scholarly journal articles 1 website H u m a n i t i e s

Problem Paper

It must be at least 1000 words, word processed and double-spaced. Grammar, spelling, and overall neatness will certainly affect your final grade on the paper, so be sure to write carefully and allow yourself time to proofread and correct your paper before turning it in to me.

Your topic will be a specific problem of your choosing, and in the course of the paper you will introduce the problem, define the problem, explain why it is a problem. In your final paper, you will offer a practical solution to the problem and how you would implement that solution. So don’t select a problem that cannot be solved.

The problem should not be a personal problem although it may affect you as an individual. It should be a systemic problem that affects many people, but no more than a few hundred.

You will have to do library research for this paper and document your research according to the Modern Language Association system.

You must support your writing by citing 4 separate research sources:

1 book

2 newspaper, magazine, or scholarly journal articles

1 website

All of your sources must be as recent as possible, ideally within the last 2 years although the book may be older. Reference books like encyclopedias count as books. Electronic books count as books.

You must turn in a formal outline and a Works Cited page along with the problem paper. You must turn in an Annotated Bibliography on the date listed below. Choose a topic from those listed below and develop a specific thesis based on your research of that topic. Pick one specific problem that you will specifically solve in the final paper of the term.

Important–As a part of your documentation, you must include at least ten but no more than twenty citations (direct quotations, paraphrases, or summaries), and no direct quotation may be over three consecutive

lines long.

Topics to consider:

Some aspect of NOVA’s administrative or educational system that is inefficient or unfair.

Some aspect of your workplace that is inefficient or unfair.

Some aspect of a local organization–PTA, Neighborhood Watch, sports team, etc.–that is inefficient or unfair.