Psychology Homework

Grading Scale

· All items completed = 100% (A)

· Draft = 120 pts

· Final = 160 pts

· Any 1-2 items not completed = 90% (A)

· Draft = 108 pts

· Final = 144 pts

· Any 3-4 items not completed = 80% (B)

· Draft = 96 pts

· Final = 128 pts

· Any 5-6 items not completed = 70% (C)

· Draft = 84 pts

· Final = 112 pts

· Any 7 or more items not completed but action plan submitted = 50% (F)

· Draft = 60 pts

· Final = 80 pts

· Action plan not submitted = 0% (F)

· Draft or Final = 0 pts

APA Style

· Font: Times New Roman Font, size 12, black

· First page header “NAME: Personal Action Plan” (no bold, no underline)

· Double spaced throughout

· In Word, click “Page Layout” -> Click “Margins” -> select “Normal”

· In Word, click “Page Layout” -> Look for Indent and Spacing -> Make sure that Left, Right, Before and After all say “0” or “0 pt”

· Indent each paragraph

· No extra lines between the paragraphs

· click “Enter” just once to start a new paragraph

· click “Tab” to indent the paragraph

· APA style references

· eText + at least 2 more

· in-text citation: (Soomo, 2013)

· reference: Soomo Publishing. (2013). Psychology. Retrieved from http://www.webtexts.com/courses/6595-chase/traditional_book

· If you want to mention the author/textbook but are not quoting the material (what you write is completely in your own words): According to Soomo (2013), ______

· If you want to quote something (using their exact words or a “paraphrase”) from the author/textbook: According to Soomo (2013, chapter XX), ______

· References on separate page at the end of the action plan

· Heading “References” centered (no bold, no underline)

Meaningful Content

· First paragraph (Literature Review):

· Define stress based on the course materials and your research

· Discuss how at least one concept from each module relates to stress in general, the effects of stress, stress reduction, or stress management

· Use APA style in-text citations and matching APA style references at the end of the paper

· Second paragraph (Introduction):

· Discuss results from the Holmes and Rahe self-assessment and your interpretation of the results

· Describe your current situation (how things are right now) with regard to stress

· Describe your ideal situation (how you would like things to be)

· Third paragraph (Analysis):

· What would be the results if you do nothing with regard to your current situation regarding stress?

· What could you potentially gain as a positive in your life from making a change with regard to stress?

· What do you perceive as potential challenges to making changes with regard to stress?

· How could you overcome those challenges?

· What resources/strategies am I currently using to manage and reduce stress?

· Chart/table:

Resource/Strategy When used (daily, weekly, monthly, annually) Results

· How effective are your current resources and strategies? How do you know?

· Fourth paragraph (Action Planning):

· What would it take to reach your ideal vision for stress reduction and management?

· Chart/table of at least 3 goals that are dated, achievable, personal, positive (what you WILL do, not something you WON’T do), and specific:

Goal Where I am now Where I want to be ideally (no time limit)

· Prioritize your goals and list them in order of priority. Chart/table:

Goal What happens if nothing changes? What happens if I achieve this goal?

· Describe your specific action steps. Chart/table:

Goal Daily Weekly Monthly Annually

· Describe the resources will you need to achieve your goals. Chart/table:

Goal Resource Where/how to get the resource

· List the people besides yourself who could help you achieve your goals- family, friends, advisors, instructors, etc. Chart/table:

Person Relationship How they can help (be specific)

· Discuss how you will know if you achieved the goal. What will you see, feel, know, or experience? Chart/table:

Goal Outcome Date to Achieve How you’ll know

· Fifth paragraph (conclusion):

· How likely are you to implement your personal action plan?

· How confident are you in your ability to put the plan into action?

· What results do you expect?

· Reflect on what you learned during the process of creating your personal action plan- not just about stress but also about the structured approach to planning for change that you experienced throughout the course.

· What worked best and was most helpful to you about the process?

· What were the challenges you experienced in the process?

· Do you think a similar process could be helpful for planning other types of changes?

· Would you recommend this type of change planning process to others?

· Are you likely to use this type of planning process again in the future?

· References (separate page):

· APA style

· A reference to match each in-text citation and vice versa

College Level Writing

· Spelling- no more than 3 spelling errors

· Capitalization- no more than 3 capitalization errors

· Remember: the word “psychology” does not need to be capitalized

· Punctuation- no more than 3 punctuation errors

· Grammar- no more than 3 grammar errors

NOTE: You can submit verification of using SmartTutoring to proofread your personal action plan for spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar to avoid point deductions!