Water Resources Paper Guidelines: Writing a Well-Researched and Scholarly Paper - Prof. Ju, Papers of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences

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NEW 490-006 Paper Guidelines

Students will select a topic of interest related to water resources, the natural history or ecology of aquatic ecosystems, the management, control or use of water, or the conservation or restoration of water resources to write a thoughtful and well-researched paper. The papers are not intended to provide overviews of topics and should not read like a book report. Instead, students are expected to develop a thesis statement and use credible sources to support their argument(s). Throughout the semester, students will prepare a paper proposal and outline and meet with the professor to discuss their research progress. Students may submit a draft of their paper up to one week prior to the final paper to receive feedback for use during revision. The final paper will be due at the end of the semester during finals week via e-Learning. The final paper should be typed, double-spaced with 1” margins in Calibri 11 point font and 10 ± 2 pages in length. Figures, graphs and references cited do not count toward the page count.

Tips for successful writing:

• Include an introductory paragraph or two that establishes the topic and the argument (thesis) to be addressed.
• Develop a substantial body of the paper that provides necessary background information from other academic, scholarly works or government publications.
• Use scholarly sources to support your thesis. You may also provide your own constructive criticism of these works to counter their arguments and further support your own.
• Provide a concise conclusion that reiterates your thesis and the key points of your paper.
• If you include figures or tables from other sources, be sure to cite the source and provide a key explaining what each illustrates.
• Label all figures or tables as Figure 1, Table 1, etc. and reference them in the text of the paper. For example, “An increase in impervious surfaces (e.g., pavement, roofs, etc.) contributed to increased surface runoff in the watershed (Figure 1).” Then include the figure of runoff patterns with a descriptive caption explaining the graph.
• Cite all external sources in the text and provide full citations at the end of the paper.
• Use a consistent citation method throughout your paper and in the references cited section.
• Avoid first person whenever possible.
• Do not rely on spell-check alone. Proofread your paper for grammatical and spelling errors.