The meaning of marriage in contemporary Western society

Your paper should include: • A title • Introduction with a clearly formulated thesis and consistent argument o Consider: Within your chosen topic, what question are you exploring? What is your thesis (position) about this question? • A strong argument – Discuss your key arguments and research supporting your analysis. • A discussion of the theological aspects of your topic. • A conclusion • Footnotes, not endnotes. Please use either APA or MLA format. • References – i.e., Bibliography or Works Cited • A minimum of five scholarly (peer reviewed) resources o Ensure websites are reputable and scholarly o Wikipedia, Google etc. are not scholarly sources. • No more than 10% of your paper may be sourced from non-scholarly research o You may use the course textbook and course pack as references. However, you are expected to do more research than this! Your paper should direct itself to three points: • Primarily, it should address your topic. Do not go on long tangents; stay focused on your topic and research question. • The theological aspects of your topic and research question. • Your own thoughts, reflections and analysis of your topic. o Remember, you are not only expressing the views of scholars and thinkers; you are also presenting your own analysis of the topic. Your analysis should be included. o Also, this is a research paper, not a reflection paper. Be sure your paper is research focused. To help, please write in the third person voice, NOT the first person voice (“I”). Your topic will be broad. You are strongly encouraged to focus on a specific aspect of your topic, formulate a research question and then ‘drill down’ on specific aspects to hone your argument and thesis. Your paper should be: • Typed, double-spaced, 12-point font, 1” margins on all sides • In Word (.doc or .docx) format only.