PD 600 · General Education

PD 600 Applied Scholarship sample papers, unit by unit

Reviewed by Cecily Vandenberg, MSN, RN Applied Scholarship Herzing University Free custom samples in 24–48h

Graduate writing judged as writing. PD 600 sample work builds an argument rather than a survey, integrates sources into sentences the writer composed, and applies the citation style as content rather than as presentation.

How this shelf works

Send the exact assignment or rubric from your classroom and a custom sample written to it lands in 24 to 48 hours, the first one free. PD 600 is Herzing’s Applied Scholarship course. It centers on the graduate scholarship course, where the writing itself is assessed alongside whatever it is about. Searches like "pd 600 unit 4 assignment example", "PD600 sample paper", and "PD 600 unit samples" land on this page.

What PD 600 is really about

Graduate programs assume a level of academic writing that many students have not been taught explicitly, and PD 600 exists to close that. The criteria treat construction as content: a paper that opens by stating what it will establish, commits to a position, and defends it against the strongest objection scores above one that surveys a topic competently. Hedging is expected to be justified rather than habitual, since caution in every sentence reads as unwillingness to commit. Length is controlled, and padding is more visible at this level than students expect it to be. Padding shows more clearly at this level than students expect, because the sentences carrying an argument read differently from the ones filling a page.

The second half is source practice. Integration means a citation supporting a sentence the writer wrote rather than standing in for one, and stacking three references behind a claim none of them makes individually is a specific failure. Paraphrase has to be genuine rather than synonym substitution, which is both a writing problem and an integrity one. Current citation style is applied evenly throughout, and at graduate level it is marked rather than overlooked. Sections differ on whether the course is discipline-specific or general, which changes what counts as an appropriate source. Which sources count as appropriate depends on the discipline the section is written for.

What PD 600’s assessments ask for

Prompts usually build from short exercises through a literature-based argument to a final scholarly paper, with revision stages graded. Criteria reward a claim narrow enough to be defended, sources arranged by what the argument needs rather than by when they were found, and limitations stated precisely. Revision assignments want structural change rather than corrected surface errors. Where a prompt asks for synthesis, it wants paragraphs saying something no single source says, which is the skill that most reliably separates graduate writing from advanced undergraduate writing. Where a prompt asks for limitations, it wants what this argument cannot establish rather than a generic list of research weaknesses, and revision stages are graded on whether the structure actually changed.

Where students lose points in PD 600

The reliable loss is a survey where an argument was expected, which reads as thorough and commits to nothing. Second is citation stacking. Third is paraphrase that follows the original sentence structure with words swapped, which similarity software flags and instructors treat seriously. Fourth is hedging in every clause, which cannot be distinguished from having no position. Fifth is uneven citation style, marked more heavily here than in undergraduate work. Sixth is a revision that changed punctuation when the feedback identified a missing argument. A claim broad enough that no evidence could contradict it feels safe and scores as though nothing had been argued. Narrow claims defended fully are what this level rewards.

PD 600 grading scale at Herzing: how the work is graded, from Herzing Assignments
How Herzing grades PD 600, visualized by Herzing Assignments.

The PD 600 drawers

Unit 1

PD 600 Unit 1 academic writing diagnostic example

Unit 1 typically establishes the writer's baseline against graduate expectations. On request, free, 24-48h.

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Unit 2

PD 600 Unit 2 thesis and argument exercise example

Unit 2 usually builds a claim narrow enough to be defended in the length available. On request, free, 24-48h.

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Unit 3

PD 600 Unit 3 source evaluation and search example

Unit 3 tends to require scholarly sources located and judged against criteria. On request, free, 24-48h.

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Unit 4

PD 600 Unit 4 integration and paraphrase exercise example

Unit 4 commonly practices putting citations behind the writer's own sentences. On request, free, 24-48h.

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Unit 5

PD 600 Unit 5 synthesis paper example

Unit 5 usually requires paragraphs saying what no single source says alone. On request, free, 24-48h.

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Unit 6

PD 600 Unit 6 citation style application example

Unit 6 typically applies the required style evenly across source types. On request, free, 24-48h.

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Unit 7

PD 600 Unit 7 peer review and structural revision example

Unit 7 usually answers structural feedback with structural change. On request, free, 24-48h.

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Unit 8

PD 600 Unit 8 final scholarly paper example

Unit 8 generally sustains one argument with its limitations stated precisely. On request, free, 24-48h.

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Using a PD 600 sample the right way

Study where the claim appears and how the paper spends its length defending it, because that shape is the whole difference between graduate writing and a competent survey. Watch too how each citation sits behind a sentence the writer composed rather than in place of one. Whether your section is discipline-specific changes which sources are appropriate and which style governs, so tell us the discipline and the required style and the sample is built to both. The concession is where a graduate paper earns most of its credibility. Style and discipline both govern what an appropriate source even is.

How these samples are written

Every sample on this rail is written the way the custom ones are: the rubric decoded row by row, clinical registers held exactly, formats shipped clean. Herzing revises classrooms; a custom request is always written to the rubric in YOUR course, never from a stale template.

PD 600 questions, answered

What makes writing graduate level?

It argues and it concedes. An undergraduate survey demonstrates that the writer read the literature; graduate work takes a position the literature supports, answers the strongest objection to it, and states precisely what it cannot establish. Narrower claims defended fully score above broad ones asserted, which is the reverse of what many students expect.

How do I paraphrase properly?

Read the passage, put it away, and write the idea in your own sentence structure, then cite. Swapping synonyms into the original sentence keeps the author's architecture and is treated as an integrity problem rather than a stylistic one, and similarity software detects it easily. If the phrasing is genuinely irreplaceable, quote it and attribute it.

Is citation style really worth marks?

At this level, yes, and it is among the cheapest marks to secure. Uneven reference formatting, inconsistent in-text citation and headings that do not follow the current edition all read as inattention on work that is supposed to demonstrate precision. Give the reference list its own pass after the writing is finished.