Legal Forms of Business

Overview

The purpose of this assignment is to explore the extent to which the Internet can provide useful information.

The question you are trying to answer is, What are the different legal forms of business, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each, including liability issues?

Complete the four parts in order.

Part 1: What’s Out There?

Search the Internet.

• Formulate questions or phrases designed to generate keywords that might inform this issue. For example, if you are trying to determine how using a corporate form of business affects personal liability your keywords might be personal liability and corporations.
• Use any search engine (Google Scholar or other), and as many different key words, phrases, or questions as you like, to come up with at least 10 possible sources that specifically address the topic statement listed above. This assignment asks you to do the “legwork” necessary to come up with an answer for this topic statement, by developing your own list of top three sources that could help you answer this question.

Part 2: What’s Useful?

• Evaluate each source that you find to determine whether that source helps you answer the question. Ask yourself if it really attempts to answer the question, and if it does, what answer it provides.

Part 3: What’s Credible?

• Evaluate each source to determine whether you trust it. Use the guidelines in the Internet Research tab of the Undergraduate First Course Research Guide to help you decide how credible each resource is.
• List all of the resources you found in order of their credibility, starting with the most credible sources. You will need to end up with at least three that you trust. If you have fewer than three, go back to Part 1, and work through the process again until your list of credible sources totals at least three.
• Use consistent formatting to list your resources. In Unit 6, you will learn APA formatting for citations and references. While APA formatting is not required for this assignment, using it will give you the opportunity to earn a “Distinguished” rating on this criterion (see the Legal Forms of Business Scoring Guide).

Part 4: What to Turn In

• Prepare a three-column chart with the headings Sources, Relevant (yes or no) , and Credibility Rating (1–10) , with 1 being most credible. Include all of the sources you found. (See the Evaluating Sources Chart Example linked in the Resources.)
• Provide a short explanation (one page or less) that describes what you learned from this assignment, including:
  • How and/or where you can find potential answers to the question listed above.
  • Ideas about what you might do differently if you had a similar assignment in the future.

Your assignment will be scored on the following criteria:

1. Evaluate credibility of Internet sources.
2. Evaluate the usefulness of resources for a specific topic.
3. Explain lessons learned through the practice of critical evaluation.
4. Communicate using appropriate spelling, grammar, usage, and mechanics.

Refer to the Legal Forms of Business Scoring Guide to ensure that your work meets the grading criteria for this assignment.

Assignment Requirements

• SafeAssign (optional):
  • Submit your composition to SafeAssign as a draft.
  • Review the report. (You may ignore any template matches.)
  • Make appropriate changes as needed before submitting your composition to your instructor for grading.
• Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• Formatting: Paper is formatted according to current APA guidelines (optional but required for Distinguished grade).
• Resources: Cite a minimum of 3 credible sources.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
• Length of paper: 2 pages, including a 1-page chart and 1-page explanation.
• Due date: Assignment must be submitted to your instructor no later than midnight Central time on Sunday.

Submit your assignment for grading by doing the following:

• Click the linked assignment heading.
• Attach your file.
• Click Submit. You will know your submission was successful by looking in the Submitted section of the My Grades area.

Note: Your instructor may also use the Writing Feedback Tool to provide feedback on your writing. In the tool, click the linked resources for helpful writing information.