Current Event Paper
The current event paper is an individual project and should reflect your own research, analysis, opinions, and conclusion.
One of the best things about studying securities regulation is that the topic is in the news every day. Every day a new company chooses to go public, another executive at a public company is charged with violating anti-fraud provisions, or another public company is investigated for bribing foreign government officials. This assignment asks that you choose one current event relevant to any of the topics we will study this semester and write a research paper describing what happened, the relevant law, and the significance of the story for the industry, the company, the law, and/or you.
Case Event Paper Grading Criteria:
Essential facts of the case stated well; [25%]
The decision of the court concisely explained; [25%]
The issues in the original filing were accurately articulated; [25%] Analysis of the case is clear [25%]
How to choose your current event:
The current event must have been in the news within the last six months to a year. To find a topic of interest, start reading the news now. You might also visit the SEC’s website for press releases, or read some of the many blogs on securities regulation, white-collar crime, or corruption. You can also follow the SEC on Twitter. Once you find a news story, you will research it more deeply, including the relevant law. Your story does not have to be a case that has gone to court already. It can be an investigation,
a proposed new rule or regulation, or any other story that implicates the legal issues that we study.
What to include in your paper:
- A detailed description of the current event
- A detailed discussion of the relevant law — explain the law from the very beginning, as if your reader knows nothing about the topic; this is how you demonstrate your understanding of the law
- An analysis of the current event — Why is it important to the industry? What companies will care about this news story? What will its impact be? Who will win? Why? You can choose to answer any or all of these questions [or any other question]. The goal is to demonstrate meaningful application of law to facts and deep thinking about the issues presented by the news story
Logistics:
- 7-8 pages, double spaced
- Citation required anytime what you wrote did not originate in your brain
- The paper should be prepared using the APA writing style and guideline for formatting You must provide a bibliography, and all direct quotations and data sources must be properly cited.
- The Department uses the APA style to facilitate both reading the paper and understanding references without being as cumbersome as some of the other styles [such as Chicago or MLA].
- Students can download the student style guide from the American Psychological Association Style web site or you can purchase the APA style guide from the The American Psychological
Association provides many online resources to help you as you write your paper.
- Papers are to be RESEARCH PAPERS. Remember that work that you use from other authors MUST be referenced. Since it is assumed that you are not an authority on the topic that you are writing about, it is expected that this paper is an overview of many different sources of These must be attributed to the author using the APA format.
- This is your paper and not a cut and paste of someone else’s work. The internet has led to a false sense of what research is all about. Those new to research tend to think that it means spending an afternoon surfing the internet and then an afternoon cutting from material
- Keep in mind that the internet is: [1] not quality oriented as it has both good materials and not so good materials, and the internet does not know the difference; [2] the internet is NOT a sole source In particular, sources such as Wikipedia are the works of individual submitters that are not reviewed. Thus, while many entries provide excellent information, some are fundamentally flawed or just plain wrong.
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Qualities & Criteria |
Poor [1-2] |
Good [3-4] |
Excellent [5] |
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Abstract and Introduction Title; Objective or Thesis; Problem statement; Orientation to reader; Topic. weight: 5% of paper grade score [1, 2, 3, 4, or 5] x 1 = |
a. There
is no refere nce to the topic, proble m, or audien ce. b. There is no statem ent of thesis or objecti ve of the resear ch. c. The title is inappr |
a. The writer makes the reader aware of the overall problem , challeng e, or topic to be examin ed. b. Thesis is stated but clarity and/or focus |
a. The
writer introd uces the topic and its releva nce to (1) the discipli ne; and (2) the chosen audien ce. The introd uction lays ground work for the |
| opriate and does not descri be the topic. | could be better.
c. The title does not adequat ely describe the topic. |
directi on of the paper.
b. Thesis or objecti ve is clearly stated and approp riately focuse d. c. Main idea stands along with details . d. The title is approp riate and adequ ately |
| descri bes the topic. | |||
|
Body
Structure; Flow; Organization and Development weight: 20% of paper grade score [1, 2, 3, 4, or 5]
x 4 = |
a. The
paper has little to no directi on, with disjoin ted subtop ics. b. Text is repetit ious. c. Inform ation seems to be disorg anized and has |
a. There is a basic flow from one section to the next, but not all sections or paragra phs follow in a natural or logical order.
b. Ideas are clear, |
a. The
paper flows from genera l ideas to specifi c conclu sions and/or vice- versa. All section s follow a logical order. Transit ions |
| little to do with the main topic.
d. Lacks a thesis or control ling idea. e. Senten ces do not relate to the paragr aph’s main idea. f. Paragr aphs do notcle arly or effecti vely |
but there is a lack of extra informa tion.
c. Informa tion relates to main topic. Details and amount of informa tion are sparse. d. Includes a basic thesis or controlli ng idea. e. Sentenc es mostly relate to the |
tie togeth er section s as well as individ ual paragr aphs.
b. Ideas are clear, origina l, and focuse d. Main idea stands along with details . c. Suffici ent inform ation include |
| relate to the paper’ s thesis or control ling idea.
g. Examp les are either lacking or ineffec tive [i.e., do not relate to the main idea in the paper or paragr aph] |
paragra ph’s main idea.
f. Paragra phs generall y though not always relate to the thesis or controlli ng idea. g. Exampl es are included , though not always; reader needs specific details or quotes |
d. Inform ation clearly relates to the main relates to the main thesis. It include s severa l suppor ting details and/or examp les.
