This guide is for CEFS 500 Week 2 Counselor Identity Paper, start to submission. A 3-page APA paper on counselor professional identity.
CEFS 500 is Orientation to Counselors Professional Identity and Function, 3 credit hours, in Liberty University's MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Canvas and the course guide file print the code as CEFS500; it is the same course.
| Course | CEFS 500 Orientation to Counselors Professional Identity and Function |
|---|---|
| Module/Week | 2 |
| Points | 100 points |
| Length | 3 pages |
| Sources | Granello and Young, Clinton and Ohlschlager, and scholarly sources |
| Faith integration | Not required by the guide |
| Format | Current APA |
What CEFS 500 Week 2 Counselor Identity Paper asks for
You write a 3-page paper in current APA on counselor identity. It is due in Module/Week 2 with Granello and Young chapters 3 and 4. Worth 100 points.
Where it fits in CEFS 500
In the published schedule, Counselor Identity Paper is one of 9 graded written assignments in CEFS 500. It follows Week 1 Discussion Board Forum 1 and comes before Week 3 Counselor Credential Video Blog.
How CEFS 500 Week 2 Counselor Identity Paper is graded
Liberty grades Counselor Identity Paper with the rubric attached to the assignment in Canvas, worth 100 points in the published guide. That is about 10% of the course's 1,010 points. Open the rubric before you draft and read across each row: the top column describes what full credit looks like, and the gap between columns tells you what costs points.
Course grades in CEFS 500 use Liberty's point scale: an A is 940 to 1010 points of the course total. Missing the length or source minimum usually costs points on several rows at once, which is why the checklist below starts with them.
Timing in the published guide: Each course module/week begins on Monday morning at 12:00 a.m. (ET) and ends on Sunday night at 11:59 p.m. (ET). The final module/week ends at 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday. Check the due dates in your Canvas section, which govern.
The CEFS 500 Week 2 method, step by step
Turn the instructions into an outline
Paste the Counselor Identity Paper instructions and rubric into a document and turn every required element into a heading. In CEFS 500 the rubric is the grading contract, so the outline should mirror it before you write a sentence.
Narrow the topic until it fits the length
Size the topic to the length (3 pages). A focused question about one population, policy or problem gives you room to analyze; a broad survey leaves room only to describe.
Collect sources before drafting
Build the source list before the draft (Granello and Young, Clinton and Ohlschlager, and scholarly sources). A short evidence table (who, when, what they found, which section it serves) prevents the late scramble for citations that weakens most papers.
Write a thesis that the sections prove
Write one sentence that states what the paper argues. Every section after the introduction should advance that sentence; if a paragraph does not, it belongs in another paper.
Draft section by section, analysis first
Fill the outline one heading at a time. In each section, say what the sources show, weigh them, and draw the implication. Graders reward the sentences that interpret, not the ones that report.
Format and check against the rubric
Apply current APA (title page, running format, headings, in-text citations matched to the reference list) and then read the paper once against the rubric, row by row, before you submit.
Organize with APA headings (for example, Philosophy of Counseling, Professional Organizations and Credentials, My Developing Identity), cite the textbook and at least one other scholarly source, and keep within 3 pages.
A structure for CEFS 500 Week 2 Counselor Identity Paper
Word targets are planning numbers for about 1,100 words of body text, set by the length in the guide; the rubric decides where to spend more.
| Section | What it must do | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Professional identity | What defines counseling as a profession. | ~400 words |
| History and organizations | The profession's development and bodies. | ~290 words |
| Personal identity | Your developing identity as a counselor. | ~260 words |
| APA | Format and citations. | ~150 words |
A topic angle that works
Professional identity in counseling rests on a shared philosophy (wellness, development, prevention), a history, professional organizations such as the American Counseling Association, ethical codes and credentials. Explain these and how you see yourself joining the profession.
Model paragraph with notes
An original paragraph written by our desk to show the register that earns full rubric credit. It is study material: learn the moves, then write your own.
Counselors share a philosophy that distinguishes them from other mental health professions: an emphasis on wellness, human development and prevention rather than illness alone. The American Counseling Association's definition of counseling as a professional relationship that empowers people to accomplish mental health, wellness, education and career goals reflects this. My own identity begins with this developmental view and with the ACA Code of Ethics as a common standard.
- Philosophy.
- A definition.
- Personal identity.
Mistakes that cost points on CEFS 500 Week 2
- Personal story without the profession.
- Over 3 pages.
- APA errors.
Checklist before you submit
- Length: 3 pages
- Sources: Granello and Young, Clinton and Ohlschlager, and scholarly sources
- Title page and reference page in current APA format
- Headings follow the order of the instructions
- Each rubric row read against the section that answers it
Questions students ask
How long is the CEFS 500 counselor identity paper?
3 pages in current APA.
How many points is CEFS 500 Week 2 Counselor Identity Paper worth?
100 points in Liberty's published course guide for CEFS 500, out of a course total of 1,010 points (about 10% of the grade). The rubric attached to the assignment in Canvas shows how those points are divided.
Is CEFS 500 Week 2 the same in every section of CEFS 500?
This guide follows Liberty's published course guide for CEFS 500. Liberty notes that course content can change from term to term, so if your Canvas section shows different instructions, a different week or different points, follow Canvas and your instructor.
Want a tutor to look at your draft?
Send the instructions and what you have so far. A Liberty tutor replies with what to fix first, usually within the hour.