12 pages

Introduction
Provide a summary of the general nature of the issue on which are writing your paper. Include a description as to why is this issue is significant and meaningful in the field of the psychology of human sexuality? Include Author (date) or (Author, date) citations as appropriate. This section can be done in about one page.

Background
Describe the background of the issue in the larger context in the field of psychology and sexuality. Include citations and to sources that form the basis for the background of this issue (see note below regarding acceptable sources). This section can be done in about a page.

Statement of the Issue
Provide a clear and succinct statement of the specific issue as it emerges from the introduction and background. Here you will want the focus to be narrow enough that so that you can explore the literature in this area in an in-depth way in a paper of between 12 and 15 pages. Here also, include citations to sources (see note below regarding acceptable sources). This section can be done in about a page.

Definition of Terms
List and describe the key concepts and terms, as defined by the authors whose work will be central to your paper. Remember that the use of dictionaries, encyclopedias, and web-sites are not acceptable sources for defining terms or in the rest of your paper. This section can be done in about a page.

Literature
While all of the sections of the paper are important, this is an essential component of your paper, in which you describe the scholarly literature on the specific issue that you wish to examine in your paper. You can include theory, however the intended focus for the paper is more on empirical research, so if you have had difficulty finding research articles on your topic, you will want to consider reframing your topic in a way that you will be able to describe relevant empirical research in your paper. For the final paper, include at least ten citations to current scholarly sources so that you are providing a good picture of the scholarly literature in the area on which you are writing. This section is a major part of the paper and can be done in about four to six (4-6) pages.

Evaluation and Critique
This is another very important section of your final paper, where you go beyond simply describing the literature. In this section, you will be evaluating and critiquing the scholarly literature that you have read and described in the literature section. For example, how has theory and current research in this specific area contributed to our understanding of this issue? What are the limitations of the theory and current research in the current literature in this specific area of human sexuality? This section is also an important component of the paper and can be done in about two to three (2-3) pages.

Summary and Future Directions
Summarize what you have discovered in your examination of your topic. Indicate some specific directions you think would be helpful for future theory and research in this area of human sexuality. This section can be done in about one page.

Reference List
Using APA style formatting, list the references here, for your sources, keeping in mind that you want a full reference for each citation that you provide in your outline/paper and vice-versa. This means that you will have references for not only the literature section (at least 10) but for the other sections in which you have citations as well. Please also keep in mind that APA reference formatting varies depending for example on whether the source is a book, a journal article, or a book chapter. You will want to convert the information that you see in the online databases, to APA style reference format.

APA Style
Paper organization, spelling, grammar, correctly formatted citations for all sources; citations to back up all statements based on the use of sources; correct use of statistical terms; correct use of quotations that include quote marks, authors, dates, and page numbers.

Important Note Regarding Citations and References:
For your final paper, the use of primary sources is essential. This means that the use of journal articles, book chapters, and books is expected. While the background of the issue that you want to examine will have a historical basis, and some use of secondary sources may be helpful to set the context for the paper, the purpose of the course paper is to examine the current issues and questions surrounding your topic in the field of human sexuality. Therefore, most of your sources must be current (within the last ten years) rather than historical. Furthermore, the expectation is that you will include much more about what the authors say about the issues than their summaries of other authors' work. In this framework, textbooks, textbook chapters and summaries, dictionary or encyclopedia entries, and most web-sites will not be acceptable sources for citations and references for this paper.