Goldman, Spring 2002
Extended Writing Assignments (EWA) are multi-page papers on a topic you select. There are three of these over the course of the semester. You will receive individualized feedback on all three. Feedback will reflect the comments of one peer reviewer of your paper as well as the comments of your TA and of the instructor. Peer reviews will be done in the discussion section that meets the day the EWA is due. You will have the opportunity to revise the second and third papers.
Along with each EWA (draft and final), you will do a Process Write. As we discussed in the first class, Process Writes are opportunities to reflect on the writing process as you experienced it. In writing these, the purpose is to think about what happened whey you wrote your EWA – what came easily, what was more difficult, what was enjoyable, what was a dilemma for you, and so on. The main idea is to tell the story of what actually happened as you wrote and to do so as honestly and with as much detail as possible. Process Writes should increase your awareness of how you write rather than how you think you should write.
In this class, the feedback will focus more on writing in psychology than on general writing skills. For individualized assistance with general writing skills, you may wish to contact the Writing Center, located in 120A SEO (Science and Engineering Offices), Tel. #413-2206). They can provide you with help on writing skills such as capitalization, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, paragraph structure, and overall structure of your EWA or Process Write.
EWAs (drafts and final versions) must be handed in on the assigned due date in your discussion section (see table below). Late EWAs will be penalized at the rate of 3 points per working day. Process Writes are due on the same day as the EWA but, as the assignment schedule shown below indicates, some of these may be handed in at the next Monday class. Late Process Writes will be penalized at the rate of 1 point per working day.
All EWA drafts, final versions, and process writes must be typed or computer printed, double-spaced, stapled (no plastic covers), and have 1 to 1.5 inch margins and normal-sized fonts. Preferred font and size is Times, 12 pt. Palatino 12 or Geneva 10 are also acceptable. Each draft and final version of the EWAs is to have a title page that conforms to APA style, except instead of your name put your PIN number on it. The paper should be formatted consistent with APA style, as specified in SWM (your text for this course). For the “running head” use the assignment name (e.g., EWA 1 Draft, EWA1 Final, etc.) There is no APA style for the Process Writes. Use the typical essay format you use in writing most papers. Under Specific Instructions for each EWA you will find the recommended lengths for each. Recommended length for the Process Writes is two pages.
Þ You are to hand in two copies of each EWA draft, final version, and Process Write. We will keep one copy and return the other to you with feedback. By keeping these “second copies” we will be able to look at your progress over the course of the semester.
Content of the Extended Writing Assignments.
EWA1: The topic of the EWA1 is your interest in majoring in psychology. Additional details are provided under Specific Instructions for EWA1. The recommended length for EWA1 is 3 to 4 pages.
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.
Structure of the Extended Writing Assignments.
The EWAs should conform to argument structure in psychology, as discussed
in class and in handouts provided in class and discussion sections.
Grading of the EWAs and Process Writes
The table below shows the due dates for the EWAs and Process Writes, the maximum number of points you can earn for each EWA draft and final version, and the date on which you will receive feedback (peer, TA, and Instructor) on your drafts of EWA2 and EWA3. You will receive 50% of the maximum points for handing in EWA drafts and final versions (minus any pts. deducted for late papers). The remainder of the points will be awarded based on the quality of the work. On Final Versions, the award of additional points will also depend on the degree to which you have taken the feedback into account and have revised your draft. Quality will be evaluated against style/structure and content criteria. Content criteria include the quality of the argument or explanation that you provide in your paper. In your discussion sections you will receive additional information regarding the criteria by which content and style/structure will be evaluated. Process writes can earn a maximum of 5 points. For handing in Process Writes you will receive a minimum of 3 points (unless your process write is handed in late), with the other two points awarded based on the depth of your reflection and analysis.
Schedule of Extended Writing Assignments (Reproduced from the Syllabus)
|
Dates of Extended Writing Assignments |
Extended Writing Assignments (EWA) |
Points for Extended
Writing Assignments
|
|
1/23 Assigned 2/7,8 Due |
EWA 1 |
Max of 15 pts. |
|
1/23 Assigned 2/7,8 Due |
Process Write on EWA1 |
Max of 5 pts. |
|
2/11 Assigned 2/28, 3/1 Due |
EWA 2, Draft |
Max of 15 pts. |
|
2/11 Assigned 2/28,3/1 or 3/4 Due |
Process Write on EWA2 Draft |
Max of 5 pts. |
|
3/14, 15 In DS |
Feedback on EWA2 Draft |
|
|
3/28,29 Due (in DS) |
Final Version of EWA2 |
Max of 20 pts |
|
3/28,29 Due (in DS) |
Process Write on EWA2 Final Version |
Max of 5 pts. |
|
3/28,29 Assigned 4/11,12 Due (in DS) |
EWA 3, Draft |
Max of 20 pts. |
|
3/28,29 Assigned 4/11,12 or 4/15 Due |
Process Write 5 on EWA3 Draft |
Max of 5 pts. |
|
4/18,19 In DS |
Feedback on EWA3 Draft 1 |
|
|
4/30 Due |
Final Version of EWA3 |
Max of 25 pts. |
|
4/30 Due |
Process write on EWA3 |
Max of 5 pts. |