LGBTQ individuals and their relationships

For this assignment, each student will select one of three possible topic areas. Students will sign up for their selected topic area early in the semester. Because students will sign up for different topic subsets, there will be three distinct due dates for this paper. Once you have signed up for a topic subset and due date YOU MUST COMPLETE YOUR PAPER ON THAT TOPIC AND BY THAT DUE DATE. You cannot change your mind later. Treat this signup sheet as if it is a contract. If you have questions regarding the appropriateness of your topic, you must see the instructor. You will need to use at least 4 outside, scholarly and peer reviewed sources for this paper. These sources must be published within the last ten years. You can use sources from class, but only in addition to the 4 peer reviewed sources mentioned previously. This paper should be between 5-7 pages and use APA style.

Assignment Objectives:

1. Students will review the knowledge base about LGBTQ Family relationships.
2. Students will apply the knowledge base to a family topic.
3. Students will gain insight into family relationships through exploration of course concepts.

Each Student Must:

• Sign up for a topic area by the second class period
• Research this topic and find at least 4 scholarly, peer reviewed articles from within the last ten years
• Think about and cite scholarly articles
• Use APA Style
• Avoid using personal opinion and/or bias, but argue based ONLY on scholarly material
• Avoid using direct quotes, but instead paraphrase and integrate material
• Avoid using personal pronounS

CONTENT REQUIREMENTS

• Introduction and Statement of the Problem
  • Students should briefly introduce their topic and state the social problem to be studied. Students should discuss how this is of importance to the field of family studies and to society. Students should use evidence from the literature to support the need for study in this topic area.
  • You MUST include your thesis in this section. Remember that you thesis is a statement with an argumentative edge. This is the idea that you will be arguing throughout your paper.
    • Some helpful hints for citing evidence:
      • discuss the impact of the issue (how many people are affected, how are they affected)
      • provide statistics or other epidemiological information to support your argument.
• Literature Review
  • Students are expected to write a synthesized literature review that includes at least 4 empirical research articles from professional journals (must be peer-reviewed). These articles must be referenced in the text of the final paper to be counted towards your grade. Students may review additional articles to support their ideas, but should not exceed a maximum of 10 total articles.
  • Students should not summarize each consecutive article, but should integrate the selected articles using common themes and threads to tie them together. Students should demonstrate critical thought pertaining to the articles chosen.
  • Remember that the information in this section should support your thesis argument. If you find information that does not support your thesis, you should either a) not include it, or b) change your thesis statement.
  • Students must cite all sources used for the literature review. There should be many citations throughout this first section of the research paper.
  • Students must reference all citations and articles used in the text. Students must also list all sources used in the paper on the final reference page, following strict APA style.
• Conclusions
  • What do you conclude (remember this is not your opinion and you must avoid personal pronouns)
  • How can professionals use this information?
  • How can families use this information
• References
  • All references must follow strict APA style.

GRADING GUIDELINES

Papers will be graded using the following guidelines:

Content:

1. Inclusion of all required information (use headings)
2. Clearly written, organized, with a logical flow of ideas
3. Evidence of accurate application of course information
4. Evidence of critical thinking using course information

Style:

1. Syntax: correct sentence structure; appropriately varied and effective sentences
2. Grammar: acceptable forms of verbs, pronouns, adverbs and other parts of speech
3. Mechanics: spelling, punctuation, capitalization, etc.
4. Correct APA style must be used including title page, reference page and headings
5. Paraphrase instead of using direct quotes from sources
6. Formal/academic voice must be used (i.e. – avoid I, me, you etc.)

You must use four outside sources from within the last ten years

You can use a course reading or the textbook if in addition you have 4 outside sources form within the last ten years

You can use online sources as long as they are scholarly (a .org, .gov, or .edu is typically a good bet – but not always). The Census, the CDC, Pew Research Center – all scholarly online sources

Please attach the rubric to the back of your paper – not a big deal, but makes my life easier

It is your responsibility to know when your paper is due and to turn it in to both safe assign and in class

You must integrate

You must avoid direct quotes and paraphrase instead

You must avoid using personal pronouns

Must use active voice (not passive voice)

You must use APA