The first step in completing this assignment is to send a classroom Message to your instructor with the issue you select for your paper by the end of Week 2 of the course term. Papers submitted without Week 2 approval of issue focus cannot be graded.
Part I: Issue Analysis
Analysis involves researching and comparing different elements of an issue to acquire in-depth knowledge of its component parts. In this section of the paper you will demonstrate knowledge of the issue you selected by describing and comparing various aspects of it, drawing on a minimum of 4 academic journal articles from the APUS Online Library in addition to information in the course textbook. This portion of the paper should not attempt to discuss every possible problem associated with the issue you selected but rather to focus on just one problem that you find interesting and compelling enough to want to solve after conducting your issue research.
Part II: Application
Application requires putting into action one's knowledge and ideas about a problem and how to solve it, which in this case are informed by the scholarly material you reviewed in the writing of Part 1. In this section of the paper you will demonstrate the ability to apply what you have learned when researching the issue you selected by hypothesizing about and recommending possible solutions that could be used to address and improve the situation examined in the Issue Analysis part of the paper. The goal here is to attempt to solve the particular problem you identified in Part 1, not to introduce additional problems or identify every possible solution.
Full Paper Writing, Formatting and Submission Requirements
The body of the paper, not including the title and References page, must be a minimum of 6 full pages long.
The paper must include a title page and References page listing all sources used attached to the end.
The full paper, including title and References pages, must be formatted in compliance with the rules of the American Psychological Association (APA) and be well-organized, easy to follow, written as a narrative with no lists, bulleted items, tables or graphics and free of grammatical and spelling errors. First person perspective "I" and second person "you" pronouns and personal story sharing should not be included.
Each page of the paper must not contain more than 3 direct quotes. Your instructor needs to see what meaning you have made of what you found in researching scholarly articles, not what the articles' authors have already written.
Any portions of the paper based on published information must be source credited in the paper body and with an accompanying References list of all sources attached to the end.
The paper must be in 12 point Times New Roman or Arial font, left-justified and double-spaced with 1" margins on all sides of each page.
A left-aligned running head must be placed at the top of each page of the paper, including the title page.
The paper should begin with an introduction followed by a focused, organized, and clearly articulated discussion of the issue in Part 1: Issue Analysis, followed by your recommendations for solving a particular problem related to it in Part 2: Application, followed by a conclusion paragraph or two summarizing the problem and your proposed solution.
When you submit your paper a Turnitin "Similarity Percentage" (how much of the work is copied and not in your own words) will be auto-generated. A similarity percentage is considered acceptable if it is 10% or less. A Turnitin Similarity Percentage of 10%+ to 30% is considered not in compliance with student author originality standards and will result in significant point deduction, before the paper is graded for compliance with its other requirements as follows, without option for revision and resubmission to recover lost points.