Final paper

• If you would like pre-approval of your topic, articles, or argument – please fill out this form and I will get back to you with feedback ASAP.
• If you would like feedback on an early draft of your paper, please submit here by December 5th.
• If you would like extra credit – submit your completed paper early here by December 17th.
• Please review the rubric here for detailed information on how you will be graded. 

The final paper is essentially just a longer version of the critique papers. This assignment is designed to encourage students to critically examine and refute a particular belief, ideology, or theory about families using evidence, theory, and peer reviewed research to support your claims. Students can choose to critique any belief about the family represented in any piece of media, research, or literature. When describing your “family myth” you must provide a source to demonstrate that the myth actually exists. This source can be anything – a TV show, a blog post, a novel, a song, an article, whatever you want! You must also include a reference (both in-text and on the reference page) for this source. The final paper requires 4 sources including the family myth source. You must use at least three sources to support your argument, and at least TWO of them should be peer-reviewed. The student should make an argument for why they believe this particular belief is unfounded, and why this matters. For example: a student could choose to critique the common belief that co-habitation before marriage results in a greater likelihood of divorce. The student would 1) cite and describe an article, movie, tv show, novel, or other published media making this claim, 2) use two current, peer reviewed* research articles, and one additional source, to demonstrate that this claim is no longer true, and 3) explain the impact of this myth and the implications of refuting it.

Requirements:

• APA formatted cover page (no abstract), reference page, and in-text citations
• Double spaced, 12-point Times New Roman or Calibri font, 1-inch margins
• Final Paper is worth 100 points 25% of your total grade
• Minimum of 3 pages – Maximum of 4 pages
• You must include ALL of the following elements:
  • A clear description of the family myth
  • A source (referenced in the text and the reference page) that demonstrates the existence of the myth
  • A clear description of why the myth is false
  • TWO PEER REVIEWED sources, and one additional source (referenced in the text and the reference page) that demonstrate why the myth is false (you can use as many sources as you want, but you have to reference all of them and describe the relevant findings of all of them)
  • A description of the relevant findings from the source(s)
  • A description of why the myth is harmful, who it is harmful to, and how
  • A description of why your argument is important (e.g. what would happen if the myth no longer existed)