This paper assesses your ability to effectively use APA style – a skill that you will use throughout the remainder of your college career. Beyond that, you will be researching and drawing conclusions about a topic important to your success in college or after graduation.
For example, you might narrow the succeeding in college topic to focus on time management or study skills to help you succeed in college. Or, that topic could be narrowed to focus on how community/campus involvement is related to college success. You could also look at different types of “success”—are you focusing on academic success? Or even the ability to develop connections with other students, faculty, or mentors while in college? You could address how to overcome specific challenges faced by students at a largely commuter campus/first-generation college students/nontraditional students, etc. There are lots of directions to take within each topic, so make it your own.
Write a brief (4-5 page) APA-style paper that introduces the reader to the focus of your paper, summarizes the literature regarding your topic, and provides a conclusion paragraph in which you apply what you have learned to your educational/career path.
Write the paper in a relatable way, rather than in a dry academic tone. When you graduate from college, no one will ask you to write a term paper. However, it is likely that your employer will ask you to read some specialized literature and then write a report that “translates” that specialized literature in a way that a non-expert can understand and that makes clear how to use that information to solve a specific problem.