Guidelines

The following guidelines have been provided to help you plan and write a good paper. Preparing to Write Reading/Researching your topic Reading in preparation for your paper needs to be approached in a systematic and directed manner. First, you will want to get a general understanding of the topic by using your lecture notes and the textbook. This will help you put into context the more specialized journal article(s) that you subsequently read. Organizing your ideas Prior to actually sitting down to write your paper, it is a good idea to create an outline of the topics you want to address and the question you are asking. An outline can be a very useful tool and will help you remain focused on the topic and critical points when you are writing. Writing the paper Drafts After you have created your outline for your paper, you will want to write your first draft. Put your ideas on paper in paragraph form. However, you don’t want to be overly concerned with punctuation and grammar in this early stage. Instead, your early goal should be to put your thoughts on paper and to create a logical flow of ideas. The next step is to make any necessary corrections to your first draft. Then put it aside for a few days before re-reading it again. Usually, after a little time away from the subject, and with a fresh perspective, you will want to make additional changes to your draft. For example, something that you thought was perfectly clear when you read it may not seem quite so clear when you re-read it. In addition, you may want to change the sequence of your ideas, and you will probably find some redundancies that can be eliminated. Writing a good paper will usually involve preparation of several drafts before a final product is achieved. This is true for everyone including professional writers, college professors and developmental psychology students. Therefore, there is good reason to begin preparing for your paper well in advance of the due date. Format of the Paper Introduction Your introduction should be no more than 1 page in length. The introduction is the appropriate place to introduce the subject of your paper (some paraphrase of the question you will address) and to outline the topics that you will be discussing in the body of the paper. This is not an appropriate place to tell a story or describe a personal experience. The introduction should be based on facts and concrete information—not personal experiences, thoughts, or feelings. (This notion of “sticking to the facts” holds true throughout the paper.) In addition, important ideas or terms should be introduced, and any terms or concepts central to the paper topic will need to be defined. In sum, your introduction should define the topic, state a rationale, and indicate a focus for your discussion and analysis. Discussion (body) The issues and ideas outlined in the introduction are developed in the body of the paper. In this case the body of the paper will be at least 7-8 pages long (for individual authors). This is the appropriate place to explore each subtopic in greater detail. You will need to provide specific research to support the claims that you make. In addition, theories and findings that you refer to should be critically analyzed. As you write, it is helpful to refer back to the introduction. Are you really addressing the issues that you laid out in your first paragraphs' Perhaps most importantly, the body of the paper and each section of the body must be systematically and clearly structured so that there is a clear progression of thought. This requires careful planning. You must develop your topic logically, and your conclusions must follow from the ideas, theories, and findings that you present. The material you present, and your reasoning, should lead inevitably to your conclusion. Look carefully at the flow of sentences and paragraphs—is there a logical flow from sentence to sentence and from paragraph to paragraph' Always write research papers in the 3rd person (he she, they)—do not use the first person at any time in this paper. In other terms, the words, “I” or “my” should not be used. Conclusion In the paragraphs of the conclusion, you should summarize the information presented in the body of your paper and state the conclusions that logically follow. Do not, however, merely repeat what you have written earlier. Rather, you should emphasize the main points and tie them together. Remember that your conclusion leaves the reader with a final impression. References: You must always cite where you got your information. You need to do two things: 1. In the body of the paper give the author’s last name and the date of the article. E.g., (Wright, 1997) or Berk, (2004, p37) or J. Reilly (personal communication, February 7, 2013) for lecture material 2. On a separate page at the end list the references in alphabetical order. • Use APA or MLA form. • You must have at least 5 references including the text TEXT BOOK: Development Through the Lifespan, 5th Edition, Laura E. Berk 1. The text book, including the pages where you found the information: e.g Berk, L. E. (2004). Development Through the Lifespan (5th ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon. (pp. 7-8). 2. The articles/chapters/books. 3. Websites: Use reliable and legitimate websites. Those from NIH (National Institutes of Health) are reliable; Wikipedia is not.