terrorist group paper.

Terrorist Group Profile/ Policy Analysis Paper

This assignment will produce a term paper utilizing the APA Publications Manual (6th edition). Submit your group choice for approval prior to starting the paper. Failure to post a selection will preclude any conference grades being posted. Read all sections of this document. The paper is due at the end of week 8 and consists of two parts submitted as one document.

PART I

First, in approximately 1,000 words complete a profile of a terrorist organization that threatens the U.S. homeland. The profile should include a discussion of the group’s ideology, targeting, tactics, capability, and overall goals; an analysis of attacks, and any statements or propaganda released by the group (elements). The selected group can be international or domestic in nature. There is no sanctioned list of domestic terrorist organizations. Foreign terrorist groups must be from the official list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) maintained by the U.S. State Department

http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/other/des/123085.htm

PART II

Utilize the group profile in the second portion of the paper to conduct an analysis of a U.S. homeland security policy or policies studied in Modules 2 and 3. This section of the paper should focus on one or a few U.S homeland security policies to assess its ability to counter the threat posed by the profiled group. Introduce the policy, explain it, and then analyze it against the information gathered on the profiled group (the elements – ideology, targeting, etc). Select a policy or policies consistent with the group with a clear link between the terrorist group and the selected homeland security policy (ies). If the policy is found deficient, make specific recommendations for policy change to counter the threat. If the policies are deemed sufficient to counter the threat, explain the rationale for your conclusion.

There is a possible 20 points for this assignment based on the rubric

· 18-20 points
A

· 16-17.99 points
B

· 14-15.99 points
C

· 12-13.99 points
D

· Below 12
F

Format:

· Twelve to fourteen full pages in length to include both parts (not including cover page or references – but including the abstract) with the proper margins. Graphs, charts, photographs or bulleted lists do not count in page requirement.

· Type style Times New Roman, size 12 font, with one inch margins, double spaced (double spaced between paragraphs – do not triple space).

· APA requirements for format and location of running head, page numbers, titles and subtitles (APA manual, the UMUC Tutorial, and the attached Checklist). Do not forget your title on page 2.

· Title Page: Center your essay title down one third of the page. Capitalize the appropriate first letters; do not underline, italicize, or use bold or oversize type. If it is more than one line, single-space it. Near the bottom of the page, center your name, course name and number, professor’s name, and the due date of the paper. The final line should be approximately one inch from the bottom of the page.

· Spelling, grammar, sentence structure, punctuation and other aspects of the style of your paper are grading points. If you have any doubt about your writing ability, the Effective Writing Center will review your paper and provide suggestions. Remember, this is an upper level college course. Your writing should reflect this; therefore, you will need to plan and organization your paper to ensure it is meaningful. A cluster of internet facts jumbled together is not college level writing. Logical flow and the organization of your paper are graded components.

· Try this link for the APA Tutorial – it is a great help in manuscript set up

Citations: You must use the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), 6th Edition format to cite your research.

· Do not assume you know the correct APA format, always refer to the manual.

· Use the APA style guide for guidance on proper grammar and writing structure.

· Research and cite a minimum of three online sources, one journal article and at least one reference from the course texts (Five source minimum).

· Properly cite all others work. All quoted material must include quote marks and cites. Even paraphrased material must be cited. Changing a few words in a sentence is not paraphrasing. Paraphrasing is restating the ideas in the material using your own syntax and words. Any statement presented as a fact must be cited (e.g., Radical Islamic Terrorism is the worst threat to the United States – opinion or fact?).

· Indent larger quotes without quote marks but with proper citations.

· Quoting should be done only sparingly; be sure you have a good reason to include a direct quotation. If you use a quote, pick out the most important part of it. Critical thinking is a grading point and a lot of quotes mean less critical thinking.

· The University’s Plagiarism Policy applies to all written assignments for this course.

Research: You must conduct academic research to substantiate your papers. The best source of this information resides in scholarly articles. These sources may be found in the course required readings, the UMUC Library, or any other scholarly sources.

· Be cautious of using internet websites, as the content is often biased and represents someone’s personal opinion rather than academic research.

· DO NOT USE websites that are not credible or a valid academic source. These include dictionaries, infoplease, encyclopedias, braining quotes, Wikipedia, etc. A blog can be used but it must be from a reputable source.

· Use the most current information, (e.g., the SBI cannot be used as a policy response as that project was canceled in 2011). Anything older than five years (and in most cases that is too long ago) is not appropriate as policies and statistics change rapidly.

· Papers with only internet research will receive lower grades.

· Follow APA on how to reference your sources (alpha order, indentations, etc). Use the APA tutorial or APA Citation Guidelines in Course Content.

· I use the University’s plagiarism site “Turn It In” to scan your papers for plagiarism.

