Assignment 1:

For this discussion, you will address the following prompts:

Identify the global societal issue you have chosen to research for your Final Paper, an argumentative essay, and explain why further research on this topic is important.

Provide a clear and concise thesis statement that includes a solution to the global societal issue (see Writing a Thesis Statement for assistance).

Explain how this global societal issue impacts a specific population.

Locate a peer-reviewed scholarly source and provide statistical data that you found surprising on the topic.

Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length, which should include a thorough response to each prompt.

You are required to provide in-text citations of applicable required reading materials and/or any other outside sources you use to support your claims. Provide full reference entries of all sources cited at the end of your response.

Please use correct APA format when writing in-text citations (see In-Text Citation Helper) and references (see Formatting Your References List).

Assignment b:

For this discussion, you will address the following prompts:

Explain at least five differences between popular and scholarly sources used in research.

Locate and summarize one peer-reviewed, scholarly source from the Ashford University Library and one popular source that pertain to your Final Paper topic.

In your summary of each article, comment on the following: biases, reliability, strengths, and limitations.

From the sources you summarized, list and explain at least five visual cues from the peer-reviewed, scholarly source that were not evident in the popular source.

Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length, which should include a thorough response to each prompt.

You are required to provide in-text citations of applicable required reading materials and/or any other outside sources you use to support your claims. Provide full reference entries of all sources cited at the end of your response.

Please use correct APA format when writing in-text citations (see In-Text Citation Helper) and references (see Formatting Your References List).

Assignment c:

Introduction, Thesis Statement, and Annotated Bibliography

Prepare: To help with the preparation of your annotated bibliography, review the following tutorials and resources from the Ashford Writing Center:

Evaluating Sources

Reflect: Reflect back on the Week 1 discussion in which you shared with the class the global societal issue that you would like to further address.

Explore critical insights that were shared by your peers and/or your instructor on the topic chosen and begin your search for scholarly sources with those insights in mind.

Write: For this assignment, review the Annotated Bibliography Formatting GuidelinesPreview the document and address the following prompts:

Introductory paragraph to topic (refer to the Final Paper guidelines for your topic selection).

Write an introductory paragraph with at least 150 words that clearly explains the topic, the importance of further research, and ethical implications.

Thesis statement.

Write a direct and concise thesis statement, which will become the solution to the problem that you will argue or prove in the Week 5 Final Paper.

(A thesis statement should be a concise, declarative statement. The thesis statement must appear at the end of the introductory paragraph.)

Annotated bibliography.

Develop an annotated bibliography to indicate the quality of the sources you have read.

Summarize in your own words how the source contributes to the solution of the global societal issue for each annotation.

Address fully the purpose, content, evidence, and relation to other sources you found on this topic (your annotation should be one to two paragraphs long-150 words or more.

Include no less than five scholarly sources in the annotated bibliography that will be used to support the major points of the Final Paper.

Demonstrate critical thinking skills by accurately interpreting evidence used to support various positions of the topic.

The Introduction, Thesis Statement, and Annotated Bibliography

Must be 1,000 to 1,250 words in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center's APA Style

Must include a separate title page with the following:

Title of paper

Student's name

Course name and number

Instructor's name

Date submitted

For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to APA Formatting for Word 2013.

Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice resource for additional guidance.

Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.

For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions as well as Writing a Thesis Statement, refer to the Ashford Writing Center resources.

Must use at least five scholarly sources.

The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, contact your instructor.

Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for an assignment. The Integrating Research tutorial will offer further assistance with including supporting information and reasoning.

Must document in APA style any information used from sources, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center's In-Text Citation Guide.

Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style. See the Formatting Your References List resource in the Ashford Writing Center for specifications.