Alcohol Abuse is Destroying the Family

The research paper must be six pages minimum, eight pages maximum in length, typed, MLA (essay) format.
The page count requirement of the research paper includes the Works Cited section.
The completed research paper must use and cite a minimum of eight separate online topic-related sources. An author (both first and last name) and complete date (dd/mm/yyyy) must be cited for all sources. Ask the instructor about exceptions.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The instructor must have unfettered access to every source (no registration, no login).
HISTORY: I like history; I minored in it, but this is not a history-of-your-topic assignment. For example, if your topic is “The Abuse of Slobovian Goats,” and your research paper includes how Slobovian goats were abused back in the seventeenth century, I will stop reading at that point and assign your paper the appropriate grade. If you cannot locate contemporary information about your topic, my advice is to choose another topic, but please do not change topics without my approval.
A maximum of four lines of text are permitted if you absolutely must provide a history of your topic, and those four lines must be within a paragraph.
The Bible counts as one source no matter how many times it is used in the paper. Thirty-two separate issues of the Armed Forces Journal count as one source. Citations (works cited sources) in the research paper must be current (within five years). Ask the instructor about exceptions.
Avoid using sources that are specified in Item #8. Instead, do some serious research.
#8 - “on campus only” sources may not be used. Avoid using sources such as encyclopedias or anything that ends with -pedia, quotation Websites, Yahoo Answers, Ask.com, About.com, Reader’s Digest or any condensed version of a work, Wikipedia and other Wiki sources, social publications such as People Magazine, Jet Magazine, ehow, Bustle, other social and Give-Me-an-Answer or Find-Me-an-Article Websites, and Weblogs (blogs), Research Gate (or any other website that has done the research for you). Instead, do some serious, scholarly research. Dictionaries, and other reference sources may be used only as a tertiary source in connection with other credible sources not provided by the instructor. Avoid citing the dictionary as a source unless you are providing an unusual definition of a word. The same applies to simply defining a word, phrase, or concept; assume that your audience already possesses a brain and a vocabulary.
Never use Blackboard, the textbook, or Google Drive as a source. If an online book or other source is used, I must have unfettered access to the entire book or source. Other research papers (studies, collegiate theses, or password protected PDF files or documents, including subscription services) may not be used as sources.
Dictionaries, versions of The Holy Bible, and other reference sources may be used only in connection with other credible sources. Do not use the dictionary as a source unless you are providing an unusual definition of a word that cannot be found in the American Heritage Dictionary (ahdictionary.com). Assume that your audience possesses a vocabulary. This is not a course in law, so do not use the JSL databases. Since January 22, 1973, the judicial system in this country has been a puzzle to me.
In addition to the above source guidance, only one other research paper (also called a published study) may be used as a source.
At least one direct quotation (no fewer than two complete lines of text) must be provided from each source; however, do not submit essays or a research paper in which a large part is quoted material. I want your writing based on your research. Short quotations (at least two but no more than four lines of text) are permissible except for one long direct quotation (between 5 and 10 lines of text). No more than one quotation is allowed in each paragraph, and that quotation must be within the paragraph and directly relate to that paragraph.
An in-text citation is required each time that a research source is used.
When you review the model formal essay handout, notice that there is one short quote (from research) in the paper. Most of the writing in the paper is done by the student, not quoted from another source.
Quotations are never permitted in the first paragraph or the last paragraph of the research paper. Those paragraphs should be exclusively yours.
Similar to the essays, the research paper needs a title on Page 1 above the first paragraph, but do not include a title page or an abstract. The heading, title, and body of the research paper must be formatted in MLA style like all essay assignments.
Subtitles are not necessary or assigned in the research paper.
The citations on the Works Cited page must include the complete URL of the Website researched. For example, if I were writing a paper on whether God created us with a desire to sin, I might develop the following citation that includes the full URL.
While conducting research on your topic, make notes and save (bookmark) everything. Frustration is normal when compiling research. Frustration is a bully. My advice is to look frustration in the eye.
Any image used must be legible, set at the left or right one-inch margin, and be a maximum size of two square inches.
Students who use a current version of MS Word often take advantage of using the "References" tab on Word to help build citations and to save research. If you use that feature, understand that MS Word does not format exactly like the examples that I provide; however, adjustments to conform to that format are easy.
POINT OF VIEW : The research paper must be written in a third person omniscient point of view. Be consistent.