Career Research Paper How-To Guide

How do I get started?  Step 1: Choose a Career  What do you want to do when you get out of high school?  What do you want to do when you get out of high school?

Step 2: Find Information  You need THREE credible resources.  Check out some websites that give statistics about your profession.  Must use FACTS, not opinions  Check out possible subdivisions of your career choice.  Specifically, what do you want to do?

Step 3: Create an outline  You need to create an outline for your paper  The outline shows the organization of your paper. What questions are you going to group together? What’s most important and where should that go?  The outline also gives a general idea of your answers to the required questions in a neat and manageable way.  We will go over the proper format at a later date.

Step 4: Write a Thesis  Your thesis would be something along the lines of:  Being a veterinarian would offer many opportunities, but most importantly, the chance to work with animals.  We will go into more detail later about thesis statements.

What YOU NEED:  Outline & Thesis  Specific Requirements:  Nature of the Work  Educational Requirements  Skills and Abilities Necessary  Average Earnings  Working Conditions  Employment Outlook  Personal Appeal and Fit  Internal Citations  Works Cited Page

Nature of the Work:  Introduced in the introduction paragraph  What is the job?  What duties would the job require?  What responsibilities would come with the position?

Educational Requirements  What education do you need to do this job?  What programs do you need to complete?  What certifications do you need to obtain?  How long will the training or schooling take?  What are some colleges/trade schools you could attend to further your education/training?

Skills, Abilities, Requirements  What skills are necessary to do this job?  What are the physical/mental demands of this job?

Average Earnings  What is the starting salary?  What is the average salary?  What is the salary cap, or highest salary in the field?  Are there opportunities for raises?

Working Conditions  What does a typical work-day entail?  What are the hours?  What is travel like?  Other Conditions?

Employment Outlook  Are there job openings in your field?  Where would you be willing to relocate?  Is the job stable?  Is it a year round job?  Will you be able to advance and move up?

Personal Appeal and Fit  Wraps up the essay in the conclusion  Why would you be the best at this job?  What about your personality/ skills/values fits with this career?  Why is this career appealing to you?

Internal Citations  Each of your three sources must be directly quoted in your paper.  MLA Format  Dr. James Madison of Florida State University claims, “the average earning of the alligator wrestler is upwards of $97,000 per year” (“Get that ‘Gator!”).

Works Cited Page  Three PROPERLY cited sources.  MLA Format  Format of paper is AS FOLLOWS:  TIMES NEW ROMAN SIZE 12 FONT  DOUBLE SPACED  ONE INCH MARGINS  2 FULL PAGE MINIMUM  Text must be on the 3 rd page!

Due Dates!  3 Reliable Sources  Tuesday, February 9  Outlines & Thesis Statements  Thursday, February 11  Rough Drafts  By the BEGINNING OF CLASS  Friday, February 19

Research Paper FINAL DRAFTS are DUE: FEBRUARY 22, 2016