CEAssignmentTemplate4
Leading A Nation: How Leadership Plays a Role in Elections
CRITICAL THINKING ESSAY – Template
Your Critical Thinking Essay: Your essay will follow this template exactly. The template’s purpose is to provide a
common means from which to draft and execute on this essay assignment.
• Title Page – Page #01
• Topic / Abstract – Page #02
• Essay Body – Page #03 to …
• Reference Page – Next Page # after Essay Body
TEMPLATE FORMAT: Times New Roman, 12, one inch margins. No APA Running Header.
Title Page (First Page): Formatted as one page. Space out as desired.
• Your College
• Essay Title
• Subtitle (if any)
• Your Name
• Course Name and Number
• Professor Name
• Due Date of Assignment
Essay Topic (Second Page): Your SPECIFIC topic or question. Example: “The Ugly Side of Offshoring.”
Abstract: Your abstract should address the possible implications of the research and future work connected to your
findings. For this assignment, the abstract should be one or two paragraphs and be between 50 and 150 words.
Essay Body (Third Page – as many as required)
• What’s it all about? Be brief and have a concise introduction. This is where you provide background and present
the problem, opportunity, question to the reader. Define things with references.
• What’s it all mean? After the introduction, your essay reader needs to understand more about the problem,
opportunity, or question in play. This is where you provide context and create a point of understanding. Explain
with references.
• Why do I care? This is where you make your case and explain things. Any findings and bold sweeping generations
or conclusions must be cited. This area of your essay is longer than in the previous two areas. Very important,
so do not skimp making your claims.
• What to do and or fix? This is kind of a combo of conclusion and next steps. If your essay is about a problem,
you should explore fixes and the next steps. If your essay is about exploiting an “opportunity” (something
positive), then you would be stressing those actions and steps. Somewhere in your closing comments, restate the
essay questions, and conclude with the future in mind or possibilities.
APA Reference Page (Last Page) A reference list that supports your parenthetical citation. When you answer the implied
question of “why do I care” and “what to do or fix,” you need to be citin’ stuff – you know, linking theory to application…
• APA References. All references, to include Current Event links and associated URL.
• CAUTION PLAGIARISM: If you are quoting and or highlighting someone else’s work, and you will be, cite it.
• Direct quotes should include the delimiters (“ABC”) that advise the reader you are quoting directly. Example: Our
Professor said, “I am concerned about Plagiarism – intentional or not.”
• Standard APA Parenthetical Citation is required when sourcing support for your assertions. Example: According
to new research, the efficacy of how Transformational Leadership approaches Blue Collar workers is problematic
(Jones and George, 2016, p. 321).