Expectations:

College level writing is not about cutting and pasting various facts that go nowhere into a paper. Your paper must take a position and contain your original thought. A conclusion must be drawn from your research and analysis and formed into a thesis statement. Place your thesis statement in your introductory paragraph so it is easily identified. Research how to write a proper thesis statement, as it is critical to your paper’s success. Ensure that you have an introduction, main body of information, and a conclusion. Use subtitles to ensure that all your required elements are completed.

Late Assignments:

Submit all assignments by the posted due date. There are competing demands on your time, but you must receive prior approval to turn in a late assignment with a valid, documented reason if you want full credit. I will not accept any requests the day the assignment is due. If you do not get prior approval you can submit your paper late but will receive a two point deduction (10%) for every day that it is late up to four days late. After that you will receive a grade of zero for the assignment.

Posting Instructions:

Have 1-2 people proof read your essay before submitting it for grading. Post your paper in Microsoft Word format by the date noted in the syllabus as an attachment in your assignment folder with your name.

Grading Rubric

 

 

 

 

Category	4	3	2	1	0	PTS
Attention to instructions and assignment	Follows and exceeds expectations noted in instructions	Follows instructions	Follows some but not all instructions	Gestures towards instructions but demonstrates little comprehension or competency	Disregards instructions
Creative thought, problem-solving/self-assessment	Demonstrates a high degree of originality, insight, and/or problem-solving skill	Shows some originality, insight, and/or problem-solving skill	Shows minimally acceptable originality, insight, and/or problem-solving skill	Demonstrates very little creative thought or insight; consists mostly of second-hand ideas	Shows no original thought; all second-hand ideas
Adherence to APA style (APA 6th)	No APA style errors	No more than three APA style errors	More than four to five APA style errors	More than six APA style errors	No attempt at APA style
Development and support including source use and addresses all required elements and supporting policy(ies)	Thoroughly explores, explains, and supports each idea and integrates such; each element addressed and appropriate policies identified and related to elements	Develops and supports key points; missing 1-2 key elements; policy(ies) selected doesn’t address 1-2 of the elements; not fully explained	Inconsistently develops and supports ideas; missing more than 2 elements; policy not adequately explained ; material not consistently integrated into paper	Inadequately or ineffectively explains and defends ideas; lacking in details for both group and policy; source material rarely integrated into the paper	Does not make a meaningful attempt to explain or support ideas. Elements do not relate to group, nor does the policy
Clarity, including grammar	Difficult material is made clear and presented in academic language	Most ideas are presented clearly, but sometimes too simplistically	Wordy; some points require rereading to understand fully	Unclear and difficult to understand	Largely incomprehensible
TOTAL POINTS

APA Style Checklist – 6th Edition

Use this checklist to determine whether each report is written and typed in APA style. The checklist is not inclusive of all APA style requirements. General Typing and Organization

Have you used 1″ margins on the left and right sides, from the bottom, and from the top to the first line of TEXT?

Are the parts of the report in the correct order?

Have you double-spaced between lines throughout the report?

Is EACH page headed by the running head and a page number?

Are the pages numbered consecutively

Have you used 5 to 7 space paragraph indents throughout the report?

Have you typed all the titles and headings in upper and lower-case letters (except the text of the running head)?

Is your page count correct? (Graphs and pictures are not included)

Have you CAREFULLY read over your paper and corrected typos and spelling errors?

Title Page

Is your title no longer than 12 words?

Are the title, your name and affiliation:

a) centered on the page?

b) centered on each line?

c) did you include your middle initial?

Is the running head:

a) no longer than 50 characters?

b) flush left at the top of the page?

c) itself typed entirely in capital letters?

Abstract

Is the abstract head by the CENTERED word “Abstract” in non-bold typeface?

Is the abstract no longer than 120-150 words?

Have you remembered NOT to indent the first line of the abstract?

Have you remembered NOT to include any statistics?

Paper

Is the paper headed by your title, NOT by the word “Paper”?

Are any titles, subtitles in the proper format?

Are reference citations complete and accurate?

a) Have you included all authors’ names in the first citation?

b) Have you used “and” to connect authors’ names when the citation appears in the text?

c) Have you used an ampersand (&) to connect authors’ names in parenthetical citations?

d) Within a paragraph, when the name of the author is part of the text or narrative, did you only use the year of publication for the first citation?

e) In parenthetical citations where the citation(s) appear within parentheses, did you always include the year?

Are any necessary abbreviations spelled out the first time?

Have you used WORDS to express numbers that begin sentences and NUMBERS below 10? (See APA manual for exceptions)

References

Did you begin the reference list on a new page?

Is the reference list page headed by the CENTERED word “References” in non-bold typeface?

Are the references listed in alphabetical order by the first author’s last name?

Is the first line of each reference typed flush with the left margin?

Are subsequent lines within a reference tab-indented?

Did you use the correct reference type for each citation (e.g., book, journal article, web-based)?

For journal articles, have you italicized the journal name and volume number?

… used initials only for the author’s first names?

… used a single space between initials?

… used an ampersand (&) to connect authors’ names?