Introduction Draft (10 points)
Due by Sunday June 13th 11:55 PM (CDT)
The purpose of this assignment is for students to receive feedback on a written draft of the
Introduction section to help improve their writing for the final paper. Note that the quality and
completeness of your draft will influence the quality of feedback I am able to provide. Therefore,
make sure to include all the important components and to proofread your draft before submitting.
Please review the Writing the Introduction lecture for more information on this assignment.
General requirements:
You should cite a total of 5-7 empirical journal articles in this draft. Please do not cite
dissertations or other non-empirical journal articles in your literature review.
Do not use direct quotes. Instead, summarize the research in your own words.
This assignment should be approximately 4-6 pages, double-spaced, using Times New
Roman 12, Arial 11, or Calibri 11, and submitted as a Word Document (.doc or .docx).
Steps to complete this assignment:
Find and read 5 7 empirical journal articles. Use PSYCInfo or Google Scholar to find
articles related to your topic. Three of the 5 7 articles may be from your Library Lab.
Write the literature review. * Take notes while reading the articles, focusing on important
details (e.g., theory, method, results) that will help justify your study predictions and design
(e.g., measures you plan to use). For each article, write a short summary and then explain
how the main idea or theory relates to your predictions and/or design. Make sure to properly
paraphrase information and try to discuss articles in a logical order (i.e., general to specific).
This section should be approximately 3 5 pages.
Write the introduction and conclusion paragraphs. The literature review makes up the
bulk of the Introduction section. Once that is completed, all that is left to write are the
introduction and conclusion paragraphs. For the introduction paragraph(s), you should
explain the general research question and how it relates to the broader context (e.g., real-
world problem). This section should spark the readers interest and also set up the rest of the
Introduction section. As a reminder, this section comes before the literature review. For the
conclusion paragraph(s), you should briefly recap the literature review, explain why the
current study is important, and describe your predictions in specific terms (i.e., operational
definitions). As a reminder, this section goes after the literature review.
Proof-read. Before submitting this assignment, check for spelling or grammar errors and
make sure your in-text citations are in proper APA style. At this point, do not worry about
using APA style for the overall format of the Introduction (e.g., headings).
Submit your assignment. It is your responsibility to ensure your assignment is on time and
readable. I suggest double-checking you can download and open your assignment after it is
submitted. Please submit a Word Document (.doc or .docx). I will not accept assignments
that are not in the correct format (e.g., PDF, Pages).
*I suggest writing the literature review before the introduction and conclusion paragraphs, but
feel free to write the Introduction section in whatever order makes the most sense to you.
Introduction Draft Rubric (10 points)
Topic
Excellent (2 points)
Good/Fair (1 point)
Poor (0 points)
1. Broad introduction
that explains the
research question
and connects it to
the broader context
(1-2 paragraphs)
Introduction begins
broadly, explains the
general research
question, and connects
it to the broader context
(i.e., real-world or
theoretical problem).
Introduction begins
somewhat broadly and
explains the general
research question, but it
is somewhat unclear
how it relates to the
broader context.
Introduction does not
clearly explain the
research question nor
how it relates to the
broader context or
jumps right into the
literature review.
2. Article summaries
focus on main
findings and
implications, rather
than unnecessary or
irrelevant details
Previous research and
theory described in
enough detail so that
the reader understands
the main findings and
relevant connections to
the current study.
Focuses on relevant
information rather than
outlining minor details
(e.g., # of participants).
Previous research and
theory are generally
described in enough
detail but tends to focus
on minor details that
are not relevant to the
current studys
predictions or design,
making it harder for the
reader to understand the
relevant connections.
Previous research and
theory are not described
in enough detail for a
reader to understand the
main findings and/or
relevant connections to
the current study.
Summary may be
incomplete and/or
missing for one or more
articles as well.
3. Explains how
previous research
and theory relate to
the current study
(i.e., predictions
and/or design)
Clearly explains how
each of the cited
articles relate to the
current studys
predictions and/or
study design.
Briefly recaps the
literature review,
explains why the
current study is
important, and clearly
describes the
hypotheses in specific
terms (i.e., operational
definitions)
Most of the articles are
clearly linked to the
current study, but this
information is missing
or unclear for a few of
the cited articles.
Most (or all) of the
articles are not clearly
linked to the current
study.
4. Final paragraph
recaps the literature
review, explains
why current study
is important (e.g.,
fill research gap),
and describes the
specific hypotheses
(i.e., interaction
and simple effects)
Briefly recaps the
literature review but
only vaguely explains
why the current study is
important. Hypotheses
are mentioned but may
not be fully explained
or defined.
Missing brief summary
of literature review,
explanation of why
current study is
important, and/or
hypotheses are missing
or not clearly defined.
5. Writing quality,
paraphrasing, and
use of APA style
(i.e., in-text
citations)
There are no typos or
grammatical errors.
Written in own words.
In-text citations
included for all articles
and in proper APA
style with few errors.
Some typos or
grammatical errors.
Generally written in
own words, but some
poor paraphrasing. In-
text citations are mostly
in correct APA style.
Numerous typos and
grammatical errors.
Poor paraphrasing
and/or direct quotes
from journal articles.
Citations missing
and/or incorrect.
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