You should get pre-approval prior to writing the paper. The TOPIC OR SUBJECT is yours to choose with only one restriction: It must be related to an issue of Marketing in some way and stated explicitly in the paper. Unrelated papers receive an F.
1) This paper should be double spaced, 12 point type; APA format.
2) The paper should start with an Introduction (one or two paragraphs with a clear purpose statement indicating papers major points) after which will be your MAJOR section headings, probably three to five of them, then the Summary, and last the Bibliography.
3) It must be written in the THIRD PERSON. (No you or we or I references except in direct quotations.)
4) Penalties for late paper: 1 letter grade deducted from grade for each calendar day late.
5) Do NOT use textbooks as reference sources.
6) Submit in the following order:
a) Cover sheet with title, date, your name and class.
b) The body of the report (which should have headings and possibly subheadings) begins with an introduction on page 1, the text continues on page one with your first major heading and topic, and ends with a summary on the last page. The body should be three to five pages and all the information should be documented (referenced) as explained. Use transition sentences between sections.
c) Next is the Bibliography, make sure to use APA format.
7) REFERENCES: Your paper will consist mostly of paraphrasing the writing of others with a few relevant direct quotations. What you contribute is summarizing, transitional writing, logical flow of ideas, and combining the ideas and research of others. Use books as a last resort because your sources need to be current (within the last three or four years.) This is a general rule of thumb:
(1) **approximately 3-4 references per page.
(2) **approximately 1-2 sources per page in total. This means if your paper is five pages, you will have about 6 to 10 different works (use a variety of periodicals, articles, books, interviews, etc.) from which you have gathered data.
(3) **approximately 1 or 2 direct quotations per page. (If longer than four lines, single space and indent both margins.)
8) Remember a SUMMARY contains no new information. This is not a CONCLUSION but a summary of the main points of your paper.
9) Review the paper rubric for grading criteria.
Attach your submission in Rich Text Format (.rtf) below using the lastnamefirstnameMR.rtf format.
Please refer to the Marketing Research Paper rubric in the syllabus for more information.