.Writing to learn focuses on brief, informal writing that helps students apply concepts, ask questions, make observations, raise critical points, summarize, etc.


EXAMPLE:

Thought papers: The data from my colleagues who study learning suggests that one very effective way to promote long-term learning is to relate the material to be learned to the self. Therefore, in this class I will give you the opportunity to write one short paper for each chapter from chapters 3 through 14 in our class text. The point of each paper will be to relate a NEW social psychological concept, theory, or research finding to a personal experience that you have had in your lives. The whole point of this paper is YOU, so don't spend a lot of time defining or explaining the principle; just mention it so that I know what you are trying to talk about. I want to know about your perceptions about how the stuff relates to YOU. Think Oprah here--I want self disclosures (but self disclosures that are related back to any NEW social psychology that you have learned by reading the book).

Here are a few examples to help get you started: (1) we will be talking about cognitive dissonance in class-- have you ever experienced cognitive dissonance? When did you experience this? Why? How did you feel? What happened? (2) In class we will be talking about the power of accessibility in personal perception; can you think of an event in your life in which accessibility had a powerful effect on how you might have thought about another person? Because one purpose of this task is to promote learning, I want you to dig deep here and to relate stuff in your life to NEW social psychology, not to social psychology you basically already understand (e.g., basic concepts such as prejudice).

In addition to promoting learning, I want you to use these papers to help you to understand others. The social psychological data suggest that social interactions benefit when people can see others' perspectives and can develop empathy for others. Hence, I intend to share some of these papers with others in the class. PLEASE BE AWARE IN ADVANCE THAT THESE PAPERS WILL BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN!!! I may post them in the hallway outside of class, complete with commentary, or I may read them in class, or I may put them up on a website. Hence, do not put stuff in these papers that you don't want the world to know about you, and always use your "posting name" to help maintain your anonymity.

Finally, my experience as a writer suggests to me that becoming a better writer requires MUCH practice. Hence, this assignment also gives you the opportunity to sharpen your writing skills--a skill that is terribly important in the "real world." Furthermore, on these papers, FORM MATTERS! In my role as a journal editor, I have seen otherwise terrific papers become trivialized by terrible writing. Try to do the best job that you can in making sure that the spelling, punctuation and grammar that you use in the paper are correct, and that your paper is written in a clear and organized fashion.

My experience as a writer (a book and piles of journal articles) also tells me that good writing is often good self-editing, a process that requires multiple drafts. To promote this behavior, I ask you to get your first drafts reviewed by the good people in the Writing Center. When you turn in your papers to me, you MUST submit your first draft, a copy of the feedback form that you get from the Writing Center, and a second draft that reflects the suggestions of the Writing Center staff.

The Writing Center is located in Stevenson Towers South, Lower Level. The web page is at http://www.engl.niu.edu/writing_center/. The webpage lists the office hours and has the Center's phone number, 753-6636. You will need to set up an appointment to get an evaluation of your paper, and you will need to do so well in advance of the assignment due dates. You can bring in more than one short paper at one time.

A few other rules for these papers: (1) These papers MUST be typewritten or word-processed and MUST be 1 to 2 pages in length (ONE PAGE IS FINE as long as you meet the requirements of the assignment); (2) Make TWO copies of each paper, and keep one for yourself. You may need to produce this copy if my records get screwed up (and they will); (3) use ONLY your posting name as your identifier on your paper-- no real names, please! Again, this will help prevent you from embarrassment when I post your paper and identify it as a good/bad paper. You need only complete 6 papers to fulfill the assignment for 30 points; if you complete additional papers, YOU WILL RECEIVE 5 POINTS OF EXTRA CREDIT FOR EACH ADDITIONAL PAPER THAT YOU COMPLETE, UP TO TWO PAPERS (10 points) MAXIMUM. (5) Each paper is DUE by the END of the class period listed in the schedule. No late papers will be accepted after that time. I repeat, no late papers will be accepted after that time. I repeat, no late papers will be accepted. (6) The papers will receive one of two grades: an S or a U. A paper will be graded as unsatisfactory either if it does not satisfy the assignment OR if it has so many technical errors that I get royally ticked off at your lousy writing. You will not have the opportunity to rewrite these papers after turning them in, so do your rewriting before you turn them in. Do the best job you can on each and every one of them.

LEARNING DISABILITIES/PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENT INFORMATION

Students who have a learning disability or chronic physical condition that interferes with learning are strongly encouraged to make immediate arrangements for class assignments/exams so their academic performance will not suffer due to the disability or impairment. You should consult with me early in the semester about these matters.
 
 

SAMPLE PAPER FOR PSYCHOLOGY 372
TOPIC: DOWNWARD SOCIAL COMPARISON
Psycho
      When I was in high school, I was burdened with schoolwork, extracurricular activities and the strain involved in being a teenager while living with my family. I juggled honors classes and after-school activities. It was difficult to deal with Th. pressures from and judgments of my parents. I often struggled to keep from suffocating from all these stressors.

     When grade reports came to my house junior year, I got in trouble with my parents for getting a D in my calculus class. My dad told me that he would take money out of my college tuition fund. He had made this threat before, but he seemed serious this time. I was upset the entire next day at school, feeling like I didn't deserve the punishment and that I had unfair parents. On the bus ride home, another student's voice interrupted my angry thoughts. I heard this student tell her friend that she was forbidden by her parents to leave the house for anything but school for the next year and a half. She said that the reason she received this grounding was that she came home twenty minutes after curfew the night before.

     This girl sounded on the verge of bursting into tears. I suddenly realized that my situation was not so bad. I reasoned that many students pay for their own tuition and that I did deserve a punishment for the grade I earned. Most importantly, it became clear to me that this girl, who did something not as bad as I did, received a punishment much more severe than I did. I experienced downward comparison in that once I compared my circumstances to someone else's much worse circumstances, I felt better about my situation. I came to understand that there are many people who are worse off than I am.

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