In approximately 4,500 words (roughly 15 double-spaced pages in 12-pt Times New Roman font, 1 inch margins), write a cogent essay on a topic of particular interest to you within the outlines of the Government and Christianity. 

You should make significant use of secondary sources (i.e. books and scholarly journal articles) and cite them either as footnotes or endnotes. You may not cite internet-only “publications” (i.e. journals that do not have a print edition and are not peer-reviewed.) You may cite journals accessed through the JSTOR database, because these are simply peer-reviewed print journal articles that have been scanned into “pdf” format and are accessible via the computer. JSTOR is available through the Regent University Library website under “databases.” When citing an article from JSTOR, you need not include information about the website; simply cite the print journal in which it appeared just as though you found it in a print journal.

The preferred citation method is found in Kate L. Turabian et al., A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers, 7th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007) or prior editions. This guide is accessible in print in various editions, or in an abridged form online through a link in the Regent University Library web site. (Joint GOV-LAW students may use the legal “blue book” method, so long as the paper is consistent and full documentation is provided--i.e. the source of the information, including author, title, publisher, date of publication, and page numbers.) Include a cover page, page numbers, etc., and otherwise format the paper according to the citation rules for a research paper (not thesis or dissertation). (I.e., no table of contents, etc.) When citing to an article retrieved from JSTOR, you may simply cite it as you would an article you pulled from the library shelf, i.e. without the website and access date. You may also, of course, cite reputable books. Do not include graphics (including on the cover page) in the paper.