Choose one topic from the list of topics below (as the focus of your paper. Each of these topics belongs to a chapter in your textbook so that the contents of the respective chapters in your textbook will be able to provide you a starting point for your Major Paper.
| List of topics (choose 1) •Lifespan Sexual Development (Chapter 10) o Infancy and Childhood o Puberty o Early or Late Sexual Development oAdolescence o Sexuality and Aging •Sex Education, Contraception, and Pregnancy (Chapter 11) o Sex Education o Cross-cultural Perspectives oContraception o Pregnancy o Abortion •Sex Laws, Sexual Victimization, and the Sexual Marketplace (Chapter 15) o Sex Laws oSexual Assault or Harassment oProstitution o Sex Trafficking o Pornography |
Do not summarize the contents of the topic from the textbook in your paper. The Major Paper is not a summary of your textbook’s discussion on your topic. Once you have chosen a topic for your paper, you will need to research on the topic further. Search for peer-reviewed journal articles, entries from reliable and reputable websites, book chapters, etc. (in addition to the information in your textbook’s chapters) that discuss your
topic so that you can review them and gain a greater understanding of your topic.
After your research, choose one sub-topic related to the topic you chose from the list of topics provided – a health concern, a medical problem, or a social issue (ex. for the topic
Adolescent Sexual Development, a subtopic like delayed puberty, or LGBTQ youth family
rejection and homelessness; for the topic Abortion, a subtopic like secondary infection, or religion and persecution) that you will discuss in your Major Paper. Although you can include material on your topic and subtopic from your textbook, the majority of the information you will include or incorporate in your Major Paper must be from other reliable and reputable sources other than your textbook. You must include a minimum of six
sources (excluding your textbook) in your citations and References section.
Your Major Paper must be 10 to 12 double-spaced pages, excluding your Title Page and References section. It must be written in APA format and style (7th Edition) and include the following sections: Introduction, Discussion, and Conclusion. Since the Major Paper is not an empirical paper but a conceptual/theoretical one, it will not need an Abstract, nor a Method or Results section.
Introduction:
General definition/description of your chosen topic that introduces the topic to your audience (i.e., your audience will be readers
with a reasonable amount of general scientific background obtained from a secondary school level of education).
It will include a literature review on your topic from academic
sources (e.g., peer-reviewed academic journal articles), the majority of which need to be published from the last 10 years.
Your Introduction section will also contain and explain the connection/relationship of your topic and your subtopic (i.e., concern, problem, issue), as you slowly introduce what you intend to discuss in your Discussion section.
Discussion:
Begin to clarify the main concepts and ideas you have for your Major Paper. This will include the 1) importance of your subtopic, and 2) why you
want to discuss it.
You will specifically present what you believe the roles of
Psychology, psychologists, and scholars are in addressing or resolving your subtopic.
You will present arguments to express your perspectives on your chosensubtopic, and material from prior published scholarly work(e.g., peer-reviewed academic journal articles) to support your arguments.
In your arguments, you will also propose possible solutions or interventions that you believe need to be considered. This section will be your opportunity to display your analytic and critical thinking skills, as well as develop your writing skills as an early scholar. The more original ideas and arguments you present, the better your Discussion section will be. The more research material and evidence-based information you use to support your ideas, opinions, and perspectives, the more persuasive and compelling your Major Paper will be.
Conclusion
Final takeaway message you want your readers to consider. It is short and not a repetition or summary of your Discussion section. It may
present topics or ideas that other scholars may want to consider in their future research.