Description
Research a selected local, national, or global nonprofit organization or government agency to determine how it contributes to public health and safety improvements, promotes equal opportunity, and improves the quality of life within the community. Submit your findings in a 3-5 page report.
INSTRUCTIONS
First, select one of the local, national, or global nonprofit organizations or government agencies presented in the Assessment 02 Supplement: Community Resources [PDF] resource, I’LL ATTACH BELOW
Then research the nonprofit organization or government agency that you selected. Determine how the organization or agency contributes to public health and safety improvements, promotes equal opportunity, and improves the quality of life within the community. Submit your findings in a 3–5 page report structured according to the following specifications:
Document Format and Length
Format your paper using APA style.
Refer to the APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] to help you in writing and formatting your paper. Be sure to include:
A title page and references page. An abstract is not required.
Appropriate section headings.
Your paper should comprise 3–5 pages of content plus title and references pages.
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
Cite at least three credible sources from peer-reviewed journals or professional industry publications published within the past 5 years that support your research findings.
GRADED REQUIREMENTS
The research requirements, outlined below, correspond to the grading criteria in the assessment scoring guide, so be sure to address each point.
Explain how the organization’s mission and vision enable it to contribute to public health and safety improvements.
Include examples of ways a local and/or global initiative supports organizational mission and vision and promotes public health and safety.
Evaluate an organization’s ability to promote equal opportunity and improve the quality of life in the community.
Consider the effects of social, cultural, economic, and physical barriers.
Assess the impact of funding sources, policy, and legislation on the organization’s provision of services.
Consider the potential implications of funding decisions, policy, and legislation for individuals, families, and aggregates within the community.
Explain how an organization’s work impacts the health and/or safety needs of a local community.
Consider how nurses might become involved with the organization.
Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions; contains few errors in grammar/punctuation, word choice, and spelling.
Apply APA formatting to in-text citations and references exhibiting nearly flawless adherence to APA format.
Write with a specific purpose and audience in mind.
Adhere to scholarly and disciplinary writing standards and APA formatting requirements.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Before submitting your paper, proofread it to minimize errors that could distract readers and make it difficult for them to focus on your research findings.
Unformatted Attachment Preview
Assessment 02 – Community Resources
For this assessment, you will research a selected local, national, or global nonprofit organization
or government agency to determine how it contributes to public health and safety
improvements, promotes equal opportunity, and improves the quality of life within the
community and submit your findings in a 3–5 page report.
Before you complete the detailed instructions in the courseroom, first review the local, national,
and global nonprofit organizations and government agencies in the list below and select one to
be the focus of your assessment.
•
Cultural Survival: Advocates for Indigenous Peoples’ rights and supports Indigenous
communities’ self-determination, cultures, and political resilience.
•
Boys and Girls Club: Provides after-school programs for young people to enhance their
lives and shape their futures.
•
Make-A-Wish: Grants life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.
•
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital: A research hospital seeking cures for children
with catastrophic diseases through research and treatment.
•
Trevor Project: Provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ+) young people.
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Document Format: Margins are 1 in. (2.54 cm) on all sides.
All text in the document should be double-spaced.
The font is 12-point Times New Roman. Other choices are 11-point Arial and 11-point Calibri.
The title page is page 1.
There is no running head for learner assignments. (See Academic Writer: Publication Manual §§ 2.1–2.24
for paper requirements.)
Full Title of Your Paper
Learner’s Full Name (no credentials)
School of Nursing and Health Sciences, Capella University
Course Number: Course Name
Instructor’s Name
Month, Year
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Abstract
An abstract is useful in professional papers, but not always in learner assignments. In fact,
unless you are instructed by your faculty or in the course syllabus, do not expect to use
abstracts very often at Capella. If you are submitting for publication, remember to check
with the journal or professional organization about their criteria for an abstract. The
abstract tells your reader about the article, is brief, and stands alone, so no citations are included.
The format for an abstract is a single paragraph (not indented on the first line) that follows the
title page and is less than 250 words in length. A structured abstract will have a single paragraph
without indentation but having labels (e.g., Objective, Method, Results, and Conclusions) on the
same line as the text and bold. For published works, the publishing organization will give you
guidance on these. However, for student papers, no abstract is needed unless the faculty request
one or the assignment requires it. Remember, no citations.
Keywords: include keywords in the abstract—they should be labeled like this, with the
words all in lowercase and separated by commas. Only the first line is indented, like a regular
paragraph. No period at the end.
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APA Style Seventh Edition Paper Template: A Resource for Academic Writing
American Psychological Association (APA) style is one of the most popular methods
used to cite sources in the social sciences, but it is not the only one. When writing papers in the
programs offered at Capella University, you will likely use APA style. This document serves as
an APA style resource for the seventh edition guidelines, containing valuable information that
you can use when writing academic papers. For more information on APA style, refer to the
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, also referred to as the APA
manual (American Psychological Association, 2020b).
