A. A brief description of the event that triggered the entry (3 pts)

This should be in enough detail that I have a clear sense of your example (keep in mind I may not have seen the movie, read the book, know your friend, etc, and thus need enough detail to be able to evaluate how well this example matches the rest of the essay).

B. A review of the relevant psychology topics (7 pts)

 This is the section that people seem to skimp on the most.  Remember that one major goal of your log should be to demonstrate that you have a THOROUGH understanding of the class material.  Therefore, this section needs to be relatively in-depth; merely writing one or two sentences about a related topic will not suffice.  Also, make very sure that you actually review the material, rather than just referring to it (i.e., "This example relates to what the book said about panic disorder," instead of actually reviewing what the book said about panic disorder).

 To receive full credit for this section, you need to review not just the basic material on your chosen topic, but also the broader topic.  For example, if you’re writing about major depression, you’ll want to include a review of the full diagnostic criteria (rather than simply listing a few symptoms), some information on etiological factors, some information on treatment, etc.  You might not spend equal time on each etiological factor, but you don’t want to review only the one that you think fits your example.  This is first, because that doesn’t show that you are even aware of the others, and second, because reviewing all of them will make it easier for you (in the integration section) to show why you think specific factors best fit your example.

C. An integration of the event itself and the course material related to it. (7 pts)

This section should demonstrate your ability to show how the example and the course material are related.  For example, you might discuss the similarities and differences between what you observed in your example with what the class material would suggest.  You could also discuss what else you might expect (i.e., if discussing a movie involving a particular disorder, you can discuss which other symptoms you might expect to see, even if they weren't shown, based on your knowledge of the disorder, or what treatments might be expected to help the person...).

D. Your comments on the topic. These should NOT just recap the above, but should show original thinking on your part and put forth your own opinions. (3 pts)

In general, people do pretty well on this section.  However, please make sure that when you give your opinion, your writing should clearly note that this is an opinion rather than a fact, and you should also be able to support why you hold that opinion.  Also, please make sure that you do include an actual commentary; the biggest reason people seem to miss full credit for this section is that there’s little commentary beyond “I thought this was really interesting,” without saying why it was, or what in particular, or what you thought about the topic beyond “interesting,” or that there’s no commentary at all, with the final paragraph instead just providing additional description of the original example.

2.  The importance of accuracy in review and integration:  The material you review can be from the text, from class, or best yet, from both.  One thing that will immediately reduce a PsychLog grade is being inaccurate in your review of material or the integration of that material with your example.  For example, if you are discussing conditioning processes and say that your event is an example of classical conditioning, when really it is an example of operant conditioning, your grade will suffer for several reasons.  First, you're not demonstrating a thorough understanding of the material, since if you had that understanding you presumably would have been more accurate.  Second, it will be much tougher to provide a good integration also, since the processes for operant and classical conditioning are different (i.e., if showing how your example relates to classical conditioning, you might describe which parts of the example were the UCS, CS, UCR, and CR; whereas for operant conditioning, you would need to describe what the behavior and response was, and whether the conditioning involved positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and/or punishment...).

3.  Plagiarism and quoting:  As noted in the academic dishonesty section of your syllabus, plagiarism is a definite no-no.  This includes even copying just one sentence without putting quotation marks around the words that are not your own.  It also includes "near-copying" where you change just a few words, or the order of the words, but what you write is clearly very very close to what the book said.*  To be clear, the ideas you are writing about in your review are not your own, and in a more formal paper with citations, you would use a citation to show where those ideas came from.  But the words must be your own, unless you have made it quite clear, via quotation marks or a block quote, that they are not.

If you plagiarize, you will receive a grade of zero on the assignment and a report will be made to the department and/or college, even if you did not mean to do anything wrong.  Therefore, please make very sure that you avoid plagiarizing.  If you are concerned that you may inadvertently copy from the book as you write, there are a few methods you might use to avoid this.  One way is to close your book while you write.  You will probably want to go back and check your paper with the book when you’re done, to make sure that your material is complete and correct, and to make sure that you didn’t memorize the text and thus plagiarize anyway.  Another way is to talk your material instead of writing it, because most people are more likely to use their own words when speaking than when writing.  You can speak into a tape recorder or to a friend who will take notes, and then copy down what you’ve said aloud.  Again, it’s a good idea to then go check your paper back with the text or manual. (Just as an aside, these are also good ways of ensuring you know the material while you study.) 

