Student Solution

-->

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”
– Nelson Mandela

1 University

1 Course

1 Subject

Compare and Contrast Paper

Compare and Contrast Paper

Q Instructions You are to locate one source of pop psychology and one source of empirical research and compare and contrast the merit of the information in each as follows: Begin by searching in the appropriate place for 2 sources that are fittingly related to each other on any topic in Psychology. Empirical research can only be found in professional journals. The easiest way to find a professional journal article is by accessing PsycINFO through the portal at my.saintleo.edu then locating the online Library. Pop psychology sources are newspapers, news magazines, tabloids, and other self-help articles found either online or on store shelves. Examples include articles by Dr. Phil, Dear Abby, Dr. Laura, Tony Robbins, etc. Articles in Psychology Today and WorldHealth.net are pop psychology and, although they may report on or refer to empirical research, they are not professional journal articles. To prepare your essay, you should think critically about the merit of the information in each article by asking the following questions about each: a.) What is the main issue, problem, or intention of the article? b.) In what way(s) does the article investigate various points of view and assumptions? c.) What evidence is provided to support the issue? d.) In what way(s) does the article discuss consequences and implications of the reasoning provided? e.) In what way(s) does the information provided help you make an informed decision about the purpose? Now, focus on the answers to the above questions and compare and contrast the 2 sets of information. Determine what your thesis is and state it clearly and concisely. It should briefly introduce your topic but more importantly should indicate that your purpose is to compare and contrast the merit of the pop psychology article with the merit of the empirical article. This will be the first sentence of your essay. In the body of your essay, you may do a whole-to-whole comparison of the 2 sets of information or you may do a (less common) point-to-point comparison. For a whole-to-whole comparison, address the information about one of the articles by discussing its merit using the critical thinking concepts above, then, do the same for the second article. For point-by-point, you should address the first important point about one article then that same point about the other, discuss a second point about one then the other, and so on. You will want to be very thorough in the body as this is a very large percentage of your grade on the essay. Your conclusion should summarize how the merit of the pop psychology article compares and contrasts with the merit of the empirical article, thus reaffirming your thesis without restating it. This is where you conclude with inferences, clearly address implications or consequences of accepting the given information, and culminate any assertions. Additional tips: Be certain to carefully review the information for specific directions and refer to the Grading Rubric for information on how your writing assignment will be graded. You are to write 500 words / 2 pages. A 50 word leeway will be accepted; otherwise points may be deducted. Use basic APA style guidelines such as 1” margins, 12 point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, and when citing your sources and listing your References. Additional Resources: For more help on how to search our library and a video lecture from one of our Saint Leo University librarians on how to do this assignment, copy and paste this link into your browser: http://saintleo.libguides.com/PSY110Critique Here’s a very short video on APA Format: In-Text Citations, Quotations, and Plagiarism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FrJeRrLYe0 Here’s another on How to do your Reference Page in APA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmcaYdZDa-U Submit your Compare and Contrast Paper as a word document to the assignment folder no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT. (This folder may be linked to Turnitin.)

View Related Questions

Solution Preview

Long gone are the days from when the popular street drugs that most of Americans has become accustom to ruled the nation. Today, the new drug of choice is prescribed by your doctor. Unfortunately, these drugs which started for many adults with psychological issues have now taken over our youth. Prescription drugs such as Xanax are very dangerous and must be regulated because they get into easy accessible, there is a high rate of drug usage with our youth because of the drug being the new normal and this drug has been known to lead to more hospital visits, rehab treatments of young people and higher fatalities. The two articles that speaks on these subjects are (XANAX®) Use Among Southern Youth and Teen abuse of Xanax is skyrocketing across America.