The High Cost of Education

Module 3: The body Part – The High Cost of Education

The SLP is one long project (8-12 pages). However, you will write your paper during Modules 1-5 and you will submit each module as separate files for review and feedback. Note that the final grade on the SLP will be based on the modular components and on the final project report. Before beginning the component of your SLP in this module, review the Session Long Project Overview below.

SLP Overview

Purpose of SLP: The purpose of this Session Long Project is to complete a thesis, which is a proposition that is maintained by argument or explanations based on the importance, value, or relevance of the program content under consideration.

Note: Your SLP topic must be directly related to your concentration of study in the MA Ed. Program.

SLP Assignment Expectations

The following is a general overview of how you will be submitting your SLP work. You can see that the SLP is a progression of sections that build upon each other until the final module.

Your final product for the Session Long Project thesis will contain the following sections:

• Abstract
• Introduction
• Main Discussion (organized with headings and subheadings)
• Conclusions
• Premise (supporting conclusions)
• Bibliography

By the end of Module 3: You will now write the body of your paper.

First, determine what kind of approach you wish to follow in your thesis – do you wish to write from an  “analytical” or “argumentative” perspective? An analytical paper breaks down an issue or idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience. An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

Next, critically think about your research question(s) from Module 1 and analyze your professional experiences related to the issue. Also, reflect upon your specific concentration of study here in the MAED program. The goal is to evaluate all of the research you have conducted, and synthesize it into a series of organized ideas that address your research question(s) in thoughtful and creative ways. (It is helpful at this stage to create an “outline” to organize your content before you start writing.)

Remember, you must integrate your professional experiences and the theories and research from your concentration of study, along with your literature review from Module 2, when you write the body of your thesis.

Submit 5-6 pages for the Module 3 SLP assignment.

Note: This portion of the SLP is considered the signature assignment of the course. A signature assignment reflects knowledge or skills essential to meeting a student learning outcome – in this case, critical thinking. The signature assignment can be viewed as a milestone in the student’s progress toward fulfilling one or several program outcomes.