Talk with your family about the marital relationships of older family members. If you can, interview some of the older members themselves. Find out what you can about these elders and their relationships. Be sure to explain you are interviewing them for a school assignment.
Some things to consider: How old were they when they married? Were there any divorces? Were they stereotypical behaviors for either partner? What helped them stay together, if they were together? What were their beliefs about marriage and divorce? Did they have religious beliefs of convictions that influenced their marriages? How do these answers conflict with or coincide with behaviors in the current cohort of emerging adults? It will help if you develop a list of several questions related to development before the interview, but you need not turn in your notes.
Use college-level writing, assuring that syntax and grammar are correct.
Make connections to the material we are studying; you need not cite the book, saying something like: “In the text….” or, “According to the text…” is sufficient. If you do bring in outside resources, do assure that you are referencing those resources. (It is important to only use credible sources.) This particular requirement is essential. Be sure to make this connection! Points will be lost if it is not made.
Refrain from using emoticons or abbreviations such as BTW or LOL, even if you feel like laughing!
Please answer these general questions for each Mini-Project:
Your analysis of the information you found—how does the information connect to what we are learning? This should include specifics as to how the assignment relates to development as well as how or if the assignment would meet academic research standards.
Your personal reaction to the material—how will you use this information in the future, either within your personal life or in your anticipated career. The link might not be direct. For example, if you plan to work with elders, you might not think that knowing about infants would be important. In actuality, a senior might be living with family members who have children.
Mechanics:
Papers should be a minimum of 825 words.
Please be sure to use correct citations for resources you use (titles, authors, website addresses, etc.) to avoid any type of plagiarism. If you need assistance with this, please consult with a reference librarian (They are available 24/7 via the library website or more limited hours in the library.), or staff at the Writing Center in Mukilteo Hall.
Students may wish to visit the Student Learning Center (Writing Center) in Mukilteo Hall for free advice about other components of their paper before submitting. As stated above, the text itself does not need to be referenced other than noting the reference by saying something like: “In our text.” or “Belsky states that…”
Projects must be submitted as an attachment using the link on our class Canvas site. Files must be one of these types: .doc, .docx, .rtf or a linked Google document. DO NOT email or Canvas-message papers to me as this will not result in points for the assignment.
Grading will be based on the following: clear descriiption of the material, use of resources as appropriate, specific connections to issues of development, writing style and mechanics.
Text is: Experiencing The Lifespan by Janet Belsky
