HGD+Essay+Instructions

=This page is archived. DO NOT USE= Essays are optional. There are three reasons for doing them:
 * 1) Essays may be used to substitute for missed attendance, quizzes, and tests.
 * 2) If you score poorly on a quiz or test, you may submit an essay, and I will accept the higher letter grade. If the letter grades are the same, I will add one letter grade for the extra effort.toc
 * 3) Essays may be submitted for extra credit.

Essays should be submitted on the wiki. Due dates are listed on the Peer Forum. All essays have two dates listed on the peer forum. The first is the ** open ** date which corresponds to the date when the quiz or test opens. The second is the ** grading date ** which is when the instructor will assign grades--usually one week after the quiz or test closes ( ** exception--end of term everything is due by midnight on the last day of the class, as shown on the Calendar ** ). Between the two dates, essays are open for peer review. That means you can read each other's essays and suggest changes before the grading date. As you become familiar with the rubrics and previous assignments, you should be able to help each other avoid costly mistakes.


 * Essays submitted after the grading date will lose 10% (one letter grade). ** Grading is done right on your essay page. Feedback and points will appear at the bottom of your essay. In Blackboard, the essay score will replace your quiz/test score (assuming it is better).


 * To submit an essay **
 * 1) Create a new page (click on the + next to Pages and Files, just like you did to make your user page),
 * 2) Name the page based on the assignment and your grading number. If you are replacing a quiz, title it with the letter Q, followed by the quiz number (zero for the Gen Psych Course Overview), followed by your grading number. Thus, if student 3268 missed quiz #6, and wrote an essay to replace it, the page name would be Q63268.
 * 3) Type in or copy and paste the text of your essay into the new page you have created. Save your edits.
 * 4) Once your essay is ready to be reviewed by your peers, link to your essay on the peer forum just like you did with your user page (see tutorial Submit an Essay).

=Small Essay (for missed quizzes)= Select one of the prompts below for your small essay (180-300 words). See Rubric for quality guidelines.

Media Response
Find a media article that is relevant to the chapter(s) you are studying. Using proper vocabulary, compare the media claims to the original data, to the findings of other researchers (including those in your textbook), and to the critical thinking warnings in Barrett's Laws. Give your analysis of the results. Make sure to cite sources.

**Media claims** refers to news/magazine programs, websites, articles, blogs, or other various sources referred to as "popular media." **Original data** would be the article in a peer reviewed journal, or actual study, etc. that the media is referring to. **Analysis** means combine the information you obtained; compare, contrast and otherwise lay out what all the information means together. Analysis is not your opinion, but a detailed examination of the facts and the results of that examination.

**For example**, if I were to report on this article that heart medication can combat racism, I'd find the original abstract and press release by the scientists (the original data) and compare this to what the media actually reported. My analysis would include that the media has misused the term "racism" to include unconscious racial bias, and the researchers specifically warned that this was not about conscious bias (racism). Finally, I'd point out that while the media has reported them wrong, the results are actually quite intriguing. Note that this analysis includes a little bit of opinion at the end, but is mostly inference and comparison of facts.

Career Summary
Select a career that is relevant to the chapter(s) you are studying. Using proper vocabulary, identify the qualifications, skills, earnings, potential advancement, and relevant schools of thought for this career. Make sure to cite sources.

Book/Film Summary
Select a book or film that is relevant to the chapter(s) you are studying. Select a work from one of four possible categories: fiction film, non-fiction film, fiction book and non-fiction book. For examples to choose from, check out our Book or Film Response Candidates. Using proper vocabulary, summarize the book/film and explain it's relevance to our class. Make sure to cite sources.

=Medium Essay (for missed Midterms)= Select one of the prompts below for your medium essay (900-1500 words). See Rubric for quality guidelines. For examples to choose from, check out our Career Ideas.

Career Interview
Select a career that is relevant to the chapter(s) you are studying. Interview a professional in a field related to one of the chapters of your book. State their qualifications--including schooling--and what chapter they are elaborating on. Write an essay that covers the following questions, in any order. Ask your professional to give examples as needed, and relate their statements back to your textbook. Include a bibliography (in MLA or APA format) of any sources you use, including the professional, your textbook, and at least one other source. Use the proper terms from the textbook as necessary, and organize your essay in keeping with the rubric.

--What developmental/psychological issues are relevant to the career? --What is the position of the professional on these issues? --Is there a certifying body or licensing board that oversees this professional? What are their standards? --What does the professional enjoy the most and least about this career? --What other professions does this professional work with? What is their relationship with these other professions, and with the public?

=Large Essay (for missed Finals)= Select one of the prompts below for your large essay (1200-2000 words). See Rubric for quality guidelines.

Book/Film Response
Select a book or film that is relevant to the class. Select a work from one of four possible categories: fiction film, non-fiction film, fiction book and non-fiction book. For examples to choose from, check out our Book or Film Response Candidates.

Select the set of questions below that match your chosen work. Write an essay that covers those questions, in any order. Cite examples from the source--including page number for a book or minutes/seconds for a film--and from your textbook or other sources. Include a bibliography (in MLA or APA format) of any sources you use, including the work, your textbook, and at least one other source. Use the proper terms from the textbook as necessary, and organize your essay in keeping with the rubric.

Non-Fiction
--What developmental/psychological issues are the focus of the work? --What is the position of the author/filmmaker on these issues? --Are the scientific claims supported by the scientific community? --What praise or criticism has the work received? --What developmental domains or psychological fields are most relevant to the work? --Which theorists or researchers might comment on this work, and what might they say?

Fiction
--What developmental/psychological issues does the work depict? --What is the intent of the author in showing these issues? --How do the depictions compare with the scientific evidence, as represented by your textbook and other scholarly sources? --What praise or criticism has the work received for its depiction of these issues? --What developmental domains or psychological fields are most relevant to the issues? --What symbols does the work contain? How would various theorists interpret these symbols?