Assignment: Connecting the Core Program Competency and Course Objective - The Literature Review

The academic literature is going to be used to accomplish three purposes. First, you are going to use the academic literature to articulate your understanding of the element of the core program competency you identified. The ways that you can articulate your mastery of the competency will be different for each of you, because each of you has identified a different element to examine.

A second purpose is to use the literature to articulate your understanding of the element of the course learning objective you identified. Do not ignore the articles and/or books you read in class when you write your literature review. The review of the literature has to be consistent with what you studied in the course. For example, if you are using a course objective from PA562 Seminar in Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations in the Government Administration emphasis, you cannot use the literature from PA535 Counter-Terrorism in the Emergency Management and Homeland Security emphasis area.

The third purpose of the literature review is to show how that course objective is connected to the competency. Assume the competency is "To communicate and interact productively with a diverse and changing workforce and citizenry." Let us say you chose PA515 Grant Writing as the related course, using the course objective "Demonstrate ability to work cooperatively in a group, with funding sources, and with community groups." You could link this course objective to the competency by explaining how the ability of an organization to communicate effectively with funding sources is important, because effective communication is key to developing cooperative working relationships. And, those relationships are important because government funding is often essential in the ability to offer services whether through direct governmental programs or through contracted programs and services in nonprofit organizations. The important thing to remember is that the connections have to be logical and supported by the academic literature.

The Literature Review - Using a Sentence Outline

A well-done outline, in any form, aids in developing a well-written, well-thought-through paper. The sentence outline goes one step further than the more-traditional, bullet-point-type of outline. The idea behind sentence outlining is that by providing complete sentences, rather than bullet points, you are more clearly developing and articulating the key points you want to make in your paper. The outline is also a good tool for critiquing the logical order of your sentences.

The basic rules of sentence outlining are quite simple. First, every point you plan to make in the paper is made in the outline in the form of a complete sentence (Table 1). Second, the citation and reference that will be used to support each sentence will be included in the outline. From these two rules, the following guidelines are derived.

1) Each paragraph begins with a sentence that describes the topic of that paragraph.

a) Each paragraph has only one topic, even though it will have more than one sentence.

b) Each sentence in a paragraph following the topic sentence relates directly to that topic. Each sentence should further elaborate, explain, clarify, or give an example of the main point.

c) When necessary, the sentence should have a fully formatted citation to the source you plan to use to support each statement.

d) All citations are included in a list of fully formatted references at the end of the outline.

2) Headings divide each of the major sections of the paper. Sub-headings divide complex sections into sub-sections.

a) Headings should describe the topic of the section or sub-section.

b) Within each section, each sub-point you include must be related to the main point. Each sub-point should be developing, further elaborating on, or supporting the main point in that section.

c) The format of the headings and sub-headings in the example below follows APA guidelines in the 6th edition of the APA manual.

Your paper outline for a paragraph should look something like the one in the sample that follows. Do not overlook the need for transitions between sentences and paragraphs. Each sentence and paragraph should flow logically and seamlessly into the next sentence or paragraph.
Sample paragraph

Topic Sentence: A one-sentence statement of your first main point; including, in parentheses, one APA formatted citation to the reference you will use to support the first main point. It should be close to the sentence you would actually use in your paper.

Support Sentence 1: Sentence developing or supporting the first main point, such as statistics, quotations, etc.; if a new reference is used, add citation.

Support Sentence 2: Further development or support for the first main point; if a new reference is used, add citation.

Support Sentence 3: More development, if needed.

Concluding Sentence: Summarize major points or prepare reader for next paragraph

Assignment- Sentence outline for the Core Program Competency and Core Course Learning Objective (Failure to meet the guidelines below may result in you not receiving feedback.)

You will use the academic literature to demonstrate that the characteristic you have identified is a valid characteristic of the core program competency. You will also use the academic literature to show how the characteristic of the course learning objective is a valid characteristic of the course learning objective. Finally, you will use the academic literature to show how the characteristic of the course learning objective and the characteristic of the core program competency are connected. All of your sources need to be included in a properly formatted reference section.