“The Debate on Legalizing Marijuana: Examining Arguments for and Against”

Submission must be a minimum of 5-6 content pages in         length and should not exceed 8 content pages  – content       pages are those directly           addressing your debate topic and do not include the title        page or references (the total   paper may be longer than 10   pages once the title page and references are included)
Submission must be double       spaced, typed in 12 pt Times     New Roman font with 1”             margins on all sides, include    page numbers, completed in    Microsoft Word
Submission must be written in APA format and, at minimum,   contain:
A title page (your name,     paper title, due date etc.)
A reference page properly citing any and all sources    used for the assignment        (make sure to include appropriate in text citations as well)
Subheadings discussed        below
Paper organization (your paper should include the following       components and subheadings): Proofread the paper prior to submission – after you run         spell check, make sure to read through the assignment at         least one more time –                  proofread for grammatical        and spelling errors as well as    clarity. 
Introduction – provide an    overview of each side of      the debate related to your   topic and what the paper will discuss – should be no more than ¾ – 1 page – this should not  be a complete history or your topic or         contain simply anecdotal    information or examples     but instead should focus     on the assignment topic         specifically
Arguments in favor of your topic (for example,                arguments in favor of            legalizing marijuana) – this will be a new section where each argument in favor of your topic is discussed in a new paragraph 1.5 –              3 pages 
Arguments against your topic (for example, arguments against the legalization of marijuana) – this will be a new section where each       argument against your          topic is discussed in a new paragraph 1.5 – 3 pages
Conclusion – this should be a summary of the main points you made throughout the paper – this should be    no more than ¾ – 1 page
This is not a paper regarding     your personal opinion or what you think about your topic.  All content should be based on      reputable sources such as        academic articles or other         peer reviewed sources.  In          other words, do not submit a    paper on what you think about your topic.  Instead, develop a    logical position based on the materials you collect and read to develop your paper.  As          such, each paper will include    at least 7 outside peer reviewed (scholarly sources) sources       for each side of the debate to support your discussion.
Websites such as                 Wikipedia, Ask.com, .org’s, .edu’s, etc. are not                    considered appropriate sources and will not be counted towards this                       requirement. 
Textbooks, including but      not limited to the one           assigned for this class, are not considered appropriate sources. The assigned text can be cited if any                   information from the text is used in writing the paper,     however it will not count towards the  required outside sources.
Do not include examples     such as “Everyone I spoke with agrees…”, “In my            opinion…” and “According   to a conversation I had         with (insert criminal justice employee here)…” Everyone you spoke with, your             personal opinion, and criminal justice employee “Ted” are not considered appropriate sources