Social Psychology Short Paper Guidelines
Step One (20 points): Select and identify a topic that we will have covered in class/the reading prior to the assignment deadline. (Hint: The first sentence of your short paper should identify the topic you selected.)
Step Two (20 points): Briefly summarize what you already know from class/the reading about the topic. (Hint: After the first sentence that identifies the topic you selected, the rest of your first paragraph can focus on this brief summary.)
(The great majority of your paper should focus on Steps 3-6.)
Step Three (20 points): Identify questions you still have about the topic. (Hint: Don’t pick a topic about which you have no additional questions.)
Step Four: Consult the available research (from reputable sources) on the topic to see if the questions you identified in Step Three have already been answered. (Hint: You might need to visit the library to help you find any relevant research.)
Step Five (50 points): Describe what you learned from consulting the available research.
Step Six (50 points): If you were to conduct your own research on the topic, what would you do? Perhaps you might design an experiment or develop a survey. Describe in detail the research you would conduct and what you would hope to learn from the research. Note: I am not asking you to actually conduct any research; I am just asking you to propose it.
Step Seven (20 points): Cite any references you used in the creation of your paper. Your textbook counts as a reference.
Step Eight (20 points): Edit your paper for spelling and grammar. Make sure your writing is clear and organized.
Additional Guidelines:
This is a short paper. It should be 3-5 pages long (not including references). You can use 12-point Times New Roman font, and the paper can be double-spaced. Do not include a heading; just write your name at the very top of your paper.
The paper is due by the scheduled end of class on Thursday, December 6. See the syllabus for the policy regarding late papers.
I am here to help if you get stuck. That said, if you wait until the last minute, I probably won’t be able to help you very much because there won’t be time for me to help you.
The paper is worth 200 points. See the total possible points for each step (except for Step Four) noted above. Step Four is worth 0 points because the quality of your work for that step should be reflected in Step Five.
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