Human Behavioral Ecology Research Paper Instructions, and Grading Rubric

The syllabus mentions: â€œThis research paper must be related to the field of human behavioral ecology and/or the topics we have discussed in class. The paper needs to be five pages and double-spaced, and must accurately present its topic in an organized manner. Work from other authors or researchers must be cited and referenced using American Psychological Association (APA) style.

The goal of this research and writing assignment is for you to develop and communicate your knowledge about a topic that interests you, and which relates to any of the topics we have discussed in class.

All research paper essays should display knowledge of the topic as well as college level understanding of sentence structure, grammar, and spelling. While students are not expected to write as scientists do, they are expected to produce essays that are cohesive and show a clear understanding of the subject. The bottom line when it comes to evaluation is that the grader needs to see in your writing that you understand what you are writing about!

A total of 20 points are possible for essays with around 5 pages (this should be no less than 800 original words (NOT including titles, headings, quotations, citations, references). While you are free to produce something longer, it would be ideal to keep essays to no more than 1200 words.

All work should be submitted using American Psychological Association (APA) style formatting for in-text citations and a reference section provided at end of essay. You do NOT need to include a title page and abstract for this assignment, though these are APA standards.

Your essay must have at least 3 primary sources that are either scientific books, academic journal articles, or sources located through eHRAF World Cultures. Reputable websites can provide additional helpful sources (and should be cited if used), but do not to count towards the minimum of 3 primary sources. Google Scholar is a valuable resource, or else discuss your query with a reference librarian for research assistance.

Essays should be double spaced and 11 or 12 percent font.

Always start with an outline before writing your essay, line up your information and structure your argument and review. Using this extra step will not only save you time in the end, it will help you build a better essay.

Start with a focused and clear introduction. The first sentence or two should already give the reader a VERY CLEAR idea of what your whole essay will accomplish.

All essays mush have in-text citations for all factual material that is mentioned. When you communicate something factual, do it in your own words, DO NOT RELY ON DIRECT QUOTATIONS. Direct quotations provide the grader no evidence that you understand the material â€“ to do that everything needs to be put in your own words. But even after it is in your own words, you need to cite it. APA in-text citation style requires author last name and year in parenthesis, e.g. (Darwin, 1859). APA standards for two authors, three authors, more than three authors, etc can be found on many websites and in the APA publication manual available in the library.

Always end with a proper conclusion (this will require a proper introduction). The conclusion wraps up your discussion and also restates how you have accomplished what you described setting out to do in the very beginning of your introduction.

Human Behavioral Ecology Research Paper Instructions, and Grading R...