compares and contrasts two major theorists:
Piaget and Vygotsky
You will be required to draft an essay which
compares and contrasts two major theorists,
e.g., Piaget and Vygotsky and their conceptual
frame works for development (cognitive, social
and emotional). Aside from highlighting the
major aspects of their stated theories, you are
also required to highlight the different ways in
which each theorist discusses development, e.g.,
Piaget discusses it mostly from a cognitive and
intellectual perspective whereas Vygotsky
focuses on the social contexts in which
development takes shape. You will be required to
cite the text as well as two other peer-reviewed
journal articles (for example – American
Psychologist or Journal of Abnormal Psychology),
to which you have access via your Drexel
account. The body of the essay will be NO MORE
THAN five (5) pages, not including cover page
and reference list. You?re also required to
follow APA format. Other requirements include
the following:
PAPER GUIDELINES:
Type of Writing
The paper is to have a scientific tone and
should rely on sources/reference to build an
explanation or argument.
Required Length
The length should be about 4-5 pages excluding
the title page and the reference list. Please
try to stay within this length.
Overall format
The paper should follow the format of the
American Psychological Association (APA)
guidelines. If you do not own an APA manual, we
recommend using the website
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/ for current APA
guidelines. Following APA guidelines is expected
in both the rough and final drafts or the paper,
but grading of the final paper will especially
rely on proper use of APA guidelines. Ask Dr
Chuck or Richa if you have questions while
writing the rough draft or after we give you
feedback!
Citing sources
You are to use your textbook and peer-reviewed
journal articles as the main source of
information. Cite the textbook directly if the
authors do not cite anyone else. If they do cite
journal articles, you must cite those journal
articles directly. Please look up a journal
article and read it before citing it. If you
cannot locate the full text of the article
online, then read the abstract in an abstract
database like PsychInfo. (Ask us for help if you
have never worked with an abstract database.).
Often times, the full-text of the article can be
found if you go through Drexel?s online
resources/Psychinfo as well.
Required number of sources
The main concern is that you give proper credit
for information. In each paper, you must cite at
least the textbook. There is no required number
of journal articles to cite in addition. Please
be careful about giving proper credit to
sources, as we can see whether you should have
cited a journal article when you only cited the
textbook. Points will be deducted if you
inaccurately give credit to the textbook.
Avoiding Plagiarism
Please give importance to avoid plagiarism (from
the textbook or other sources). Quotes should be
used (sparingly, or not at all in these kinds of
papers) when you want to present exact thoughts
from the reference; however, every other
sentence should be in your own words. Even
grammatical structures of each sentence should
be your own words, meaning you cannot simply
replace the words in the original sentence. Any
plagiarism will lead to a grade of zero on the
paper.
Good writing
You will be grade on the quality of your
writing. High-quality writing involves 1) strong
arguments; 2) effective organization; and, 3)
good sentences.
1) Strong arguments: Critical thinking involves
the ability to evaluate and build arguments.
Arguments should be based on evidence, not
opinion, speculation, or personal experience.
2) Effective organization: Arrange paragraphs in
a logical sequence and be sure that each
paragraph has one (and only one) overarching
idea.
