Paper Assignment
Find a psychology-themed article in the reputable media. Write a paper that summarizes the article and analyzes it based on what you've learned in the course this semester. Your analysis should intelligently link the article to specific concepts we've covered in class or in the book. It should be at least 4-5 pages long.
Reputable media sources include things like CNN, major newspapers (e.g., New York Times, Chicago Tribune, etc.). Things like blogs or other questionable news sources are no good. If you're not certain, ask me.
The grade for the paper will be broken up as follows:
- Is the article from a reputable news source? (5pts)
- Are your sources cited correctly? (5pts)
- Do you properly use quotations? (5pts)
- Is the summary of the article thorough and coherent? (20 pts)
- What I'm looking for here is that I should be able to have a relatively comprehensive understanding of the article without needing to go and read it myself.
- Spelling and grammar. (20 pts)
- This should be self-explanatory. Proofread your paper. Do not just use the spell-checker. Particular pet peeves of mine that will earn significant penalties are - mixing up there, their, and they're; mixing up your and you're; misuse of punctuation; using words in ways they were never intended to be used; colloquialisms.
- Do you analyze and expand upon the article, explaining the primary themes in your own words? (20 pts)
- Here what I'm looking for is do you actually understand the content of the article well enough to present it, or are you just giving me a book report where you paraphrase the content of the article? Understanding is good. Book report is less good.
- Specific relation of the themes of the article to the themes and concepts of the course. (25 pts)
- Are you able to tie what you read back to what you've learned. The more specific you can be, the better off you'll be.
The paper is due at the start of class on Friday, May 1.