Relatedly, although less serious:  even if you DO quote other material properly, this will lead to a lower grade than using your own words because it does not show that you actually understand the material; it just shows you know where to find that material.  It's definitely better than doing the same thing without the quotation marks (i.e., plagiarizing), but generally speaking, unless the material you are quoting is so pithy or well-written that you really need to use it word-for-word to make your point, you are much better off using your own words.  Even if you do quote in places, you should always make sure that there is enough review of material in your own words that there is no doubt about your understanding of the concepts.

*I see many many examples of this "near-copying," despite my mentioning it here as still counting as plagiarism.  As noted above, if it's obvious exactly which sentence of the text, for example, your sentence is paraphrased from, that's almost definitely too close to the text to count as your own writing.  If you don't believe me that this is considered plagiarism, perhaps the scandal of a Harvard student's first novel will help make that clearer (along with making clearer what near-copying looks like...):  http://www.canada.com/globaltv/globalshows/et_story.html?id=81da2353-4086-4a77-9dd7-08d55c6c4d13&k=70425

4.  Spelling, grammar, etc.:  Please make sure to proofread your work before turning it in.  In addition to the five points of each PsychLog grade that focuses on the overall writing assignment that would thus be affected by typos and other errors, if your essay is full of mistakes it is much harder to understand the content of what you are discussing.  A good first step is using a spell-checker, but you never want to just rely on those, because they won't catch, for example, a typo that forms a different real word (such as typing "form" when you mean "from").  Also, if you are not really careful when using it, you will sometimes end up with very weird sentences, because many of the terms we use in psychology aren't in the spell-checker, and it may suggest an alternative that has nothing to do with what you're writing; automatically telling it to make changes then can lead to gibberish.  Grammatical mistakes are a little harder to catch, even with a grammar-checker, but looking at what the grammar-checker suggests is a good place to start.  If you know that you need help writing, you might want to leave enough extra time that you can have a friend proofread your work before you turn it in.  Alternatively, you can also avail yourself of a number of resources detailed in the Writing Resources section of my website; two of the options are CMU services: The "Ask the Grammar Maven" website where you can email a grammar question, and the Writing Center.

Some writing errors that seem to come up fairly often include misplaced punctuation (such as commas outside rather than inside quotation marks, apostrophes in words that are plural rather than possessive, commas that are unnecessary, etc), incorrect choice of homonyms (it’s/its, too/two/to, their/they’re/there, etc), sentence fragments, and using “bigger” or “fancier” words incorrectly (if you’re not sure about the word, or it’s not one you ordinarily use, you’re probably better off using a more common one).

A great way to check on your writing style (word choice, sentence structure) is to read your paper aloud.  Does it sound like it makes sense?  If it sounds sort of tortured, not how anyone would ordinarily speak, double-check your writing - that's a clue that something's likely off.  Read it over - does it read like something you'd see anywhere else?  Have someone else read it - does it make sense to that person?  Can your reader understand what you're trying to say without asking you to clarify anything?  (This is also a good way to check on whether you reviewed your material thoroughly enough.)  Again, one of the best ways to make sure you write clearly and in your own words is to write your paper WITHOUT looking at the textbook or your notes.  It is very difficult to write well when you are focused on paraphrasing line by line a section of the textbook, and it is MUCH more likely that in doing so,  you will change the meaning of what you are writing without even realizing it.  On the other hand, if you read the book/notes and THEN go to write your paper, you'll obviously be using your own words, and you'll be thinking about what you want to say as you write.  This is almost sure to lead to clearer and more accurate writing.  And you can still double-check your facts by comparing what you wrote with the book/notes afterwards.

5.  Choice of topic:  Please remember that each log is supposed to focus on a topic from the unit we are just finishing, so that you end up with one log per unit.  If you're unsure if your topic qualifies, feel free to ask me.  Also, if you choose a tangentially related topic or a very minor topic you will probably not do very well, because a) we haven't covered that material at all, or b) it's not really an issue related to a unit topic per se, or c) there's just not enough depth in that topic to earn full credit.  In general, you’re better off choosing a broader than a narrower topic (within reason, of course!), because it gives you more material to review to show your thorough understanding, and because doing so will help you more on the exam.  Most students find they do much better on exam questions related to their psychlogs, because they’ve reviewed that material in more detail to write their logs than they do simply studying for an exam. 

Okay...I think that's about everything.  If you have questions, please get in touch, and remember that you always have the option of getting feedback on your logs before turning them in by getting them to me at least a week before they are due (and making sure to show up to class the next day to retrieve them!).  Also remember that there are lots of samples available, both here and in my office.  Finally, a very picky point:  Please make sure to staple your psychlogs!!!!  I will not accept them with paper clips, folders turned down, etc., and I do not bring a stapler to class.

Good luck, and have fun!