5 full pages

Instructions: Definition Paper

ASSIGNMENT
define your theme. Remember that your theme is the idea you have chosen to work with over the course of the semester. If your theme is “nature,” this paper will present a definition of “nature.” If your theme is “justice,” this paper will present a definition of “justice.” See “Theme Suggestions” document posted in Canvas for possible themes. 

the theme for this paper is LEADERSHIP

details should be discussed in greater details with selected writers

Your paper should provide an encyclopedic discussion of your theme that moves readers’ understanding of your theme beyond the obvious. Your paper should be thought-provoking; the best definition papers teach readers something new about a term or invite additional discussion about a term. 

This paper must focus on providing a definition. Your thesis statement should present a definition. 

Your paper should include: 

1. An introductory paragraph and thesis statement that identify the theme and provide an original definition of that theme, respectively. Your thesis statement should attempt to synthesize various definitions of the theme that already exist within scholarship. To synthesize means to combine various ideas into a new, single idea. The thesis statement should be a single sentence and should appear at the end of the introductory paragraph. 

2. Body paragraphs that provide context for your definition, contain facts and examples, and combine research and reasoning to provide support for your thesis statement. Most good body paragraphs include a topic sentence, some of the author’s own ideas/analysis, some evidence, and a conclusion sentence that “finishes” the paragraph and reiterates the main point of the paragraph. 

3. Topic and transitional sentences between paragraphs. You may use headings between different sections of the paper, but headings are not required for this assignment. 

4. A conclusion paragraph and correctly formatted APA References page. 

5. In-text citations. 

6. A correctly formatted APA title page, including a paper title and a running header. An abstract is not required.

GOALS OF THE ASSIGNMENT 

1. Analyze an assignment prompt and develop a strategy for responding to the prompt; 

2. Craft an effective thesis statement that provides focus for an academic paper; 

3. Use writing to show evidence of critical thinking; 

4. Apply information from credible source materials; 

5. Express intellectually stimulating ideas using clear, grammatically correct prose. 

RESEARCH
Your paper must make use of at least two credible secondary sources. Reference sources (dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, etc.) may be used in the paper, but reference sources do not count as secondary sources. 

Credible secondary sources include books, articles retrieved from the library databases, government reports or documents, articles from electronic or print trade journals, and material from trustworthy, timely, peer-reviewed websites. 

APA FORMATTING/CITATIONS
 Use Palmquist Chapter 21 to craft the References page and in-text citations. Your paper must include in-text citations. Provide an in-text citation for any information you have learned from a source, including direct quotations, paraphrased material, factual assertions, detailed historical information that is not common knowledge, and any other material learned from a source. 

DUE DATES
A rough and final draft are required. See course schedule. 

GRADING
The rough draft is worth 25 points. If you submit a complete rough draft that does not include plagiarism or another form of academic dishonesty, you will earn 25 points.

The final draft is worth 150 points and will be graded based on the grading rubric included in the course syllabus. 

Papers that do not meet the word count and/or research requirement will face significant points deductions. 

sample definition paper is in the attachement