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Rites of Passage

A rite of passage is a ritual that helps mark a person’s transition from one status to another. All cultures have rites of passage to mark these important transitions. With that in mind, choose a rite of passage either from the textbook or from your own research. What is the function of this rite within the particular society?

Partial Rough Draft of Final Research Paper
To ensure that you are properly prepared for your Final Research Paper in this course, you must complete a rough draft of your Final Research Paper.  The point of a rough draft is to allow your instructor to get a good sense of your organizational writing skills, to examine the content of the essay, to evaluate your resources, and to provide you feedback that you will incorporate into your Final Research Paper that is due in Week 5.

To begin, select a topic from the following list:

· Body Art and Ornamentation

· Child Rearing Practices

· Healthcare practices

· The use of music or dance as a form of political protest/music or dance as a reflection of cultural issues, values and beliefs

· Educational practices

· Elderly care

· Body Language and Proxemics

· Rites of Passage

· Conflict resolution

· Marriage practices

· Alternative gender roles

· Alternative topics are possible, but must be approved by the instructor at least a week before the Week Three draft is due.

After you have decided upon a topic, the next step is to begin to do your research. Since you will be comparing this topic across three different cultures, it may be helpful to brainstorm a list of different cultures that you are interested in researching. Utilizing the same databases that you searched in the Week Two Assignment, conduct key word searches to locate the scholarly sources you will be using to aid in writing this paper. If you feel that you need a little help in beginning this research, please view the 

Generating Search Terms

 tutorial and/or the 

Finding Full Text Articles

 tutorial. Please keep in mind, that even though you are only required to use three scholarly sources from the library, you will initially want to find more than that to ensure that you are using the best three articles for your topic and cultures.
After completing your research, now is a good time to compile your sources in a reference page. Do not worry if you do not end up using one of the sources in your Final Research Paper; you can always remove any sources that you do not use later.
Once you have read through the sources you have located, you should now be able to write a thesis statement that reflects the requirements of the Final Research Paper. For help on creating the thesis statement, please visit the 

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center

.
While not required for this assignment, it may be helpful to first outline your thoughts to aid you in organizing how you will present the information in your paper. If you are concerned about how to successfully integrate the sources that you found, please view the 

Incorporating Sources

 tutorial. As you are incorporating the information from your sources, think back on the Plagiarism Quiz and the Article Selector Quiz to make sure that you are properly citing sources. You can also view the 

Plagiarism Flow Chart

 to help ensure that you have properly incorporated sources.
Your rough draft must include:

1. An introductory paragraph containing a thesis statement that reflects the requirements of the Final Research Paper.

2. A literature review of the sources you have found in the library that you will be using in your paper

3. A comparison of your chosen topic across the three cultures you have selected

4. A concluding paragraph that reinforces your thesis and summarizes your main points

5. A properly formatted reference page.

The rough draft must be four to five pages in length and formatted according to APA style. You must use at least three scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library to support your claims. Cite your sources within the text of your paper and on the reference page. For information regarding APA, including samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, located within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar.

Week 5 Assignment

Final Research Paper
Throughout this course, we have learned that culture is a powerful tool that allows humans to adapt to their own unique environments. In order to better understand cultural diversity, comparisons between cultures are often used to explain the similarities and differences across societies. In order to demonstrate your understanding of the adaptive nature of culture, you will prepare a research paper that requires you to think about what people are doing, why they are doing what they do, and how it ties in with their environment.  
In this paper you will be comparing and contrasting one of the following topics in three cultures (other than your own), providing an analysis of the similarities and differences, and an explanation of why these differences might exist.

1. In your rough draft you selected a topic from the following list:

a. Body Art and Ornamentation

b. Child Rearing Practices

c. Healthcare practices

d. The use of music or dance as a form of political protest/music or dance as a reflection of cultural issues, values and beliefs

e. Educational practices

f. Elderly care

g. Body Language and Proxemics

h. Rites of Passage

i. Conflict resolution

j. Marriage practices

k. Alternative gender roles

l. Alternative topics are possible, but must be approved by the instructor at least a week before the Week Three draft is due.

2. In Week Three, you conducted your research and completed a Rough Draft of the Final Research Paper. You have also received feedback from your instructor on this draft. It is important at this stage that you carefully take the time to review the feedback that was provided. If based on this feedback, you feel the need to conduct any additional research, now is the time to visit the Ashford University Library and find additional sources.

3. Expand your rough draft into a seven to eight page research paper that contains the following components:

a. A discussion of how three cultures (other than your own) approach the topic, including specific ethnographic examples.

b. A compare and contrast analysis of the similarities and differences in how the three cultures approach the topic, from a culturally relativistic perspective.

c. An explanation of why these differences or similarities might exist.

Take extra care as you are writing this paper to ensure that you have given proper consideration to all of the notes that were provided to you by your instructor. You will also want to allow plenty of time to proof-read the Final Research Paper and double check for formatting and the use of proper citations. If you are concerned about plagiarism, please utilize thePlagiarism Flow Chart.
The paper must be seven to eight pages in length and formatted according to APA style. You must use at least three scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library to support your claims. Cite your sources within the text of your paper and on the reference page. For information regarding APA, including samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, located within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar.

Writing the Final Research Paper

The Final Research Paper:

1. Must be seven to eight double-spaced pages in length, and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

2. Must include a title page with the following:

a. Title of paper

b. Student’s name

c. Course name and number

d. Instructor’s name

e. Date submitted

3. Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.

4. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.

5. Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.

6. Must use at least three scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library.

7. Must document all sources in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

8. Must include a separate reference page, formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.