The first section of this paper shows how an introduction effectively introduces the reader
to the topic of the paper. In APA style, an introduction never gets a heading. For example, this
section did not begin with a heading titled “Introduction,” unlike the following section, which is
titled “Writing an Effective Introduction.” The following section will explain in greater detail a
model that can be used to effectively write an introduction in an academic paper. The remaining
sections of the paper will continue to address APA style and effective writing concepts,
including section headings, organizing information, the conclusion, and the reference list.
Writing an Effective Introduction
An effective introduction often consists of four main components, including (a) the
position statement, thesis, or hypothesis, which describes the author’s main position; (b) the
purpose, which outlines the objective of the paper; (c) the background, which is general
information needed to understand the content of the paper; and (d) the approach, which is the
process or methodology the author uses to achieve the purpose of the paper. This information
will help readers understand what will be discussed in the paper. It can also serve as a tool to
grab the reader’s attention. Authors may choose to briefly reference sources that will be
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identified later in the paper as in this example (American Psychological Association, 2020a;
American Psychological Association, 2020b). The Writing Center has developed the acronym
POETS to help describe the proper writing style for submissions. POETS is the acronym for
purpose, organization, evidence, tone, and sentence structure (Capella Writing Center, n.d.).
There will be more on this later.
In an introduction, the writer will often present something of interest to capture the
reader’s attention and introduce the issue. Adding an obvious statement of purpose helps the
reader know what to expect, while helping the writer to focus and stay on task. For example, this
paper will address several components necessary to effectively write an academic paper,
including how to write an introduction, how to write effective paragraphs, and how to effectively
use APA style.
Level 1 Section Heading Is Centered, Bold, and Title Case
Using section headings can be an effective method of organizing an academic paper.
Section headings are not required according to APA style; however, they can significantly
improve the quality of a paper by helping both the reader and the author, as will soon be
discussed.
Level 2 Section Heading Is Aligned Left, Bold, and Title Case
The heading style recommended by APA consists of five levels (APA, 2020b, pp. 47–
48). This document contains multiple levels to demonstrate how headings are structured
according to APA style. Immediately before the previous paragraph, a Level 1 section heading
was used. That section heading describes how a Level 1 heading should be written, which is
centered, bold, and using uppercase and lowercase letters (also referred to as title case). For
another example, see the section heading “Writing an Effective Introduction” on page 3 of this
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document. The heading is centered and bold and uses uppercase and lowercase letters. If used
properly, section headings can significantly contribute to the quality of a paper by helping the
reader, who wants to understand the information in the document, and the author, who desires to
effectively describe it.
Section Heading Purposes
Section Headings Help the Reader. Section headings serve multiple purposes, including
helping the reader understand what is being addressed in each section, maintain an interest in the
paper, and choose what they want to read. For example, if the reader of this document wants to
learn more about writing an effective introduction, the previous section heading clearly states
that is where information can be found. When subtopics are needed to explain concepts in greater
detail, different levels of headings are used according to APA style.
Section Headings Help the Author. Section headings not only help the reader; they also
help the author organize the document during the writing process. Section headings can be used
to arrange topics in a logical order, and they can help an author manage the length of the paper.
In addition to an effective introduction and the use of section headings, each paragraph of an
academic paper can be written in a manner that helps the reader stay engaged.
Section Headings Can Demonstrate Fine Detail. Short papers and assignments may not
require or need a Level 5 heading, but these will be indented, bold, italic, and title case and end
with a period. Note the text starts on the line at the end of the heading following the period.
How to Write Effective Paragraphs
Capella University’s Writing Center (n.d.) has adopted a new set of writing standards to
assist learners in their goals to improve their scholarly writing. It is based on five skills known by
the mnemonic POETS. In other words, a well-developed Capella paper will demonstrate the
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following standards. The paper will have a clear purpose statement, be logically organized,
utilize current and appropriate evidence that is properly cited, maintain a scholarly tone, and
demonstrate proper grammar and writing mechanics in the sentence structure (Capella Writing
Center, n.d.). Academic writing is sometimes considered dry and boring. A learning experience
may need that formula to encourage learning in different ways as the learner moves from passive
learner to active scholar. This growth, according to Gilmore et al. (2019), requires the writer to
not only think but also to write differently.
Bias-Free Language
In the seventh edition of the APA manual, another focus is on eliminating bias in
language in order to provide a more inclusive tone in scholarly writing. While long considered a
grammar issue, it is acceptable in APA to utilize they as a singular pronoun (APA, 2020b). In
fact, there is an entire chapter of the manual dedicated to ways to reduce bias in scholarly
writing. It is important to use an appropriate level of specificity in descriptions and use
sensitivity with the use of labels. Other sections include guidelines on age, disability, gender,
race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and participation in research. Be
aware of intersectionality, a term used to describe a person based on their identified multiple
identities, interconnectivity, social context, power relations, complexity, social justice, and
inequalities that can result in oppression (Cole, 2019; Hopkins, 2017).
