Texas A&M University – Central Texas
PSYK 309 – 120 Writing in Psychology
T: 6:00 – 9:00 (1800 – 2100) Warrior Hall Rm 314
Instructor: Stephanie Smith
Phone: (254) 368-3965
Email: stephanie.smith@ct.tamus.edu
(This is my preferred email for this course. You can email via Blackboard as well, but if
Blackboard is under maintenance or goes down, I may not get the email.)
Office Hours: I have no office hours, but if you need anything, you can call or text and we can
set up a time to meet. I encourage students to meet with me for any questions/help beyond
what we cover in class.
Mode of instruction and course access: This class will meet in person with assignments due in
class and online.
Student-instructor interaction: I will check my email and Blackboard daily and reply to any
communication (email, phone, or text message) as quickly as I can.
Academic integrity and classroom conduct policy: Texas A&M University - Central
Texas expects all students to maintain high standards of honor in personal and scholarly
conduct. Any deviation from this expectation may result in a minimum of a failing grade for
the assignment and potentially a failing grade for the course. All academic dishonesty
concerns will be reported to the university's Office of Student Conduct. Academic dishonesty
includes, but is not limited to, cheating on an examination or other academic work,
plagiarism and improper citation of sources, using another student's work, collusion, and the
abuse of resource materials. When in doubt on collaboration, citation, or any issue, please
contact me before taking a course of action. More information can be found
at http://www.tamuct.edu/departments/studentconduct/academicintegrity.php
Any work determined to have been completed with other students or otherwise violating
academic policies will be dealt with as academic dishonesty following TAMU-CT’s policies,
including reporting the instance to relevant authorities. Note that there are some
assignments specifically designed to be done in collaboration with other students; this will be
indicated in the assignment description. All other work should be completely individually
without help from other students. If it’s not clear to you which assignments allow you to
work with others, be sure to check with the course instructor. For postings on the discussion
board, please be respectful of the ideas and opinions of all class members; inappropriate
language and interactions may lead to being blocked for the rest of the semester from the
discussion area and the loss of related points. To get the most out of this class and all your
classes, it’s best to treat them like a job; be prepared each day and take as much
responsibility for your own work as you can. In general, if you respect other class members
and your instructor, you should be fine.
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Smarthinking: This is an online tutoring platform that enables TAMU-CT students to log-in
and receive FREE online tutoring and writing support. This tool provides tutoring in
Mathematics, Writing, General and Organic Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Introduction to Human
Anatomy and Physiology, Accounting, Economics, Introductory Finance, Spanish, and Statistics.
For this class, the writing assistance is the most valuable. Note that it is NOT help with editing/
proofreading, but help in developing and expressing ideas.
Students will have access to Smarthinking after 5:00pm on the 4th class day. Students may gain
access by going to smarthinking.com and entering in their University Student ID as their
username and Birthday (mmddyyyy) as their password. Once you log-in, you have the option to
change your log-in information. If you have difficulties contact Student Affairs at (254) 5195721.
On-campus writing help: The TAMU-CT Student Affairs Office has developed a writing
assistance/tutoring center on North Campus. Everyone can benefit from another person’s
perspective on written work, especially a knowledgeable perspective. I encourage all of you to
talk to one of the writing assistance center staff if possible; they are available at the times
noted below in the Commons/Quiet Study Lounge (located in the North Campus library).
Tutoring: Tutoring is available to all TAMUCT students, both on-campus and online. Subjects
tutored include Accounting, Finance, Statistics, Mathematics, and Writing. Tutors are available
at the Tutoring Center in Warrior Hall, Room 111. Visit www.ct.tamus.edu/AcademicSupport
and click "Tutoring Support" for tutor schedules and contact info. If you have questions, need to
schedule a tutoring session, or if you're interested in becoming a tutor, contact Academic
Support Programs at 254-501-5830 or by emailing tutoring@ct.tamus.edu.
Chat live with a tutor 24/7 for almost any subject on your computer! Tutor.com is an online
tutoring platform that enables TAMU-CT students to log-in and receive FREE online tutoring and
writing support. This tool provides tutoring in Mathematics, Writing, Career Writing, Chemistry,
Physics, Biology, Spanish, Calculus, and Statistics. To access Tutor.com, log into your Blackboard
account and click "Online Tutoring."
Disability Support Services: At Texas A&M University – Central Texas, we value an inclusive
learning environment where every student has an equal chance to succeed and has the right to
an education that is barrier-free. The Office of Disability Support and Access is responsible for
ensuring that students with a disability enjoy equal access to the University's programs, services
and activities. Some aspects of this course or the way the course is taught may present barriers
to learning due to a disability. If you feel this is the case, please contact Disability Support and
Access at (254) 501-5831 in Warrior Hall, Ste. 212. For more information, please visit their
website at www.tamuct.edu/DisabilitySupport. Any information you provide is private and
confidential and will be treated as such.
