For the second assignment, and to give you some practice writing an academic paper in the APA format, students are individually responsible for writing a practice summary of an academic research article. This summary must be a minimum of 1,500 words, including a title page and reference page. APA formatted is required! This assignment is worth 10% of your final grade.
During the first week, each student will pick one article from a group of six. After the article has been assigned, each student will write an article summary (all articles are available on the course website). You may not use any other articles or sources. The articles you may choose from are as follows:
After the Promise: The STD Consequences of Adolescent Virginity Pledges
The Socialization of Attitudes about Sex and their Role in Adolescent Pornography Use
“It’s Just a Lot of Work”: Adolescents’ Self-Presentation Norms and Practices on Facebook and Instagram
Queer Youth, Intoxication and Queer Drinking Spaces
Transgender Youth and Life-Threatening Behaviors
Time Perspective, Sports Club Membership, and Physical Self-Concept among Adolescents
For this practice article summary, it is important for students not to inject their personal opinions or ideas, using value-free language and remaining as impartial and objective as possible. Avoid focusing on charts or illustrations, and instead focus on summarizing the author’s ideas, research question, hypothesis, methodology, results, and discussion. Examples of article summaries and writing suggestions will be provided to you.
Avoid long quotes in your summary, and paraphrase whenever possible, citing the author’s last name and year of the publication.
Maximum quotes = 2 short quotes (less than 40 words each).
Correct APA formatting is also required – double-spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman font, 1 inch margins all around, APA in-text citations, running header, title page, and a reference page. Run spelling and grammar checks and double-check your APA formatting. Be sure to CITE your sources throughout the summary.
Grading Rubric
Article summaries will be graded according to the following criteria:
Content and Development (Total points: 60)
Paper adequately summarizes the research articles ideas, research question, hypothesis, methodology, results, and discussion: 60 Points
Mechanics and Style (Total points: 40)
APA rules of spelling, grammar, usage, and punctuation are followed: 30 Points
Sentences are complete, clear, and concise, and the tone is appropriate to the content and assignment: 10 Points