d. Provid es a clear and compe lling thesis. |
| that the writer does not provide. | e. Senten ces clearly relate to the paragr aph’s main idea.
f. Paragr aphs clearly and effecti vely relate to and suppor t the thesis. g. Writer provid es examp les and quotes that answe |
| r the reader’ s questi ons and add depth to the writer’ s ideas. | |||
| Content
Weaving together literature through synthesis via thematic categories that provide exploration/ex planation weight: 35% of paper grade |
a. The
writer has omitte d major section s of pertine nt conten t or conten t runs on |
a. The
writer includes all the sections of pertinen t content, but does not cover them in as much |
a. The
writer covers the approp riate conten t in depth withou t being redund ant. b. The writer |
| score [1, 2, 3,
4, or 5] x 7 = |
excess ively.
b. The writer quotes other materi al excess ively. c. The ideas presen ted have little signific ance to the discipli ne and/or the audien ce. d. Text is repetit ious. |
depth or detail as the audienc e/reade r expects.
b. The significa nce to the disciplin e is evident. c. Ideas are clear, but more informa tion is needed. d. Ideas in the paper are mostly [but not all] |
cites source s when specifi c statem ents are made.
c. The signific ance of quotes , when used, is appare nt. d. The length is approp riate. e. Ideas are clear, origina l, and |
| e. There
is no central theme. f. Ideas in the paper are irrelev ant or not worthy of the reader’ s consid eration . |
relevant and worthy of the reader’s consider ation. | focuse d.
Main idea stands out, along with details . f. Ideas in the paper are compe lling, even origina l; they are not self- eviden t. |
|
| Clarity and Correctness of the | a. It is
difficul t for |
a. The
writing is |
a. The
writing is clear |
| Writing weight: 15% of paper grade score [1, 2, 3,
4, or 5]
x 3 = |
the reader to unders tand what the writer is trying to expres s.
b. Writin g is convol uted. c. Paper contai ns spellin g and gram matica l errors as well as improp |
generall y clear, but unneces sary words are occasio nally used.
Meaning is someti mes hidden. b. Paragra ph or sentenc e structur e is repetitiv e. c. Much of the writing is generall y clear, |
and concis e.
b. There are no [or very few] mistak es in gram mar, spellin g, and/or punctu ation. c. The writing does not ramble ; the paper is careful ly written |
| er punctu ation.
d. The writing is vague or it is difficul t to unders tand what the writer is trying to expres s. e. Mistak es in gram mar, spellin g, and/or punctu ation |
but meanin g is someti mes hidden.
d. Some mistake s in gramma r, spelling, and/or punctua tion exist, but they do not cause confusio n; they suggest neglige nce, not indiffere nce. e. Writing might ramble; |
and edited. |
| cause confusi on and show lack of concer n for quality of writing
. f. Writin g ramble s; the paper appear s hastily written . |
the paper is not carefull y written. | ||
| Conclusions
Synthesis of ideas and culminating in a research question, or |
a. There is little or no indicat ion that |
a. The writer provide s concludi ng |
a. The writer makes succin ct and precise |
| suggestions for further research, or finalizing with a clear position. weight: 10% of paper grade score [1, 2, 3,
4, or 5]
x 2 = |
the writer tried to synthe size the inform ation or draw conclu sions based on the literat ure under review
. b. No resear ch questi on[s] or sugges tions are |
remarks that show an analysis and synthesi s of ideas and informa tion.
Some of the conclusi ons, howeve r, are not support ed in the body of the review. b. A follow- up researc h |
conclu sions based on the review of literat ure.
b. Insight s into the proble m/topi c are approp riate. c. Conclu sions are strongl y suppor ted within the paper. |
| offered to the reader
, or the positio n is not restate d and made clear to the reader as a conclu sion. |
questio n or suggesti on is offered to the reader, or the writer’s position is restated to make it clear to the reader. | ||
|
Sources & Citations & Proper APA Format weight:15% of paper grade score [1, 2, 3, 4, or 5]
x 3 = |
a. The
writer does not include in-text citatio ns for statem ents |
a. The
writer cites sources within the body of the review and |
a. The
writer include s all necess ary citatio ns in the body |
| made in the review
. b. Refere nces that are include d in the Refere nces or Works Cited list are not cited in the text. c. An insuffic ient numbe r of source s are cited |
includes a corresp onding Referen ces list. Some formatti ng problem s exist or some element s are missing.
b. An accepta ble number of sources is cited. All sources are accurat ely docume nted, |
of the review
. b. The refere nces in the list match the in- text citatio ns and all are proper ly cited in APA style. c. Numer ous source s are cited. All source s are accura tely |
| and/or not accura tely docum ented.
d. The paper is not written in APA style. e. A review of literat ure has been omitte d. f. No attenti on is given to people -first, non- |
but some are not in the desired format.
c. Paper is in APA style but with some errors. d. The body of the paper consists of a review of the literatur e. e. There is evidenc e of attentio n to people- first, |
docum ented.
d. Accura tely adhere s to APA style in format ting, organi zation, and constr uction, includi ng full review of releva nt literat ure. e. There is consist ent use of |
| discri minato ry langua ge. | non- discrimi natory languag e. | people
-first, non- discri minato ry langua ge. |
