T1 - University Library - University of Saskatchewan

4. The third page must begin with an introduction to your topic, a statement of purpose, a
definition of important terms (with reference to a psychological dictionary or other source
for the definition) and your thesis statement. You must clearly identify your thesis
("The thesis of this paper is ..."
5. The body of your paper develops your thesis. You will reference the articles you
found in your library research by describing the research problem identified therein,
summarizing the methods used to obtain research observations and summarizing the
conclusions of the researchers as indicated above.
6. The ending must identify your conclusions regarding your thesis.
7. The last page is a reference list of all works cited in your paper. In following the APA
style, you do not use footnotes. Instead in your text you identify ownership of ideas by
author and date as follows: "Fisher and Byrne (2003) stated that..."
8. You must hand in a copy of the Abstract of each of the empirical articles you
choose.
9. You must attach the Evaluation Sheet which appears at the end of this outline.
10. Please submit two copies of your paper, one of which is electronic. One will be
returned to you with your evaluator’s comments. The other will be kept as a backup
for possible appeals and checks on plagiarism. Note that the electronic submission
will be used for checks for plagiarism.
You must attach the Evaluation Sheet which appears at the end of this outline.
Twenty percent of the grade for your paper will reflect the mechanics of writing in psychology.
Use the resources on the Library Website for this class as the guide against which you evaluate
your own writing. Eighty percent will reflect the content, development of your thesis, and
conclusions. Your paper will be graded according to the following criteria:
1. Abstract, introduction, statement of purpose, definitions, and thesis statement: (5 points)
2. Review of relevant empirical articles. Summarize and critique (can we trust the evidence from
the studies?) each of the articles in turn. In other words, do the inevitable flaws in research cause
us to be cautious about what the authors claim to be the findings from their research? (10 points
– 2.5 for each of 4 articles).
3. Critique, limitations of the studies, relevance to your thesis (5)
4. Statement of support for your thesis found in each of the articles and conclusion, suggestions
for future research (5 points)
5. Mechanics and evaluation of your writing (5 points) (Use of the APA writing style and unity;
support; coherence, effective sentence skills and logical development of your points).
The following evaluation sheet serves as my guide to the criteria for grading your term paper.
You must hand this Evaluation Sheet as the last page of your term paper.
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