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Drop policy: If you discover that you need to drop this class, you must go to the Records
Office and ask for the necessary paperwork. Professors cannot drop students; this is always the
responsibility of the student. The Records office will give a deadline for which the form must be
returned, completely signed. Once you return the signed form to the Records office and wait 24
hours, you must go into DuckTrax and confirm that you are no longer enrolled. Should you still
be enrolled, FOLLOW UP with the Records office immediately. You are to attend class until the
procedure is complete to avoid penalty for absence. Should you miss the deadline or fail to
follow the procedure, you will receive an F in the course.
Library Services: Information literacy focuses on research skills which prepare individuals to
live and work in an information-centered society. Librarians will work with students in the
development of critical reasoning, ethical use of information, and the appropriate use of
secondary research techniques. Help may include, yet is not limited to: exploration of
information resources such as library collections and services, identification of subject
databases and scholarly journals, and execution of effective search strategies. Library Resources
are outlined and accessed at http://www.tarleton.edu/centraltexas/departments/library/
COURSE INFORMATION
Course Overview and Description:
In this course, students will learn to be successful writers in psychology using APA format.
APA Format:
In July 2009, the American Psychological Association released the 6th edition of their publication
manual. Since a major portion of this course is for you to become familiar with this resource,
this course requires ALL WORK to meet the standards of the APA manual (6th edition).
Course Objective: Upon satisfactory completion of this course:
Student Learning Outcomes:
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Students will be able to demonstrate knowledge of relevant publication formats and
rules of the American Psychological Association and have used various formats for
writing papers in psychology.
Students will have completed basic library research for psychology.
Students will have served as a peer reviewer for classmates’ writing.
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Required Reading and Textbook(s):
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological
Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. (ISBN: 978-1433805615)
Course Format/ Attendance and Late Work Policies:
The class will meet face-to-face, but there will also be course materials on Blackboard, including
online quizzes. Students are expected to complete all in-class and online work and to meet all
deadlines as noted in each assignment description or in the syllabus. Late work will be accepted
with a 10 point grade deduction for each day late (if your score is originally an 88, you will
receive a 78), except with my prior permission, so plan carefully to get all the work in on time,
especially online work since the Blackboard system is very strict about timing. All online work
submitted for class MUST be submitted through the relevant assignment links on Blackboard:
no work submitted by email will be accepted unless arranged with me beforehand. Class
meetings include some lectures, class discussions, and group and individual work. Students are
expected to attend class, participate in class activities, and keep up with all online work through
Blackboard. Absences and lack of participation will have a negative effect on your final course
grade. If you need to miss class for any reason, contact me (or ask someone else to) as soon as
possible so we can plan accordingly. You can turn in your work early, although I may not be able
to grade it right away (also, we will be covering material in class, so be wary of turning in items
too early because you may miss something to be covered in a future class meeting). Only work
submitted prior to start of class on the last day of class (December 11) will be graded.
Blackboard will be set to close at 6pm on December 11, 2014.
Course Requirements:
Class topic list and due dates schedule
(I reserve the right to change due dates – pay attention to Blackboard announcements –
the following schedule is tentative):
Date:
8/26
9/2
9/9 – 9/30
10/7 – 10/28
11/4 – 11/25
11/11
12/2
12/9
Topic:
Syllabus, general class info, intro work for class
No Class – Library Day
Formal writing structure, language, citations, and referencing
APA format
Meetings about paper revisions
No Class – Veteran’s Day
Research in Psychology – Final revisions for Paper DUE
Last day of class – Other APA documents
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Work Due Dates: (more info under relevant Blackboard sections)
Journal articles due for reference: 9/9
Journal article review 1 due: 9/16
Journal article review 2 due: 9/23
Outline for research review paper due: 10/7
First draft of research paper due: 10/21
Draft revisions due: 11/18
Final (revised) draft of research paper due: 12/9 6pm
Online learning assessments:
Plagiarism quiz due: 9/11
APA quiz due: 11/6
Grading:
 Class attendance and participation
 Daily in-class writing (includes peer review work)
 Journal article reviews/summaries
 Paper outline
 1st draft of paper
 2nd draft of paper
 Research review paper
 Online assessments (2 @ 10% each)
10%(1pt a day)
20%(2pts each)
5%(10pts each for 30 points total)
5%(5pts total)
10%(100pts)
10%(100pts)
20%(100pts)
20%(30pts each)
Final course grades will follow the system below:
A = 90% or above, B = 80.00 – 89.99%, C = 70.00 – 79.99%, D = 60.00 – 69.99%, F =
below 60%
Posting of Grades:
All grades will be posted to Blackboard as soon as possible. I will try to keep on top of your
grades so you are aware of your progress in the course.
Remember:
If you have any questions or concerns about the class or any problems with the coursework or
course materials, please contact me as soon as possible. I will reply as soon as I can. You can
discuss issues with your classmates in the relevant discussion forum. If you have technology
issues with Blackboard, please let me know what is going on, but ask for help from TAMU-CT
Blackboard Support. Their contact info is given above. Feel free to contact me at any time in
regards to class work or other issues you may have.
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