**TIPS FOR THE COVER PAGE:**
THE COVER Sheet to your dissertation should simply contain five lines of text (double-spaced between):
1. The title of your dissertation;
2. Your name (as it should appear on your diploma);
3. The name of our appropriate institution:.... Thomas Paine Memorial College for Redemptive Social Justice;
4. The college's location, the city 'Key West, Florida'
5. The exact date you have submitted the dissertation (in words, not numbers; i.e., June 2nd, 2014).
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**HINTS FOR THE REFERENCE PAGE:**
FOOTNOTES are an archaic academic device and should not be used in the dissertation. Your final page should simply be labeled References, listing(alphabetically, by the last name of the author) every major resource used in your dissertation.
FOLLOWING are exemplars of the main types of media and resources (first is a book; second, a periodical or article; third, a website or homepage). There exists a myriad of Reference Page styles and variations. Do not concern yourself overly with this.
Johnson, David A. (1994). Freedom's Fire: The Untold Story of the Anniston Bus-Burning. Anniston, AL: Civil Rights Archives Press.
Lipsky, Michael. (1980). Street-Level Bureaucracy: The Critical Role of Street-Level Bureaucrats. Russell Sage Foundation Yearbook & Compendium, 73(1), 1-10.
Census Bureau, U.S. (2010). Homepage. Retrieved on 06/02/2014 from http://www.census.gov/
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Starting -- and Finishing
Your Dissertation .....
Like all other legitimate academic institutions of higher learning, a dissertation of some sort is required for your doctoral degree. One need not dread it.
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Here at Thomas Paine Memorial College for Redemptive Social Justice, the prerequisite dissertation along your doctoral journey is just 10 pages in length (and, yes, it is perfectly acceptable to count your cover page and your Reference Page). Thus, depending upon the volume of references so utilized, your overall body of text will be only seven or eight pages. This is one of the truest advantages of accelerated, online learning. We cut to the quick and get to the core.
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Here are a few general guidelines:
1) Use Times New Roman font (12-point), and double-space throughout the text. Word.doc files are highly preferred, although hard-copy typewritten text will be accepted under extraordinary circumstances.
2) Select your topic based upon your position among our array of doctoral degree specialties and concentrations: Social Justice, Leadership Skills, Politics of Equality, Sustainable Communities, Comparative Religion, and New Media Activism. Any expanded topic chosen from under this particular penumbra is perfectly acceptable. Feel free to be innovative and exercise your own vision.
3) Begin your dissertation with a paragraph or two generally addressing the definition and direction of your specific concentration (i.e., Social Justice). This is called the Introduction.
4) Follow that with a few paragraphs or a page focusing upon the great works (books, speeches, articles) at the cornerstone of your overriding theme. This is called the Literature Review.
5) Thereafter commences the body of your work (approximately five pages), further expanding on the theme and presenting the reader with your unique scholarly viewpoint of same. Do not be intimidated here. We want to hear what you think, and you are abundantly welcome to speak in your own "voice."
6) The final section of your Thomas Paine College dissertation will be the Conclusion, which may be as long as two pages or as brief as one paragraph.
7) Of course, all students are expected to still abide by the standard scholarly rules of grammar, spelling and syntax. Upon completion, carefully re-read and review your own work. It would certainly not hurt to have your friends, family or even a professional editor additionally look over the pages. Please do not submit gibberish. Take pride in your work.
8) When the deed -- and dissertation -- is done, submit it as an Attachment to an e-mail to the Office of the President, Dr. Dave Johnson, Thomas Paine College
davejohnson419@gmail.com You will immediately receive a confirmation and your doctoral degree (in the specialty chosen) will be officially conferred. Take pride in the research and the writing that you have done. We are proud of you! You are now recognized as a Doctor of Theology in the ongoing war for justice. Your journey at Thomas Paine has ended but your personal path has just begun.