Reflection #1 Handout

PSL1 (draft)

Reflection #1 Handout

Due Date: Week 7 Monday, November 15th 2010

As we have been venturing through various concepts related to the psychological dimensions of language and linguistics, we will now begin the process of synthesizing these interrelated theories or concepts into a more meaningful and tangible format: the reflection #1.

While I hesitate to place restrictions upon what and how you decide to meaningfully produce in your own paper, I’d be remiss not to mention the fundamentals of graduate level work, in particular within the social sciences.

As you have done in undergrad when writing essays, the same basic elements apply to the graduate level as well. However, the level of research and academic sources is more challenging and much more in depth. I will briefly list these elements as to avoid any ambiguities, for you will only have ONE opportunity to rewrite the paper if it is appropriate.

Basic components of your reflection:

(all guidelines are found on OWL Purdue)

1) Title page

Abstract (optional, attempts at including one may result in extra consideration)

2) Introduction:

Thesis statement/hypothesis/research question literature review is inevitably built into paper, no separate section required

3) Body:

in text citations, if you are unsure as to whether or not to cite texts, charts, or image files------cite it---this will avoid any problems.

General rule of thumb, if the item is well known, it doesn't have to be cited, for instance, e=mc (squared) or Diet Coke.

4) Conclusion:

restatements, predictions, further suggestions for research, etc.

5) Reference page: please follow the different ways you reference different sources, e.g., journals, books, newspapers, dissertations, etc.

-One source from our readings is required to be in your reference page, and two other scholarly sources outside our course readings. If appropriate to your thesis, you may pick ONE oral presentation article from your oral presentation section on the Wiki as a second source. In this case, you will only be required to venture out and incorporate the third source.

A reasonable expectation is to keep the paper around 5 to 7 pages, quality always better than quantity, so flexibility with the length is naturally inherent. APA formatted is taken as a given. The paper requires 12-point font and double-spaced.

Where do I find these sources?

First, the most efficient way to find these two outside sources is to read the references at the end of articles, books, journals, etc. A piece of literature in another class can be added as your fourth source, but not as your first two. Second, you can google the topic you are interested in and pursue your research from there. Lastly, another channel you can pursue, which I was just informed of as of last night, http://ebscohost.com/. From what gather, you may link to this site in the LLRC Reading Room or Computer Lab (clicking EBSCO Publishing icon).

What kind of resources?

The type of source quality needs to be similar to the OP (oral presentations) samples where you see the titles and abstracts on your website, peer-reviewed and scholarly. Provided the oral presentation has not been chosen, you may use one of those articles as a second source for your paper, assuming a meaningful connection can be made to support your thesis statement.

You may read Wikipedia, brief reviews, and brief on line articles; however, they do not necessarily qualify as substantially accurate sources in your paper, especially at the graduate level.

Again, OWL Purdue on your website for this course has everything you need to produce a quality graduate level paper.

You are absolutely free in choosing the area or theory you wish to write about, taking a compare/contrast style, a descriptive survey of the salient features that are reoccurring either historically or currently, future projections creating your own hypothesis and defending it, etc. Again, these papers are designed to expand your knowledge base of the material and pursue that which interests you. At the graduate level, more rigor in research and quality of writing is expected.

How do I submit my paper?

You can submit it via email or a hard copy on the due date. There are no late submissions accepted; yet life does throw curve balls, so communicate do not procrastinate.

Some possible suggestions from which you could begin generating ideas include:

-First language acquisition in any form pertaining to humans or other animal forms of acquiring modes of communication

-Disputing/supporting/comparing/Chomsky/Hockett/other influential individuals in the filed or related fields

-The evolution of human language & its implications on educational linguistics/other areas in related fields

-Psycholinguistic studies that seek to dismantle and uncover support for UG (universal grammar) or refutation

-Assessing the validity of when an infant begins self-awareness and the actual stage of comprehension issues…theories in child acquisition….

-Analyzing various stages of language acquisition e.g. one word stage, two word stage, etc.

-Do pet owners actually communicate with their animals?

-Do starlings speak human language?

-Apes can understand human language fluently?

-The list is endless……………