You will be required to write a paper, between 1500-5000 words, on your reactions to a trade book which you can choose from the list of 10 options below. The paper is worth 50 points and will be submitted on Blackboard by 11:59pm on the due date posted on the course schedule on Blackboard. Save the file as a Microsoft Word Document or a PDF, and submit the file as an attachment. (Do not use the “Write Submission” option.) Other file formats and email submissions will not be accepted. If you are unsure as to how to attach an assignment, please see the Blackboard User Guide. Late papers will receive 20% off initially and 10% for each additional 24 hour period in which the assignment is late. Therefore, if a student received a 90% on a paper but turned it in within 24 hours of the due date, s/he would receive a 70%. If the paper was turned in 25 hours after the due date, s/he would receive a 60%, and so on.
Questions you should address are:
1) Why did you choose the book you chose?
2) What was surprising to you about this book?
3) What did you take away from the book?
4) Did you find anything to contradict what you’ve learned in your life and/or in this class? 5) How did this book change the way you see the world?
6) Did you disagree with the author?
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7) Was there something confusing about the book that you’d be interested in researching or discussing further?
8) Did you find yourself particularly intrigued with something in particular about the book?
Basically, your paper will be graded on the extent to which it seems you engaged with the book in a critical manner. Simply regurgitating the synopsis of the book will not do.
Grading Guidelines:
1) Please proofread your papers; 10 points will be deducted if more than 5 grammatical or punctuation errors or typos are present.
2) If your paper does not meet the 1500-5000 word requirement, you will also lose 25 points.
3) Discuss each bullet point; 8 points will be deducted per bullet point not discussed.
4) Each bullet point will be graded on accurateness, thoughtfulness and depth of understanding; up
to 8 points will be deducted per bullet point for lack of accurateness, thoughtfulness, or depth.
If you disagree with the grade you are given on a paper, you must contact the instructor within 2 days upon receiving your grade. Any requests to discuss a grade change 48 hours after the day and time it was returned to you will not be considered.
Possible books options are:
Sacks, O. (1998). The man who mistook his wife for a hat and other clinical tales. Touchstone (ISBN: 0684853949). 256 pages.
Gopnik, A. (2010). The philosophical baby. Picador (ISBN: 0312429843). 304 pages. Dweck, C. (2007). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Ballantine Books (ISBN:
0345472322). 320 pages.
Sapolsky, R. (2004). Why zebras don’t get ulcers. (3rd edition). Holt (ISBN: 0805073698).
418 pages in total, but in the interest of fairness, stop after chapter 13, if you can (=274 pages).
Grandin, T. (2013). The autistic brain: Thinking across the spectrum. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (ISBN: 0544227735). 206 pages.
Jamison, K. (1997). An unquiet mind: A memoir of moods and madness. Vintage (ISBN: 0679763309). 224 pages.
Goleman, D. (2005). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. Bantam (ISBN: 9780553383713). 352 pages.
Tavris, C., & Aronson, E. (2020). Mistakes were made (but not by me) third edition: Why we justify foolish beliefs, bad decisions, and hurtful acts. Mariner (ISBN: 0358329612). 464 pages
in total, but in the interest of fairness, stop after Chapter 7, if you can (=284 pages).
Dik, B. J., & Duffy, R. D. (2013). Make your job a calling: How the psychology of vocation can change your life at work. Templeton Press (ISBN: 9781599474465). 296 pages.
Gottlieb, L. (2019). Maybe you should talk to someone: A therapist, HER therapist, and our lives revealed. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (ASIN: B07BZ4F75T). 433 pages in total, but in the interest of fairness, stop after Part 3, if you can (= 325 pages).
