Research paper should address the following

• Select one aspect of housing and/or neighborhood inequity that you are most interested in researching and writing about. For your research paper, you will research and write about the causes, consequences and policy solutions to address the problem. For example, you may be interested in researching neighborhood segregation and its effects on students' educational opportunities. If so, what are the causes, consequences, and policy solution(s) to address this issue?

• Find 2 articles from the popular press (newspapers, magazines, web pages) and 2 articles from a peer reviewed journal articles. These articles should be ones not included in the course materials.

• Use 2 credible research databases (e.g. Census.gov) to bring in stats etc. about or related to the issue.

• Suggest a social policy to mitigate the negative consequences of the social problem.

• Provide in-text citations in your paper as you integrate material from your articles (similar to part one of the reading journal).

• Include information from course materials (readings, videos etc.), your neighborhood observations, and your service learning experience in your paper. Weave together the research and your personal observations/experience in order to present a compelling argument.

Format: Please follow these instructions carefully. Points will be deducted from your written assignment for failure to do so.

• The paper should be 5-pages in length.

• No cover page or abstract necessary, all you need is a title at the top of your paper and a reference page (the reference page is the 6th page)

• The paper should have 1" margins all around.

• The type font should be Times New Roman, size 12.

• All text other than references should be double-spaced; type references in single space (6th page).

• All pages except the first page should be numbered (center, bottom).

• Paper should include a thesis statement in the first paragraph, which will provide a roadmap for the reader (resource:

http://www.shmoop.com/video/how-to-write-a-killer-thesis-statement).

• Use in-text citations for all sources. Any style guide is fine (MLA, APA, ASA etc.)

(resource: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/).

• Be sure to proof read your paper for errors. Points will be deducted for spelling and grammar errors.

Suggestions for Organizing the Written Assignment

• Begin with an introductory paragraph that describes the social problem, your personal observations (neighborhood obs. and service learning experience), and why it is important.

Example: Sprawl is a major social problem in America because ... During my observations of... I witnessed... However, there are many community groups working to address this issue, for example... In this paper, I argue that the three major causes of ... are... Therefore, City Council should fund... OR Therefore, Mayor Swearengin should pass... policy X (this is only example to give you an idea of how to formulate your introduction and thesis statement)

• Next, summarize the information from your articles and databases. Be sure to connect this information to the argument presented in your introduction (approx. 4-6 paragraphs). Also, personalize this by providing a little bit of information from your observations and service learning (balance the research with the personal experience - one part should not override the other). Example: Smith (2010) found that sprawl led to... My observations in ... neighborhood support Smith's claims because I witnessed... Community leaders stated...

• Then, suggest a social policy to mitigate the negative consequences of your social problem in a couple of paragraphs (likely 2 paragraphs).

Example: The implementation of (blank social policy) can greatly reduce sprawl by ...

• Finally, end with a conclusive paragraph that summarizes what you wrote.
Example: Although access to affordable housing is a problem faced by many Americans, research indicates that implementing (blank social policy) could significantly increase access to affordable housing for millions of Americans by ...

Submission: You paper will be broken down into several components (e.g. neighborhood observation, topic selection, ongoing service learning, locating references etc.), see syllabus and Bb for due dates.

DESCRIPTION: As a culminating part of your learning in SOC 3S, each student will write a five-page service-learning research and reflection paper (1250 words) relating your experiential learning in the community to research and course content . Guidelines are as follows: