My paper:

has at least 5 Internet-based resources relevant to the chosen topic.
includes student comments from the discussions in Blackboard.
has a minimum of 2000 original words of content (not counting direct quotes) plus a References list.  [Note:  Direct quotes are not counted in determining the "word-count" length of your paper.]
discusses a public policy issue that is relevant to the topic of the course, AND includes a recommendation for a new or changed public policy to address the issue.
includes the complete URL of each website referenced in the paper on a numbered References list, and the Reference list in formatted the appropriate MLA or APA style -- see:  http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/citex.html
has a parenthetical reference - e.g. (4) - in the text of the paper whenever information from a source is used.
cites a sufficient number of student comments, and includes the names and dates of the individuals whose discussion comments are used in the paper on the References page.
is not plagiarized - and appears to be an original work based on evaluation by Turn-It-In (Indiana University has a good source for understanding what constitutes plagiarism).
has content that is well organized and comprehensive.
uses language and grammar that is appropriate.

I submitted my topic for discussion in Phase 1 in time to get sufficient input from other students.
During Phase 1, I facilitated the discussion of my paper topic in Blackboard, and participated in the discussions of at least 3 other papers.
I submitted my paper to Turn-It-In for evaluation.