Term Paper
Your term paper must follow a very specific format: it must be written in APA style. If you do not own the APA Style Manual, you can get one from apa.org or our UNM Bookstore, but it is also available at our Science and Engineering Library on campus. I have also posted some links to quick APA guides, such as the one available from the Purdue Owl, under Web Links on the left-side menu for our class.
The topic of your paper should focus on an important contribution in the history of Psychology, something that has had a unique or significant impact on the field. You can go back to something as early as Plato’s theories and beliefs about the mind, or something modern like the invent of intelligence testing. I’ve provided some example topics below for inspiriation. By the end of the fifth week of class, you will need to submit your proposed topic and a list of initial source references for approval. Under the link for Term Paper, you’ll find the submission area.
Much of your paper will take the form of a literature review, and students are expected to use primary sources to trace the historical development of the chosen important contribution. As such, you don’t just want to present the contribution itself but also how it has developed over a period of time and the impact it has made on Psychology. Under Term Paper, I’ve also included a description of a general literature review. Papers that do not conform to those requirements, poorly researched papers, and papers with improper or inadequate citations will not receive a good grade. In cases of papers with clearly plagiarized passages, and the system will check this using SafeAssign, they will receive 0 points. For example, a paper about free will would not meet the requirements UNLESS it traced the history of description, understanding, and controversies surrounding free will, over at least a 50 year period…. and did this using primary sources. Poorly written papers will lose points for the mechanics of writing. Papers that do not conform to APA style will lose points. Papers must be submitted electronically in “doc”, docx, or PDF format, using MS Word or a similar word processor. MS Word is available on most UNM pod and lab computers across campus. But if you aren’t on campus or if you don’t own MS Word, don’t buy it. A free alternative to MS Office is available for download, called OpenOffice, and it does almost everything MS Office does. A link for OpenOffice is provided under Web Links on the left menu bar.
The due dates for the Proposal and the final Term Paper are shown in the Syllabus and in the Weekly Overviews. You should write your reviews using MS Word or OpenOffice as your editor. It should be able to tell you how many words are in the complete document, grammar issues, and point out misspelled words. Once you’ve written your Term Paper, edited it, and corrected the grammar and spelling, you can then submit it as an attachment.
Grading your Proposal and your Term Paper
Your proposal for your paper topic, and at least 5 solid primary references, are due at the end of the fifth week of class. This is worth 10 points toward the overall total for the term paper. Once it’s graded, be sure to review the feedback we will provide by clicking on the score under MyGrades.
Your final term paper is worth 190 points, as noted in the general rubric below. Points will be assigned based on how clearly and accurately you present your topic in each of the four sections: introduction, methods, results, and discussion. Not including the title page or references, you should aim for a 5-6 page paper, single spaced, or about 10-12 pages double-spaced. This may sound like quite a lot, but you’ll probably find that entire books have been written about your topic – so your goal is a concise, very focused paper. Importantly: late term papers will not be accepted unless you can provide documentation of a serious illness or something work- or school-related of similar importance.
The grading rubric below will be used to grade your final paper. Study this rubric carefully. It explains how points are assigned for each section of your review. The rubric is also available for you to view when you submit your written responses.
Proposal and Term Paper Grading Rubric
Title page with your name – this page doesn’t count toward your word/page limit. Your name, the date submitted, and the title, which precisely describes your literature review.
Introduction: provide a brief background on your topic – one or two paragraphs. Explain why this concept or contribution is important to the history of Psychology and the scope of your review. If you have subtopics, explain how your review is organized.
Body: your detailed synthesis of the concept or contribution, with initial and developing arguments over time, and your analysis. Present your review of the concept or contribution, organized by any subtopics you’ve chosen. Synthesize the findings from multiple primary sources: don’t simply present snippets from books or papers one by one. Group the ideas into specific points and subtopics, and use good transitions between subtopics. Limit direct quotations and keep paraphrasing to a minimum. Evaluate the topic: critique any problems over time, point out strengths and weaknesses, discuss any significant issues with statistics used, and discuss prevailing theories. Analysis is the scientific appraisal of your sources – not your personal opinions, but your scientific assessment of the research methodology and their conclusions.
Conclusion: Provide a very brief summarization of your synthesis and analysis above – one or two paragraphs. If relevant, clearly note any problems or issues still remaining that you have identified, discuss current ideas and suggestions by other researchers for future directions in theory or research. Perhaps discuss one or two questions or problems still left unanswered by current research.
References: this page also doesn’t count toward your word/page limit. Provide a full list of all research you have cited, in APA format