Discovery Paper

Please use CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS for maximum point credit.  Support your personal thoughts / ideas with factual data.  (Examples:  text theory, case  facts, your experience – business or personal.)  Factual support gives credibility to your writing. Questions?  Contact instructor .

GRADING CRITERIA FOR DISCOVERY PAPERS
Overview:
Your discovery paper is due the 5 th week but may be submitted earlier.  Each student paper will have an individual focus as it will be based on (2) student-selected, Systems Analysis and Design text topics.  These (2) topics will be identified as highly significant to the student, either professionally or personally.  The discovery process purpose is to increase each student’s level of awareness regarding the impact that quality has in his/her life.

Criteria – Content:
Create discovery paper content from only the following sources – the textbook, your own thoughts, external references, and your experiences (business / personal).
Identify two (2) text topics that either currently make or some time this year will make a significant impact in either your professional or personal life.  You can choose topics with only professional significance, only personal significance, or with a combination of both professional and personal significance.
Refer to the attached Grading Rubric (see below) for additional content grading criteria.

Criteria – Formatting (APA):
To maximize earning full points for this assignment, your paper must have:
Content Length:  minimum of 2 full  pages (not 1-1/2  pages) – maximum of 3 (not 3-1/4)  pages.
An introductory paragraph & a concluding paragraph. each stating your main points.
Two-thirds of this assignment be your own thoughts; one-third be text topic reference.
Paraphrasing instead of copying the text word for word in your writing.  (Keep direct quotes to a minimum.)
Double spacing throughout  (i.e., only one blank line between any two lines of text)
Size 12 font
(4) 1″ margins  ( you may need to reset your margins)
Cover page with identifying data  (name, course name/number, date, assignment title).  Does not count towards the 2-page requirement.
Two external references.  Not counting the textbook.
In-text citations.  Ensure to cite with author(s), year, and page number for direct quotes and author(s) and year for paraphrasing.  Avoid plagiarism:  If you quote the text word-for-word, put quotation marks around the directly quoted phrase.
A reference page is required.
Note requirements in grading rubric attached