.2 I wish to keep my same ‘A’ grade that I
earned from Term Paper v.1”)
• Topic: Please select one of the topics (see Term Paper Topics provided in D2L)
• File Type: submit in MS Word or PDF file format
• Length: 7-10 text pages
o not including title page
o including references
o Important graphs or illustrations may be included (with proper citation) but will not be
counted toward the text page length
• Format Specifics:
o double-spaced lines
o 12pt font
o 1 inch margins
o page numbers (bottom right) on all pages following the title page (NOT on title page)
o each section should begin with a heading (e.g., Introduction)
o bold font 2 peer-reviewed sources in the References section of your paper (not in the body
of the paper). See References section below with further explanation.
• Pro & Con Perspectives: Discuss the pro and con positions on the topic and provide different
perspectives under each side of the question (see Term Paper Topics provided in D2L for an
example topic with different perspectives.)
• References: provide at least 2 peer-reviewed articles that supports each position (1 for Pro and 1
for Con) in APA bibliographic style
o Watch the video posted on “What is a peer-reviewed article?”
o Use the Library Tools (see top menu in D2L) to find resources, such as:
§ Web of Science
§ Academic Search
o Library Tools tab also has “Citation Style Guides” which shows the APA style citation we
require. There you will find a handy website called the Online Writing Lab (OWL) which
shows you the format for different kinds of references and how to do in-text citations:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/05/
o
o You need not analyzing the peer-reviewed articles. You are using the articles as support for
one (or more) of the perspectives.
o You will probably use other sources of information such as magazine articles or websites.
Make sure these are credible sources (i.e., they are based on evidence not just opinion). If
you are not sure about the reliability of a source, ask a librarian to help you assess the
source. You will list all your sources the references. But be sure to include at least 2 peerreviewed
articles for your paper.
o Indicate one reference for the “PRO” position by adding this note after the reference (in
bold) “Note: This peer-reviewed reference was used for the PRO position.” Likewise,
add a similar note for a peer-reviewed reference used for the “CON” perspective: “Note:
This peer-reviewed reference was used for CON position.
o This allows the graders to verify that you have included a peer-reviewed article for each
position.
• In-Text Citation:
o For citing your sources within the text of your paper, use in-text citations in APA format.
See “Citation Style Guides” above. (Note: The entire paper is NOT in APA format, only the
citation style and references format.)
• Plagiarism
o Plagiarism is a form of cheating. It is taking another person’s words or ideas and using
them as it they were your own words or ideas. Plagiarism will not be tolerated—It can lead
to failing the course of being expelled from the university!
o You may not copy or use direct quotes from one of your sources or any another material. You
must paraphrase or summarize the idea in your own words. (Using quoted text and
providing the source of the quote is not plagiarism, since you are giving credit to the creator
of the text. However, in this paper we want you to write the ideas in your own words, and
provide the citation of where the idea came from.)
o Originality reports showing >25% duplicate material will not be graded (0 points earned).
You will be required to submit a new version and points will be deducted for lateness.
o Take this tutorial on how to avoid accidental plagiarism: