Each student is required to turn in two written assignments over the course of the semester. Each paper should be about 3-4 pages in length and should discuss readings from outside sources as they relate to information presented in text and lecture. The purpose of these papers is to demonstrate writing and analytical skill. For each paper, you will need to cite at least two peer reviewed journal articles, or books. Your best source will be the Psych Articles database on the library website. You may also search Proquest, Google Scholar, ERIC databases, or any other reliable source to find the relevant research. In writing your paper, it is important to remember to stick to your topic, or even the narrowed subtopic – depth is far more important than breadth. State at the outset what your topic is, which question you are attempting to address, and what your stance on that question is. By the end of the first paragraph, these should be laid out clearly. It is often a good rule of thumb to introduce the topic in the first paragraph of the paper, and end that paragraph with a statement that sounds something like this – “It is clear that both nature and nurture influence personality, however nature plays the more important role.” I will also grade for the level of analysis of the outside sources, and the degree to which you have drawn comparisons between your readings and the text/lecture information. I am looking for more than a superficial comparison of the sources you read. A grading rubric will be available online. You will be required to print out a copy of this and attach it to the top of your paper when you turn it in. The purpose of doing this is so that I can be sure that you have had an opportunity to read the rubric – it tells you what I am looking for in assigning points to your paper.