PSY 402 CHILD/ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT
Writing Assignment
Description. Each student must complete 2 written reports on no less than 4 of the
articles from the "Annual Editions" reader; that is, each report must include information
from at least two of the articles (more if you like). Each report should include (1) a short
summary of the articles' main points, (2) a critical evaluation of their strengths and
weaknesses and (3) an integration/comparison between articles to show how they are
related and implications for the "bigger" picture.
The summary. Summarize the main points of each article in your opening paragraphs.
This may sound easy, but often it is more difficult to write a short, concise summary than
it is to ramble on for paragraphs about what you read. Don't try to summarize every point
made in a chronological fashion, or describe little details; you must digest the main ideas,
not re-state them in the order in which they appeared! Instead, convey the main idea or
ideas and then support these with some examples of the findings and/or conclusions.
Think of this as the "abstract" of an article- it is brief, but it tells the reader what was
done, who it was done to, what was found, and what it means. The summary should be no
longer than one page.
The evaluation. This is where you should examine how well the authors were able to
make their points and what it all means. You may want to consider things like the
experimental validity of the information (don't just say it was valid or not, explain why
you think so). Other things to consider might include questions like "Was this a biased,
one-sided conclusion?" , And what are the implications of this information in the world?
This should be a thoughtful, critical examination of what the articles were trying to say,
and so it should not contain superficial comments like "I liked it", "it was difficult to
understand" or "it was too long". Keep in mind that not all articles are intended to be
scientific reports, and so it is not appropriate to criticize them for a lack of scientific
rigor. Some are meant to examine controversial topics, or present new perspectives, so
consider how the information fits into the world of science, public policy, family,
education, etc. That's what it means to consider the implications and the "bigger picture".
Technical style. Each report must be typed, double-spaced with pages stapled together.
The length of the report should be about 4 pages. Material may be paraphrased from the
article, but do not use any direct quotes; this is an assignment to exercise your writing
skills. Remember, paraphrasing does not mean simply rearranging the author's words or
sentences. You must restate what the author is saying into your own words. You don't
need a fancy title page for this assignment; your name, the title of the articles, and the
date are sufficient. Use APA style for citations within the text (Nawrot, 2002).
Grading. Each report is worth 30 points. Reports will be graded on (1) how completely
and accurately they summarize the articles, (2) the thoughtfulness of your critical
evaluation, (3) how well you integrated the articles and considered implications (4)
technical merit (spelling, grammar, typos, etc.). It is often helpful to have someone look
over a rough draft (that someone can be your Professor!) before you hand in the final
copy.