Considering Direct Quotations
Another important point to consider is the use of direct quotations in papers. While
plagiarism is considered an academic integrity issue, many learners are concerned with issues
such as self-plagiarism and unintentional plagiarism, and there are others who may go as far as
purchasing papers for submission (Colella & Alahmadi, 2019). As a learner travels along their
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chosen academic pathway, their writing skills and mechanics are expected to improve. It is
imperative that the learner transition from finding information and quoting the author word for
word to using the information to support an idea, paraphrase, and then synthesize and express the
findings in one’s own words. Having said that, there are situations in which quotations may be
appropriate, so it is important to cite them properly. According to the seventh edition of the APA
manual, “When quoting directly, always provide the author, year, and page number of the
quotation in the in-text citation in either parenthetical or narrative format” (APA, 2020b, p. 270).
If there are not page numbers, identify the location in another manner (such as a paragraph
number).
Notice that the above quote contains fewer than 40 words. There is a different style for
quotes containing 40 words or more. These longer quotes use a block quotation format:
Do not use quotation marks to enclose a block quotation. Start a block quotation on a new
line and indent the whole block 0.5 in. from the left margin. If there are additional
paragraphs within the quotation, indent the first line of each subsequent paragraph an
additional 0.5 in. Double-space the entire block quotation; do not add extra space before
or after it. Either (a) cite the source in parentheses after the quotation’s final punctuation
or (b) cite the author and year in the narrative before the quotation and place only the
page number in parentheses after the quotation’s final punctuation. Do not add a period
after the closing parenthesis in either case. (APA, 2020b, p. 272)
Conclusion
A summary and conclusion section, which can also be the discussion section of an APA
style paper, is the final opportunity for the author to make a lasting impression on the reader. The
author can begin by restating opinions or positions and summarizing the most important points
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that have been presented in the paper. For example, this paper was written to demonstrate to
readers how to effectively use APA style when writing academic papers. Various components of
an APA style paper that were discussed or displayed in the form of examples include a title page,
introduction section, levels of section headings and their use, the POETS format, bias-free
language, in-text citations, a conclusion, and the reference list.
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References
American Psychological Association. (2020a). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of
conduct (2002, amended effective June 1, 2010, and January 1, 2017).
https://doi.org.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx
American Psychological Association. (2020b). Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association (7th ed.).
Capella University. (n.d.). Writing Center. https://campus.capella.edu/writing-center/home
Cole, N. L. (2019, October 13). Definition of intersectionality: On the intersecting nature of
privileges and oppression. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/intersectionalitydefinition-3026353
Colella, J., & Alahmadi, H. (2019). Combating plagiarism from a transformation viewpoint.
Journal of Transformative Learning, 6(1), 59–67.
https://jotl.uco.edu/index.php/jotl/article/view/184
Gilmore, S., Harding, N., Helin, J., & Pullen, A. (2019). Writing differently. Management
Learning, 50(1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350507618811027
Hopkins, P. (2017). Social geography I: Intersectionality. Progress in Human Geography, 43(5),
937–947. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132517743677
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Appendix
Tips for the Reference List
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Always begin a reference list on a new page. It should be placed before any appendices, figures,
or tables and titled References.
•
Set a hanging indent that starts with the second line and is double-spaced. You can look in the
Paragraph menu of Microsoft Word for formatting the hanging indent so that you will not have to
tab the indent. It gives the text a smoother look that remains consistent, even if you make edits.
•
The reference list is in alphabetical order by the first author’s last name. A reference list only
contains sources that are cited in the body of the paper, and all sources cited in the body of the
paper must be included in the reference list. If you did not cite it, do not list it.
•
The reference list above contains an example of how to cite a source when two documents are
written in the same year by the same author.
•
•
o
The lowercase letters are used after the date to differentiate the sources. The “a” reflects
the alphabetical order in the reference list—not whether it appeared first in the text.
o
The year is also displayed using this method for the corresponding in-text citations, as in
the following sentence: The author of the first citation (American Psychological
Association, 2020b) is also the publisher; therefore, the word Author is no longer used in
the seventh edition.
DOI is the digital object identifier.
o
It can be found on the first page of an article, on the copyright page of a book, in the
database record of a work, or by searching Crossref.
o
Even if the book is in print, if there is a DOI, use it.
o
Always use the hyperlink format for a DOI—it will always start with https://doi.org/ and will
be followed by a number. If the DOI is not in this format, convert it. Do not alter this
format, and do not add a final period.
o
There is a short DOI service at http://shortdoi.org/.
URL is the uniform resource locator.
o
If there is no DOI, the URL should be used in the reference.
o
Copy and paste the URL directly into your list.
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Do not add a period at the end.
o
Do use “Retrieved from” before a URL.
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The Colella and Alahmadi reference is an example of how to cite a source using a URL. Please
note that you will not use the Capella link that is often provided in the courseroom. If the URL
contains a database title, such as EBSCO or ProQuest, or the name Capella, do not use that in
your citation as it will only work for Capella learners and faculty.
•
For examples and further information on references go to:
o
Academic Writer: Sample References.
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Academic Writer: Reference List.
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