Introduction: 1-2 paragraphs
Define the topic: what is the definition, is it related to any theories or historical legacies, does it affect many people, is it different depending on culture/type of person?
Why is this important: is it a growing trend/problem/technique, are there new ways to deal with it, is there much research on it?
Preview: mention the type of research you will present, reference that you will relate this topic to the real world
Second Source: Summarize research article: 1-3 paragraphs
Briefly introduce the previous research presented in the article: what types of studies have been done, what did other researchers find out, are the findings conflicting or do most studies say the same thing
If it is a theory/review paper: write in depth about the different concepts presented, different kinds of research, general findings, what future research should focus on
If it is a study: explain the method (who was in the study and how many of them, what measures or tasks did they do, anything else important about the procedure), explain the findings (if it is a qualitative study, discuss the themes and patterns found; if it is a quantitative study, what was the outcome and was there significance/hypotheses accepted)
Third Source: Summarize news article: 1-3 paragraphs
If you decide to use more than one research article instead of a news article, use the directions above to summarize the research article
If you decide to use a news article, summarize the news article. Indicate what the source is (as well as have an in-text citation with author last name and year) and summarize the article (what was the author’s purpose in writing the article, did it critique or expand on the topic or explain it to a wider audience, what was the conclusion the author came to about the topic?)
Conclusion: Summing up and offering suggestions for future research: 1-2 paragraphs
Briefly summarize the sources you presented (just 1-3 sentences), restate why this is an important topic
Critically analyze the topic by providing ideas for how this technique should be used/how the public should treat this issue/why people need to understand it, and giving an example of how future research on this should be conducted or the questions we still have about it
Possible Topics:
Chapter 8- Memory
• Amnesia
• Repression
• Mnemonic Devices (techniques to remember)
• Research on memory