This document provides instructions for students to write a draft of the first few pages of their final paper on the influence of media on youth. It outlines that students should include a title page, running head, 2-3 pages of the body introducing their research question and reviewing at least 3 academic sources related to their topic. Each source review should describe the main topic, focus, argument, type of article, key findings, the student's opinion on the study, and how it relates to the other sources. Headings and a references page are also required. The draft will be revised and submitted as the final paper in a later module.

1. Topic: Influence of Media on Youth
Writing a Brief Draft
At this point in the course, you have developed a focal question,
reviewed articles related to your topic, and have designed an
outline of your final paper. Using all of that information, begin
the writing process now. Effective writers create a draft of their
paper and revise that draft one or more times before producing a
final paper. Your draft-writing process begins with this
assignment and continues in
Module 4
. In
Module 5
, you will submit your final draft of this paper.
This assignment requires you to write a draft of the first few
pages of your final paper, using current APA standards for
editorial style, expression of ideas, and formatting of the text,
headings, citations, and references.
The following components, each in current
APA
style, must be included:
Title page
Running head with page numbers
2-3 pages of the body of the paper. Be sure to:
Articulate a research question which is specific, researchable,
and important to the field.
This should be the same focal question you submitted in
Module 2
.
Provide an introduction to your paper, introducing your topic
and providing an overview of the main points you will discuss
in further detail in the final paper.
Review at least 3 academic references.
These should be academic references taken from the list of 10
references you submitted in

2. Module 2
.
Your review of each source should include the following
:
The main topic
The focus or thesis of the journal article
The argument the author is making and its relevance to your
focal question
The type of article—published, original research, meta-analysis,
or reflection piece
The key findings of the study
Your opinion about the merits of the study, including future
points of interest or research
Analysis of how the information/research findings in each
article confirm or contradict the findings in the other articles
you have chosen.
Headings and subheadings organizing the body of the paper
References page