Your major assignment during the semester will be a research paper where you explore in more detail a subject covered in class or another area of gerontology that interests you. For this assignment, you will pick out your topic, research the topic, and prepare a paper and presentation.
Topic – Aging and Technology: Barriers to Technology Adoption
Part 1 – Proposal
For your research topic proposal, you will describe your chosen topic (what the paper is going to be about), present a thesis about the topic (argument), and write an annotated bibliography containing at least 10 citations that you will use for your paper.
3-5 sentences summary of what that reference says and why it is important for your topic, how it supports your thesis.
The proposal is required to be 2 pages long.
Part 2 – Research Paper
For the paper, you will be graded on the following elements:
Clearly state the thesis of your paper – 20 points.
You provide clear support for your thesis throughout your paper. This support should be backed up by your references. All references should be clearly introduced – 20 points.
Counterarguments – You should also present at least two counterarguments to your thesis and rebut these counterarguments. These counterarguments should also come from your references. Your rebuttals should be thoughtful and well-reasoned – 20 points.
Summary/conclusion – You end your paper with a clear summary of your paper and a conclusion. Your conclusion should be tied directly to assessing whether your research supported your thesis – 20 points.
References – You should have at least 15 references. All references must be referred to in the paper. Use APA format for citations – 20 points.
Length: 7 to 10 pages, double space.