Independent Research Paper (20%): Each student will conduct independent research on a disorder they would like to learn more about. The student has the freedom to choose from a variety of sources, but must include a minimum of 8 empirical sources. Each student will write a 7-9 page paper discussing and summarizing their findings. This paper will utilize APA formatting by including an appropriately formatted APA title page, abstract, reference page, and in-text citations as needed. 9-10 7-8 5-6 3-4 1-2 Thesis Thesis clearly stated and appropriate ly focused and underlined Clearly stated but focus could have been more defined and underlined Thesis phrasing too simple, lacks complexity ; or, not clearly worded and underlined Thesis lacks a clear objective and/or does not “fit” content of essay Thesis is not evident Supportin g Research Thorough and relevant Less thorough but still substantial and relevant Adequate; relevance made clear Insufficient; relevance not always made clear Irrelevant, missing, or relies on assertion rather than research Focus and Content Sharp, distinct focus; balanced, substantial, specific, and/or illustrative content; sophisticate d, mature ideas are particularly welldeveloped Clear focus; specific, illustrative, and balanced content Adequate focus, but unbalanced content; more analysis needed Essay contains too much research information without analysis or commentary Absence of focus and relevant content; content does not fit thesis Organizati on Obviously controlled and/or subtle organizatio n; strong topic sentences Logical and appropriate organizatio n; clear topic sentences Organizati on attempted, but unclear or inappropria te topic sentences Inconsistent organization Absence of planned organizati on Style Writer’s voice is strong; precision in tone, sentence structure, and word choice Precision and variety in sentence structure and word choice Limited, but mostly correct, sentence structure variety and word choice Several awkward and/or unclear sentences; problems with word choice No apparent control over sentence structure and word choice Mechanics and Usage Free of mechanical and usage errors Few mechanical and usage errors Some mechanical and usage errors, but not severe enough to interfere significantl y with writer’s purpose Mechanical and usage errors which interfere with writer’s purpose Mechanica l and usage errors that significant ly interfere with writer’s purpose APA title page, abstract, and headers Accurately formatted according to APA; without errors Formatted according to APA; few errors Formatted according to APA; some errors Formatted according to APA; some errors; missing title page or abstract APA format is not attempted or followed properly APA intext citations and references page All sources and in-text citations are accurately documente d in the proper APA format All sources and in-text citations are documente d, but a few are not in the desired format Most sources and in-text citations are documente d, but many are not in the desired format Several sources and in-text citations lack proper documentati on Sources and in-text citations are not accurately documente d and APA format is not attempted or followed properly Number of Sources and Peerreviewed Sources 8 empirical sources Less than 8 empirical sources Less than 5 empirical sources Appropria te length of paper 7-9 pages (not including title page, abstract, reference page, etc.) 5 pages Less than 5 pages …