In brief: In this assignment, you will write a paper about one of the approved topics in the list given below. Think of this assignment as though you were writing an encyclopedia article about the topic. Your job is to find the latest research on the topic, and summarize it. If you author one of the best articles, we might approach you after the class is over to talk about inclusion in a free online textbook.
Specifications: The article should be between at least 800 words, references included.
There should be between 10 and 30 citations, preferably of scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals. Also, if you look up a journal on library website, it will often tell you that it is peer-reviewed, if it is.
In general, you should cite the most recent research. When you search, try to use references from the past few years. Sometimes, if an idea is very old, you can cite the origin of the idea (the first paper or book that proposed it), but also a more recent version of it. If the most recent research is rather old (1990s, for example) you can put in a disclaimer in the comments section on Brightspace. Most references should be from the last 10 years.
You should have sub-headings to help with organization.
It needs to be in your own words. The TAs will be on the lookout for plagiarism, so make sure you do not copy other people’s sentences. It’s not even a good idea to quote people, even if you cite it–that’s not done much in science, nor in encyclopedias, unless the there is something very important about the exact wording.
The list of available topics:
The emotion of sadness
The use of fMRI in psychology and neuroscience
Auditory Hallucination
Zombies and the Hard Problem of Consciousness
