Your final grade is founded on the following evaluations:

I. Three Brief Assignments (45% all told) - The midterm assignments are designed to guide you to the final and biggest assignment, your term paper, in which you will review the psychological research on a topic of your choice.  Please note that the topic must fulfill two absolute requirements: (a) it must be relevant to some aspect of the course and (b) it must be a topic on which psychologists have conducted research. For guidance on some potential topics, click here. 

A. Title Page (10%) - Here you will specify the important question that you will address in your term paper. It will consist of 1 typed title page (including a running head but not an author note). The title should be highly descriptive of your topic. Grading criteria.

B. Title Page and References (15%) - The latter bibliography will include the main sources you plan to use for your term paper. It must contain at least one scientific journal article, one book, and one chapter from an edited book - all specifically addressing your topic.  In addition, to make sure that your review will be up-to-date, most of the publications must be published in the last 10 years and at least one publication must have appeared within the last 2 years. It will include 2 typed pages, counting the revised title page. Grading criteria.

C. Title Page, Abstract, and References (20%) - The abstract summarizes the key points you plan to make with respect to your paper in between 150 and 250 words. In a sense, the abstract represents the first draft of your term paper, albeit a much-abbreviated one!  The keywords that follow the abstract then can be said to represent the abstract of your abstract. The assignment total will be 3 pages long, including the revised title page and References. Grading criteria. 

II. Term Paper (30%) - Here you will provide a review of your chosen topic in terms of the central theories, methodologies, and empirical findings in psychological research. The paper will consist of a title page, abstract, main text, and references section, all not to exceed 12 one-sided typed pages.  It should include at least one level of headings, at least one direct quotation, at least one paragraph seriation, and at least one within-paragraph seriation (see below for relevant pages in APA manual). The same requirements that apply to the earlier assignments apply to the same sections of the term paper as well (e.g., up-to-date references). Grading criteria. For a sample paper illustrating the principal features of APA format, go here.

III. Final Exam (25%) - A a take-home essay exam in which you will address a question that integrates the course material in lectures and assigned readings. The four possible exam questions are given in the page regarding themes.  The exam paper is to be no longer than 1,500 words in typescript. Title page, abstract, and references should not be used, but any relevant citations should be in APA format. Final exams are due at the scheduled time, and late exams lose 3 points per hour. 

All papers are due at the beginning of the class period. Moreover, all papers must be typed, one-sided, and double-spaced. All citations and references must be in the professional format of the American Psychological Association (APA). It is for this reason that you should purchase the 6th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, especially if you have not yet written term papers for psychology courses.

Please note that your papers will be marked down 3 points for each day that they are late! Thus, a paper that would have received 100 points but is one day late will earn 97 points. This rule is enforced to be fair to your fellow students, and so exceptions will be made only if special circumstances warrant, such as documented medical emergencies. 
 
 

PAPER AND EXAM SCHEDULE (Spring Quarter 2012):
 
 

Assignment	Item	Date	Useful Pages in APA Manual	Illustrations in Sample Paper
#1	Title page	April 16	23-25, 41, 229-230	1
#2	Title page and References	April 30	202-205 (books), 198-201 (journal articles), 202-205 (book chapters), and 49-51 (facsimilies)	10-12: book (e.g., Eysenck, 1995), journal article (e.g., Schaller, 1997), book chapter (Durrenberger, 1999)
#3	Title page, Abstract, and References	May 14	25-27, 41	2
Term paper	Title page, Abstract, Text, and References	June 6	174-179 (citations), 62-63 (headings), 63-65 (seriations), 170-173 (quotations)	3-9 (citations), 3 (level 1 and 3 headings), 3 (within-paragraph seriation), 4 (paragraph seriation)
Final exam question discussed in class		June 6
Final essay exam		June 12 (8:00-10:00 am)

Each time you turn in an written assignment, please remember to attach on the back the graded assignment that was returned to you earlier (not all, but just the most recent).  That allows us to evaluate how much you improved on your previous work.  Failure to do so will result in a deduction of 3 points. This also applies to the term paper!
 

TEACHING ASSISTANTS (Spring Quarter 2012):
 
 

Name	Office Hours	Room Number	Phone Number	E-mail Address
Rodica Damian	M 10-12, R 12-1 pm	Young Hall 102F	N.A.	ridamian@ucdavis.edu
Fionnuala Butler	W 12-2, F 1-2 pm	Young Hall 189	754-8300	fabutler@ucdavis.edu