Family Dynamics and The Chapters of My Life

• Identify six or eight marriage and family concepts and explain how they apply to your own family system over the years
• Use a 10 or 12 pt Arial or Times New Roman Font
• Double-space paper
• Minimum of 1200 words. No more than 2,000 words
• Minimum of four (4) cited sources
• Use APA format and parenthetical citations right after cited material (See below)
• Make sure your name is on your paper
• Paper should contain an introduction, a body, and a conclusion

• Name on top right corner of page
• Title centered 4 spaces under name
• Introduction – 1st paragraph
  1. Define concepts to be covered
  2. Explain how you see these concepts in your own family
  3. List the main concepts you are going to discuss in the body of the paper. Make sure to have at least 6. You need one paragraph in the body for each point you mention in this part of the introduction.
  4. State thesis: purpose of paper. This is the last sentence of your introduction. (Ex: Since families play such a major role in our lives, it is very important to understand the theories and systems at work within them .)

• Body – 2nd thru 6th or 8th paragraphs
  1. The 2nd paragraph of your paper (or 1st paragraph of the body should discuss the first concept you listed in the introduction.
  2. The next paragraph of your paper should discuss the 2nd concept you listed.
  3. Continue in this pattern until you have addressed the concepts you listed.

• Conclusion – Last paragraph
  1. Restate your thesis or the purpose of your paper
  2. Write about why this is important
  3. Remember to make the conclusion similar in length to the other paragraphs.

*Many students write a one or two sentence conclusion. Do not do that.

A parenthetical (in-text) citation is when you place the source in parenthesis ( ) right after the sentence you cited instead of waiting until the end of the paper. It helps the reader to

know exactly what sentences and paragraphs are taken from particular sources.

Place the author’s name and the source’s date of publication in parentheses immediately after the end of the cited material. If it is a direct quote, include the page number as well.

For example:

• “Psychology is defined as the science of behavior and mental processes” (Coon, 2012 p. 12).
• If you have paraphrased the information then you do not need to include the page number. For example:
• Psychology is a scientific field that specifically studies both mental processes and the associated behaviors (Coon, 2012).

• Always use spell and grammar check
• Make sure you indented the paragraphs (10 spaces or half an inch)
• Balance. Each paragraph should be similar in length
• Review the APA video and resource in Student Resources under Course Home.
• You can send your paper to the Keiser OWL (Online Writing Lab) for review and to ask for help.