Your Research Paper assignment is a 1200 to 2000 word (not counting your bibliography) informative research paper on a topic of your choosing, as long as it pertains to biological/physical anthropology. Font will be 12pt in Times New Roman (or something very similar), one-inch margins and double-spaced. I will require a header at the top each page with your name and class, in a similar fashion to the header at the top of this page. Please include page numbers on a corner of each page of your paper. Do not include a title page, rather a bolded title at the top of the first page (similar to this document). Do not over-space the top of the document. The format of your paper will be in accordance with the American Anthropology Association (AAA) style guide. I have posted the AAA style guide on Canvas.

Appropriate topics include, but are not limited to, evolutionary theory, primatology, paleopathology, human skeletal biology, genetic studies, forensics, etc. This can be a fun investigation of something you find interesting.

You will be responsible for finding at least 3 journal articles that are related to your topic of interest and using their content to support your paper. As this is an academic paper, sources must be academic peer-reviewed journals, which means no blogs, no wikipedia, no newspapers (yes this includes National Geographic and Smithsonian).  Some books may be acceptable, but I would advise against their use, as it may be hard to ferret out what would work and what will lose you points.

Anything that is not common knowledge requires a citation. You will be using in-text citations in accordance with the AAA style guide. A good rule is when in doubt cite. I need to know where you are getting your information. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. If you have a question with regards to proper citation or how to cite, look at the style guide.

You will be turning in your paper by uploading it on Canvas. There will be a 15% deduction for each day your paper is late. Late count starts the minute after the due time/date. Do not wait until the last minute. Finish early so you dont have to worry, as I will not allow any excuses for late work. For example, if you were just about to submit your paper and your computer freezes, or the internet goes out, and you have to run to the library in the hail and snow, barefoot, while fighting zombies, to get your paper turned in, but it is 12:01 am, your paper will be late.

CITATION EXAMPLES:

Within text:

Preferred resources are those that are disproportionately selected relative to their abundance in the habitat (Marshall & Wrangham, 2007). If you have more than two authors list the first author followed by et al. (Marshal et al. 2007).

In Bibliography:

Marshall, A.J. & R.W. Wrangham.

2007    Evolutionary consequences of fallback foods.

International Journal of Primatology 283(55):1219-1235.