The purpose of theBenchmark Professional Identity and Credential Paper Assignmentis to:

 Articulate your understanding of the current trends in professional counselor identity and
identifying your own professional development plan.
 Teach you how to access and use the Liberty University Online Library.
 Correctly identify scholarly sources appropriate for use in professional papers.
 Define plagiarism and demonstrate use of Turnitin software in order to check your own
papers for plagiarism throughout your program.
INSTRUCTIONS
Be sure to review Steps 1 – 11, including the addition of the Turnitin reflection page.
Step 1: Read the assigned required readings to date. You may find Chapter 2 of your textbook
particularly helpful.
Step 2: Read two of the following articles listed under the Benchmark Professional Identity
and Credential Paper Resources on the Benchmark Professional Identity and Credential
Paper Assignment page:
 Evaluating Independently Licensed Counselors’ Articulation of Professional Identity
Using Structural Coding
 Interstate Licensure Portability: Logistics and Barriers for Professional Counselors
 Advocating for Educational Standards in Counselor Licensure Laws
 Chi Sigma Iota Chapter Faculty Advisors’ Experiences of Professional Counselor
Identity
Step 3: Write a reaction paper on the information reviewed. Your paper must be in current APA
format using professional guidelines (including running head, a title page, abstract, and reference
page). The abstract must provide a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of the paper in
150–250 words. Note: the title page, abstract, and reference page do not contribute toward the
page requirement.
Divide your paper into the following sections (first level headings):
 Summary – Synthesize and integrate the main points of the textbook readings and articles
in 2 ½ -3 pages, using the second level headings listed below. Within the ‘Necessary
Components for Professional Identity’, also address ethical spiritual/religious integration.
o The Importance of Professional Identity
o The Necessary Components for Professional Identity
o The Challenges to Professional Identity
 Professional Identity Development Plan– In ½-1 page, discuss the following:

COUC 500
Page 2 of 2
o What are your motivators to become a professional counselor?
o What will you do to establish your identity as a counselor?
o Identify potential challenges that may present barriers to your success
(academically, personally, or professionally) and name at least two strategies for
how you will manage those barriers.
 State Credential Plan – Copy and paste the Benchmark Professional Identity and
Credential Paper Chart Template into your paper (be sure to include a page break)
after the last section. Complete the plan according to your state’s counselor requirements
as stated on the state’s board of counseling website.
 Summary and Reactions to Turnitin Report (*See Steps 8-11)
Step 4: Submit your paper via the Benchmark Professional Identity and Credential Paper
Assignment – DRAFT link.
Step 5: Wait until the link indicates that Turnitin has analyzed your paper and prepared a report.
Step 6: Open the Turnitin report. Evaluate the report. You will notice that Turnitin often matches
on headings, titles, and references. If you see matches on entire sentences or paragraphs that are
not enclosed in direct quotation marks, then you have unintentionally plagiarized. You will need
to go back and re-write those sections in your own words.
Step 7: Return to your original paper and revise as needed.
Step 8: Add a section on your paper entitled “Summary and Reactions to Turnitin Report.” In
this section, summarize the results of your Turnitin report in 1-2 paragraphs. Then, interpret the
report. What do your results indicate? Why? What are your reactions to the report?
Step 9: Save your paper as a Microsoft Word document using your name and assignment title
(e.g., Doe_J_assignment_1).
Step 10: Submit the final paper using the Benchmark Professional Identity and Credential
Paper Assignment – FINAL link. This assignment will also be submitted via Tevera. All
Benchmark assignments—including those submitted in Canvas and/or via Turnitin—must be
submitted to Tevera in order to receive credit for them.
Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.