The paper is not a
historical overview. The paper should have a thesis statement, which describes the
purpose behind your research and what you think your research will prove. All
of your research should lead up to a logical conclusion. However, your
conclusion does not have to agree with your thesis statement.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS – APA
I. Cover
page
II. 10
pages of text (excluding the cover page/bibliography)
III. Twelve-point
font/Times New Roman
IV. Double-spaced
with 12 pt. font size between each line
V. One-inch
margins (top/bottom, left/right)
VI. Page
numbers in the top, right corner of each page of text
VII. Ten
or more legal sources (with at least 4 primary sources)
— ALL sources must be legal
sources (cases, code, laws)
VIII. Citations Required: In-text citations
IX. Reference
page
The strategy is to
identify a RECENT landmark case that deals with your topic and use the cases
the Court cites in that case to build your reference list. Once you do
that, then you proceed to outline your paper based on the different facets of
the question that the court has identified.
Possible topics for the
paper:
Defining Probable Cause
Defining Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Defining Pornography in the First Amendment Context
Constitutional Limits on No-knock Search Warrants
Constitutional Limits on Police Use of Force
Constitutional Limitations on Racial Profiling