• Psychology in the News Assignment
This assignment is designed to get you critically thinking and writing about how the psychological concepts you have learned in this course apply to the “real world”. For this assignment, you will find two recent news articles or items. Make sure your news items are not more than two to four months old. You may use any article or item from one of the popular news magazines, i.e., Newsweek or from a newspaper or use one of the news or science websites.
Please use the printed media not radio or TV unless you have a written transcript to reference. Be sure to properly reference your sources, i.e., provide a reference and/or weblink to the item so the reader can locate it.
How to find News articles
For each item or article you have found, provide a one and a half to two page, double-spaced essay. Follow these steps for each of the 2 news items or articles.
1. a) Summarize the news article. What is it about? Provide sufficient details about the article. Identify the source, i.e., publication, date and page # or website. If you quote please quote properly (see the plagiarism tutorial).
2. b) Find a psychological concept in your textbook that relates to each or your news articles. Provide sufficient detail from your textbook about this concept. Mention research, theories or information that might be important for understanding this concept from a psychological point of view.
3. c) Locate a peer-reviewed research article from the Psyc INFO database relating to each concept. Click here for instructions on finding your articles. Provide a summary of this research.
4. d) Explain how the research article relates to the news item and course concept and the importance of understanding the concept you have chosen. What are the connections between the news item and psychological theories or concepts from your textbook and the research evidence you present from your research articles? What might be the benefits of knowing something about this concept, and/or the dangers of not being aware of this concept?
Be sure your paper is in proper APA style. Click here for additional information on APA style.
This assignment is worth 20 points toward your final grade.
Also, be sure to review the Plagiarism Tutorial, so that you are familiar with UMUC’s plagiarism policies.
. This assignment is worth 20% of your final grade. Points will be deducted if your paper is turned in late, so please try to have yours turned in on time.
(Class, the point values for the rubric are not showing up here. Check your assignment folder or your syllabus for the points for each item.)
Grading Rubric for Your Paper on Psychology in the News
CONTENT Points
1. a) Selection and summary of News Article 1. 2
b) Describe how the article relates to a psychological concept in your textbook. 2
c) Find a peer-reviewed research article from the PsycINFO database, and discuss this research 2
d) Explain how your research article relates to your news article and course concept and the importance of this information in understanding the concept you have chosen. 2
2. Selection and summary of News Article 2. (same criteria as above) 8
CREATIVITY
3. Author creatively enhances the topic 2
WRITING MECHANICS and STYLE
4. Paper is free of mechanical errors (e.g., misspellings, typos, etc.) and is grammatically sound (proper sentence structure). 1
5. Citations and references are in proper APA style. 1
Total Points 20
Additional Criteria for Grading Your Assignment
5. Accuracy. Are your facts or ideas correct?
6. Clarity. Are your answers clear and easy to follow? It helps to read your answer aloud to yourself. Using this method, you can catch incomplete sentences or lapses in your thought.
7. Depth. Are the issues and implications thought out and explored?
8. Originality. Are your own views present and well-articulated? Use your own words. Do not copy material directly from your text or other sources. If you want to use the author’s exact words, put them in quotation marks and cite the page number from your text or other source material. But don’t forget to express your own opinion or interpretation.
9. Supporting Evidence. Support your ideas with empirical evidence. This is a crucial part of any well-written research essay. You may support your answer with statistical information, case studies, or research you encounter from the text, readings, or other references. You may also use your personal experience as supporting evidence when appropriate.
10. References. Did you use appropriate references to support the main points of your paper? You may look in the textbook and find references listed in the bibliography that might support your writing. Be sure you have these references—the complete articles—on hand if you use them. Make sure your references relate to the point you are making, or support your inferences.
11. Form, composition, spelling, etc. Try to make your paper neat and error free. It helps to run your spell checker before submitting your work, or have a colleague or friend read over your paper.
12. APA Style. We will follow the formatting rules of the American Psychological Association. The UMUC Guide to Writing and Research will provide you with some basic APA guidelines, and you can access this information by visiting UMUC’s library web page.
PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH COLLEGE NURSING PAPERS AND GET AN AMAZING DISCOUNT!
