Public Communication
Final Paper
Students will write a 3-5 page paper answering the prompt: What does it mean to be an American citizen? While answering this question, students should think about the following questions to aid their response:
What does citizenship mean to me?
What values encompass citizenship? Where can these be found?
What are a few examples of societies that have strong examples of citizenship?
Besides allegiance to the nation, what does it mean to be an American? Are there other associations that we should think about when thinking about this concept?
Students are not required to answer all of the questions above, but should consider these a way to guide their paper and research.
In the paper itself, students should provide a specific answer to the following questions:
How do you define what it means to be a citizen?
What values (i.e., religious, ethical, etc.) embody your definition of citizenship?
What is an example of ideal citizenship in your definition (i.e., provide an example of a person or social movement)?
To fulfill the guidelines for this assignment, student are required to conduct their own outside research, as well as incorporate their own personal opinion into this paper. At least five sources should be consulted and incorporated into the paper. Sources should be cited using APA formatsee the attached style guide.
Specific Guidelines
This paper should be typed, double-spaced, 3-5 pages long, 1-inch margins, in Times New Roman 12pt font and follow APA guidelines. The final draft of this paper must be turned into the correct Blackboard drop box.
The paper should cite five sources in APA format and include a works cited page.
The paper should contain an introduction with a thesis statement that provides the main argument of the paper.
The paper should contain a conclusion that sums up the findings and provides the news or so what.
The paper should have a title that summarizes the main ideas.
Point Breakdown
The paper contains a clear introduction with a grounded thesis statement (50 points)
The body of the paper answers each of the three main questions (150 points)
The paper includes five sources that are cited in the paper, as well as in a works cited page (50 points)
The paper is clearly proofread and follows all the guidelines (30 points)
The paper makes a clear connection to our class textbook, lecture or discussion (20 points)
HOW TO Reference Page:
Scholarly Article
Author Last Name, Author First Initial. (year of publication). Title of article. Title of
Journal, volume number, page numbers. doi:
Herrman, A. R., Omori, K., & McNallie, J. (2011). Analytic versus holistic thinking: Preliminary findings.Qualitative Research Reports, 11, 10-17. doi: 5923x77999_2011
Book
Author, A. A. (year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle.
Location: Publisher.
Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). Communicating in Japan: Results from a study.
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Chapter from Book
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year of publication). Title of chapter. In A. Editor & B.
Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pages of chapter). Location: Publisher.
ONeil, J. M., & Egan, J. (1992). Mens and womens gender role journeys: A metaphor for healing, transition, and transformation. In B. R. Wairib (Ed.), Gender issues across the life cycle (pp. 107-123). New York, NY: Springer.
Newspaper Article (NOT Online)
Authors Last Name, First Initial. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper,
page numbers.
Schultz, S. (2005, December 28). Calls made to strengthen state energy policies. The
Country Today, pp. 1B, 2B.
HOW TO In-Text Citation:
Books, Book Chapters, Articles, Newspapers
Examples of paraphrase
Option 1: According to Patton (2001) individuals who attend class are smarter.
Option 2: Davis (2001) noted that people who attend classes earn better grades. Option 3: People who attend theirclasses often graduate from college (Peters, 2001).
Example of direct quote — Do NOT use direct quotes unless you absolutely need to.
According to Patton (2002) some people who are book smart are not street smart (p.
