Psych 303
Goldman, Spring 2002
2/11/02
Overview of Extended Writing Assignments 2 and 3
EWA2 and EWA3 are organized around a specific topic of your choice in psychology. EWA2 will reflect your initial research on the topic and explain what is generally believed about the topic. One purpose of EWA2 is to identify a more specific aspect of the topic that will be the focus of EWA3. For example, your initial survey for EWA2 may reveal a controversy or disagreement relevant to the topic. For EWA3 you would do further research specifically targeted at the controversy or disagreement in an effort to arrive at a conclusion regarding the topic. Alternatively, EWA2 may reveal a subarea of the topic that you find particularly interesting and about which you go into greater depth for EWA3. The recommended length for EWA2 is 5 to 6 pages and for EWA3 it is 8 to 10 pages, excluding the reference section, title page, and abstract.
Assigned: 2/11/02
First Draft Due in DS: 2/28, 3/1
Receive Feedback on EWA2 Draft: 3/14, 15 in DS
Final Draft of EWA2 Due in DS: 3/28, 29
Extended Writing Assignment 2 is a critical review of the literature on a topic of your choice. A critical review means that you will not only be relating information that you find but evaluating it as well. Evaluation will be in terms of whether you think the argument made (claims, evidence, support) are convincing and why you think so. Typical critical reviews in psychology tend toward exhaustive research and review of articles and book chapters that have been written about the topic. Your critical review is actually more like a “mini-review” in that you are not expected to be exhaustive in your research. Rather, you should read between 5 and 10 articles in peer-refereed journals or edited books for your critical review. The wide range of 5 to 10 is a guideline. It is impossible to specify an exact number; even if a number could be specified it wouldn’t be appropriate for every topic and each one of you. In other words, you will need to judge whether the articles/chapters you have found on your topic provide you with a good sense of the theories, perspectives and data on that topic. If so, you have enough; if not you need to find more or better sources. The TAs and the Instructor are available for consultation on this issue.
Your goal in undertaking the mini-review can either be
1. to identify an important controversy or disagreement about the topic you selected.
OR
2. to narrow down the topic to a subarea that you find particularly important and interesting.
Regardless of whether you adopt the first or the second goal, EWA2 will communicate your findings to an audience of your peers. The paper has three main sections: introduction, body, and conclusion. It will also have a title page, abstract, and reference section that includes the full citation to any works cited in your paper. Both the title page and reference section should conform to APA format.
Þ The introduction tells the reader what the topic is, why you are interested in it or how you came to investigate the particular topic, and whether your critical review presents the opposing views on your topic or argues for the importance and interest of the subarea that you will identify.
Þ The body of the review summarizes the claims about your topic and the evidence that supports those claims. You should be explicit about whether the findings of different researchers agree or disagree with one another. If they disagree, do you find the evidence on one side more compelling than the other? Why or Why not? What does your critical review of the existing research suggest about the kinds of questions that still need to be addressed? Be conscious of using good argument structure in the body of your paper. In the overall argument structure of your paper, the body provides the evidence for claims you make in the introduction and reiterate in the conclusion.
Þ The conclusion, if you are pursuing goal 1, will reiterate the main points of the controversy, your hypothesis at this point in time about which position seems most valid or justified by the evidence you have located.
Þ The conclusion, if you are pursuing goal 2, will specify the subarea that you are going to pursue further and summarize why you find this area important and interesting.
Length for EWA2 is 5 to 6 pages
You already have a good start on the research for EWA2 as a result of the library search process you undertook over the past two weeks. The articles/chapters you found serve as the starting point for those cited in your critical review.
You will have an opportunity to revise EWA2. The feedback may make it necessary for you to consult your sources again so be sure you have access to them or to notes on them.
If you need help with your topic – making it manageable or broadening it so that there is sufficient information on it, please set up a time to talk with the instructor or your teaching assistant. Likewise, if you wish to go over the feedback in a one-on-one session, contact your TA or the instructor.
Please reread the General Instructions on EWAs, especially regarding format, style, process writes, and grading of the EWAs and Process Writes. These were distributed on 1/23/02 and are available on the class website, linked to the Extended Writing Assignments Schedule of Activities.
Assigned: 3/28, 29
First Draft Due in DS: 4/11, 12
Receive Feedback on EWA2 Draft: 4/18, 19 in DS
Final Draft of EWA2 Due in DS: 4/30 to Instructor (place in her mailbox in the Psychology Office or email attach an RTF format file to her).
Extended Writing Assignment 3 builds on the work you did in EWA2. It again includes an introduction, body, conclusion, title page, abstract, and reference section using APA format.
Þ If you laid out a controversy about your topic in EWA2, then EWA3 critically reviews additional articles (say another 3 – 8) to provide you with information sufficient for you to reach a conclusion regarding the controversy. The introduction should state the controversy and the hypothesis you formed on the basis of the research for EWA2. The body should discuss the additional information you found in your research on the controversy. In the body of your review, indicate what point of view has the most evidence in its favor. What are the counterarguments and why are they not as compelling? In the conclusion, state the conclusion you reached about the controversy and the evidence that you found most compelling in reaching this conclusion. Note: If you simply cannot reach a conclusion, provide an analysis of why you find the evidence on each side compelling. Can you think of some research that would help decide among the different points of view?
Þ If you explored a subarea of the topic from EWA2, then EWA3 critically reviews additional articles that explore this subarea in depth (say another 3 – 8). The introduction should say what subarea you are pursuing and why it seems worth looking into further. The body should discuss the research you found on the subarea, indicating what claims and evidence are offered in support of different viewpoints on the subarea. Indicate if there are any disagreements or controversies regarding the subarea and whether you have formed a conclusion about the greater validity of one viewpoint over another. The conclusion should indicate “state of the art” understanding of the subarea and whether you find the evidence for these claims convincing, explaining why or why not.
Length for EWA3 it is 8 to 10 pages
You will have an opportunity to revise EWA3. The feedback may make it necessary for you to consult your sources again so be sure you have access to them or to notes on them. If you need help in moving ahead with your topic, please arrange a time to talk with the instructor or your teaching assistant. Likewise, if you wish to go over the feedback in a one-on-one session, contact your TA or the instructor.
Please reread the General Instructions on EWAs, especially regarding format, style, process writes, and grading of the EWAs and Process Writes. These were distributed on 1/23/02 and are available on the class website, linked to the Extended Writing Assignments Schedule of Activities.