Point
Paper: Format and Contents
The outline and final paper should have
each of the five section headings; they should be able to stand alone.
I. SUBJECT: (problem
statement and significance)
-
serves as the title
-
include the consequences
to show
significance of the problem. It's OK to use statements like,
"This
is important because..." or, "This is significant because...".
-
Very important to be
concise and
absolute to inform the reader exactly what the paper is about
II. BACKGROUND: (facts)
-
What is known about the
problem;
facts - the use of data (numbers/statistics) adds credence
- What else needs to be
known about
the problem; questions/opinions.
- Why is it a problem?
- How important is the
problem?
- What is the extent
of the problem?
- Is there a
trend? Why?
- How does it
eventually impact
us?
- What will happen to
the problem
if nothing is done?
- Understand
the problem well enough so that the solution is obvious
- In this section, you
should include
answers to anticipated questions about the problem
- Use examples if
picking a more general topic
III. DISCUSSION: (causes)
- What are the causes of
the
problem? What is the root cause of the problem?
- Understand
the problem well enough so that the solution is obvious
IV. CONCLUSIONS: (restate
problem
statement and summarize causes)
-
Briefly restate the
problem statement and summarize the causes as a final
act of full problem understanding.
V. RECOMMENDATIONS: (provide a
solution(s) that addresses the causes)
-
State your best solution
- Why is it the best
solution
- Provide justification
<><>- <>What are
the drawbacks of your
recommended solution?