2-3 page psychology paper on insomnia. Need within 30 hours
PART A: Introduction – In part A students will do the following:
1. Properly introduce and fully explain the topic about which they are writing. Provide the
textbook chapter and page number on which this concept can be found (1 paragraph).
Direct quotations are NOT permitted. Students will discuss the textbook entirely through
paraphrasing in their own words.
2. Explain the reason(s) the topic is interesting, appealing, challenging, surprising,
disturbing, or exciting, etc., to them (1 paragraph).
PART B: Academic Article ‐ In part B students will do the following:
1. Students will locate 1 relevant peer‐reviewed academic journal article that
concretely addresses the topic, issue, or concept they have selected (instructions for
locating academic, peer reviewed journal articles will be provided in week 1, and are also
located below).
2. Students will summarize the key points of the article (2‐3 paragraphs). Direct
quotations are NOT permitted. Students will discuss the article entirely through
paraphrasing in their own words.
‐ Students should focus on summarizing the following aspects of the article:
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‐ Purpose of the article – What were the authors hoping to achieve with this article?
What was their research question, hypothesis, or area of focus?
‐ Methods of the article – How did the authors achieve what they were hoping to
achieve? Did they do original research, an experiment, or a study, etc.? Did they review
other authors’ research, or perform a meta‐analysis?
‐ Findings of the article – What did the authors find? Did their experiment, study, etc.
support their hypothesis? What are the implications of these findings?
B) Detailed Assignment Instructions
Reflective thought paper assignments will be:
‐ Typed on a computer (hand‐written assignments will not be accepted)
‐ 2‐3 pages in length
‐ Double‐spaced
‐ Times new roman, size‐12 font
‐ 1” margins (2.54 cm)
‐ APA style
‐ Stapled in top left‐hand corner
‐ Pages numbered in top right‐hand corner
Additional Information
All assignments must be stapled in the top left hand corner – any assignment not stapled
will receive a 5% deduction. APA Style will be used for citations and references (details
provided below).
D) General Suggestions for Successful Writing in Psychology
‐ Writing in psychology is scientific and formal.
‐ We do not use ‘witty’ or ‘flowery’ language, jokes, or informal sayings, also known as
colloquialisms, etc.
‐ The more straightforward and fact‐oriented the paper, the better.
‐ Writing in psychology is concise, to the point, and academic.
‐ For some people it takes time to learn this skill, whereas for others it comes naturally.
Learning to write in this manner is a very important skill that students will take forward
into their professions/careers.
‐ When writing a paper for a psychology class, it is very important to support statements
with references from your sources (e.g. citing peer‐reviewed journal articles, textbooks,
etc.). This is what makes a paper scientific, and ensures that no content from the
assignment is plagiarized or improperly cited.
How to Discuss and Cite an Academic Journal article in Your Paper
In American Psychological Association (APA) writing style, sources are cited directly in
the body of the paper (no footnotes, end notes, etc.). Whenever information from another
source is used (textbook, academic article, etc.) in the body of the paper, a citation is put
into the sentence. The citations typically go at the end of the sentence, although they can
also go in the body of the sentence if referring to the authors. Your in‐text citations will
look like this:
Your statement (author last name, year of publication).
OR
According to author last name (year of publication), your statement.
OR
Poster presentations are most effective when … (Brownlie, 2007).
OR
According to Brownlie (2007), poster presentations are most effective when …
OR
According to Rathus, Maheu & Veenvliet (2013), psychology is the study of
behaviour and mental processes.
OR
Psychology is the study of behaviour and mental processes (Rathus, Maheu &
Veenvliet, 2013).
How to Cite a Peer‐Reviewed Academic Journal Article in Your References Section
In APA style we call the list of citations at the end of a paper the References section (not
bibliography or works cited, etc.). The references section is always in alphabetical order,
according to author last name. The references section is always on a separate page at the
end of your paper (the page count of assignments do not typically include the references
section).
Notice that the
period goes AFTER
the end-bracket
These are two ways to cite
your textbook in your paper
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Author last name, initials. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume
number, pages.
For example:
Brownlie, D. (2007). Toward effective poster presentations: An annotated bibliography.
European Journal of Marketing, 41, 1245‐1283.
How to Cite Your Textbook in Your References Section
Rathus, S., Maheu, S., & Veenvliet, S. (2013). PSYCH (2nd Canadian Edition). Toronto:
Nelson Education.
Example References Section
References
Rathus, S., Maheu, S., & Veenvliet, S. (2013). PSYCH (2nd Canadian Edition). Toronto:
Nelson Education.
Brownlie, D. (2007). Toward effective poster presentations: An annotated bibliography.
European Journal of Marketing, 41, 1245‐1283.
Once you have found a good article for your assignment, read it through, highlight
and make notes, etc. Then read it through a second time to solidify your
understanding of the article.
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• Focus your efforts on reading the following sections:
i. Introduction/literature review – the authors introduce their research
ideas, and discuss some past literature on the subject
ii. Methods – the authors discuss how they did their research
iii. Discussion – the authors discuss the findings of their research in plain
language
• Do not focus your efforts on reading the Results section (unless you have
taken statistics classes this section will not make much sense).