Why the death penalty should be abolished. (discuss both views)
My Guidance for Your Research Papers
1. Your paper will be 10 full pages, including footnotes. You must be clear and avoid the filler that
is often contained in longer papers.
2. Introduction (10%): Your introduction will not be longer than two pages.
3. Thesis Statement: (10%): Immediately after your introduction, you must present a clear thesis
statement. In simplistic terms, a thesis statement is the main point of your paper that tells the
reader what you intend to argue later in your paper. You must word your thesis statement, as
follows: “My thesis statement is . . . .” The thesis statement should not be longer than two
sentences, and normally one is sufficient.
4. Road Map (5%): Immediately after your thesis statement, you must provide a clear road map
to let the reader know where you are going with your paper. Word your road map, as follows: “My
paper will first briefly explore . . . , followed by . . . . Finally I will defend my thesis by . . . .“ Your
road map should be only a few sentences, but it must be clear.
5. Background (10%): Next, provide a brief but clear background of your topic. This may only be
one page or less.
6. Argument/Defending Your Thesis (50%): Now we are at the meat of the paper, defending your
thesis statement. This must be at least five full pages, and you must use your research to defend
your thesis. This is the hardest part of your paper, and this is where you need to focus your time
and energy. Why? This is where students fail in their Capstone theses (I don’t mean literally fail,
but they lose a lot of points). Students either present poor arguments or they present no
arguments at all. You will present clear arguments, supported by your research, to defend your
thesis. Last three points in this area — (1) Conclusory statements must be supported with your
research; (2) Do not use provoking language which amounts to merely an opinion, such as:
“Those who support capital punishment are idiots.” (This actually came from a student); and (3)
You need to fill in glaring gaps. For example, one student’s entire thesis argued that the
separation of church and state clause in the Constitution was misinterpreted by the Supreme
Court and that religion should be in schools, government, etc. The glaring gap was, given the
student’s arguments, what did the separation clause mean? This was not addressed.
7. Conclusion (5%): Conclude your paper in one page or less.
Finally, a few other points:
1. Grade: The grading rubric for each section of your paper is highlighted above (in yellow). As
you can see, 50% of your paper is the argument section, which is why I say it is your main focus.
2. References/Proper Use of The Bluebook (10%): You must use a minimum of 15 scholarly
references that will be footnoted (per The Bluebook) on the page where you use the reference.
You may use a reference more than once, but it still only counts as 1 of the 15. Scholarly
references are not Wikipedia, blogs, or crazy websites.
3. Formatting: Double space your paper and use a 12 point font of your choice. Do not include a
title page, abstract, endnotes, or bibliography/reference page.
