Psychology

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Research Paper

Students usually find the study of End of Life issues fascinating. To further your interest, you have an opportunity to explore a topic of your choice related to the course and write a research paper of four pages. In the introduction of your paper, let the reader know the purpose and why it is of interest. Five research articles are required for referencing and are to be from scholarly journals such as The Association for Death Education and Counseling, The American Psychological Association, The American Society on Aging, and various nursing and medical journals.

Include results of studies published on the issue/topic of the paper such as: how many participants, how done, and what was found, learned from the study. At least three Journal resources of the five should provide studies and results. Be sure to make the paper flow rather than be a collection of bits and pieces. Summarize your paper well so that it pulls together the information that is enlightening to the reader.

Writing Requirements:

All assignments including discussions require your best writing skills. This means that you must write your assignments with well-developed paragraphs, complete sentences, and good grammar. Do not use “text speak,” abbreviations, all caps, slang or vulgar language. Spelling and grammar count.

Plagiarism and the Citation of Sources:

Plagiarism is the intentional or unintentional presentation of another person’s idea or product as one’s own. Plagiarism includes: copying verbatim all or part of another’s written work; using phrases, charts, figures without citing the source; paraphrasing ideas, conclusions, or research without citing the source. Guidance on how to avoid plagiarism can be found online at UMUC’s Effective Writing Center:

http://www.umuc.edu/writingcenter/plagiarism/ 

Format of documents:

Your writing assignments should be double-spaced. A recommended font is Times New Roman, with 12 font size and aligned left. 

Guidelines:

  1. Papers must be written using the current APA Publication Manual. Papers must be four pages plus a cover page and list of references page. 
  2. Papers must include a minimum of five relevant resources/Journal articles, appropriately cited and referenced.
  3. Your paper is to be submitted in your Assignment Folder no later than 4/26.
  4. Be certain to follow APA style in referencing.
  5. Reminder: For information on APA formatting, go to APA.org (Then click on the Basics of APA Style OR ask a librarian umuc.edu/library/guides/apa.shtml

The following criteria will be considered in evaluating your written assignment.

WRITING RUBRIC

CONTENT:    50%

1)  Topic discussed in detail

2)  Writer supported assertions correctly

3)  Understanding of material demonstrated coherently and logically

ORGANIZATION:   30%

4)  An introduction previews paper’s main point(s)

5)  Body of paper develops and elaborates main points

6)  An effective summary conclusion

WRITING MECHANICS AND STYLE:   20%

7)  Paper free of errors (e.g., misspellings, punctuation, paragraphing)

8)  Paper grammatically sound (proper sentence structure)

9)  Citations and references in proper (APA) style