professional journals

Students will write a 5-6 page paper that synthesizes the findings reported in professional
journals on a topic relating to reading comprehension and the way in which it will
influence your own teaching. Your paper should demonstrate understanding of the topic
you have researched.
It is helpful to limit your search to key words, recent years of publication (2000) or
particular journals (i.e. The Reading Teacher, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy,
Language Arts, Journal of Reading Education, Reading Research and Instruction,
Educational Leadership, Journal of Educational, Issues for Language Minority Students
etc.).
Class discussions and assigned readings will assist you in identifying and stating your
research question(s) for the literature review.

HOW TO ORGANIZE THE PAPER:
1. The paper should synthesize the relevant literature and relate it explicitly to your
research question(s).
2. APA style guidelines are mandatory. The paper should contain citations from at
least 3 different sources.
a. The sources should be primarily empirical studies as opposed to position
papers or editorial articles.
b. The paper must be 5-6 pages in length, double-spaced in Times New
Roman, 12-point font. Margins follow APA style with the left side 1.5”
and all other margins are 1”.
c. Research topic and question must be submitted by Week 2.
i. By the end of the 3rd Week a draft of the abstract, introduction
and a reference list with at least 3 sources must be submitted.
3. An introductory section that clearly identifies the topic you are going to focus on.
Tell the reader the purpose of the paper and why the topic/issue/question is
significant enough to be explored.
4. A finding section that discusses what you found in the current research. What are
the themes that are evident across studies?
5. An implication section that tells what your project means for teachers or other
education professionals. This section contains implications for practice.

6. A reference section that includes the research articles that you have read and
cited. Remember to use APA style.
7. The paper should include:
a. A cover sheet
b. Introduction
c. Body
d. Summary
e. Bibliography of references used