I appreciate your help SO much! I am a STEM major and I took this Religious Stud

I appreciate your help SO much! I am a STEM major and I took this Religious Studies class on Apocalypses out of interest. It has been interesting, but now I have to write an 18 page paper or have a terrible grade on my transcript, so you see why I’m here! Below, I’ve pasted the assignment. I want the paper to be related to Catholicism in some way, but you have freedom to choose the specific topic. Thank you so much again, I’m looking forward to working with you.
Research papers: These papers are an opportunity for you to go in depth, researching a problem or question of your choice that is related to the topics of the course. All papers should be based in original, primary source research, bringing in secondary sources to provide context or alternate understandings of your topic. Papers should also focus in on some specific “thing” (an event, phenomena, thinker, theology, etc.) that existed in time and space and can serve as an exhibit in exploring the larger questions posed. So, for example, if you are interested in apocalyptic thinking among physicists, you could look at Frank Tipler’s writing, to see how he incorporates physical theories into his theology, and then put him into the larger context of the history of eschatologically-minded physicists (Sir Isaac Newton, perhaps). Having an exhibit is both a stave against trying to write about too much, and an opportunity to dig deeply into the nuances of the problem you are researching in a concrete case. If you are unsure what to write about, think about what drew you to this course. Was it some group or event or theology that you wished to know more about? Is there a connection between apocalyptic thinking and world events that you want to know more about? Some topics in previous semesters have included: • Why do some apocalyptic groups become violent, either toward themselves or toward others? Students have used both theory and historical research into specific groups to try and understand this problem. Exhibits have included the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, Aum Shinrikyo in Japan, the UFO cult Heaven’s Gate, and others. • What are some “non-Western” end-time theologies and how do they differ from those derived from Zoroastrian/Jewish/Christian sources? How does the Buddhist concept of cyclical time change how we understand the “unveiling” at the end of time that is the prime characteristic of apocalypse? • What happens when prophecies fail? • How does millenarianism and apocalypticism influence politics around the world (or, even, just in the United States)? Did it matter for US foreign or domestic policy that Ronald Reagan was a premillennialist Evangelical? Length: 18 pages (min) • Page length does not include list of works cited.
Format• 12-point Times New Roman font • Double-spaced • Page numbers in page headers • One-inch margins • Either MLA or Chicago Manual of Style citation formatting. • In-text or footnote/endnotes are fine, including page/line/time-stamp information. I prefer footnotes. • Must include a list of works cited. • There are citation guides online and in the library for reference on how to use these forms. I also suggest Kate Turabian’s guides to writing research papers, available in the library. • If you turn your paper in with some other citation style, I will return it to you ungraded for reformatting. Sources: This is a religious studies history seminar, so your sources must include both primary and secondary sources. If you are writing about the Mormons, you need to include texts and other sources that are not about them but are by them. These are primary sources. Secondary sources would theorize, narrate, and argue about the Mormons. You need both. Websites, encyclopedias, and dictionaries are NOT acceptable sources for a research paper. You can use them to start your research, but they should not be cited, quoted, or otherwise included in your final paper. The only exceptions are articles from peer-reviewed journals available through academic databases such as JStor and Proquest, and websites of organizations or individuals that you are using as a primary source. If you are writing about the Mormons, their online magazines and speeches from lds.org are acceptable, for example. If you use a website, encyclopedia, Wikipedia, or similar source as a final source in your paper, I will return the paper ungraded, and you will need to remedy the situation by additional research in acceptable sources. Paraphrasing, citing, and plagiarism: VERY IMPORTANT: A close paraphrase, cited or not, is plagiarism. Simply changing a few words from someone else’s text is not paraphrasing. Entirely writing another’s ideas in new words, your own words, and not citing the source, is still plagiarism. Using anyone else’s insights, born of their extensive research, without citation is plagiarism. Thesis/research problem/question: Each paper should be structured around “solving” a research problem or “answering” a research question. • The solution to your problem, or answer to your question is your thesis – the argument you will make. • The problem/question should be stated in the introduction, along with the thesis. • The introduction should also convey the significance of your problem/question, and give some idea about how you intend to seek out answers through your research. • So, what is a research problem? It is not a practical problem, motivated by the need to fix something or eliminate the causes of unhappiness. However, a research problem is motivated by the need to remedy “incomplete knowledge or flawed understanding.”1 These are not entirely unrelated, of course. According to Booth et al., you “solve it not by changing the world, but by understanding it better.” Your job is to inform your faithful reader what your problem is (how your knowledge is incomplete or flawed, and leads to misunderstanding), why your problem is worth pursuing (what are the stakes involved?) and what your claim (your thesis) is — about how the new understanding you offer is a possible solution to the problem. A research problem leads to an argument, which is “a claim based on reasons, backed by evidence.” Following your thesis, your job then is to show your reasons and evidence to your reader, inviting them into conversation with you by acknowledging possible objections or qualifications they may offer, and responding to them.