Confessions with guilty pleas

The point of the final paper is to synthesize information about your chosen topic in a narrative review written in a way to critically examine the state of the literature. Additionally, you need to identify at least one issue that applies to your chosen literature as a whole that needs addressed (e.g., sample type, methodology, a gap in the literature, etc.). The literature review should be organized in a way that the issue you identify is clearly derived from the literature and supported theoretically, both in the literature and your paper (think hourglass shape). Ideally, you will use the critiques you will do for the class as the basis for your final paper. For instance, say you identify a weakness in a Reaction Paper, then, upon further reading in the literature, notice that this same weakness occurs in other studies, too.

You are required to use at least 10 peer-reviewed sources for the assignment (no more than 4 of these can be from class). If you are struggling to come up with an issue in the literature, look back on your Reaction Paper Discussion Questions to see if those have been discussed/addressed in the literature. If not, feel free to expand upon that. Remember, it is not enough to just say that something is an issue; you need to say why (grounded in theory) and provide a possible solution.

Thesis Paragraph (1pt): Write up a short paragraph that can serve as a thesis paragraph for your final paper. This should include 1) your area of interest, 2) identify a problem with the area (e.g., sample type, methodology, a gap in the literature, etc.), and 3) how your solution to the critique would improve the literature. Remember, the way to support claims in scientific writing is by providing sources (at least 2 empirical sources).
Annotated Bibliography (3pts)Begin with a short paragraph containing a refined version of your Thesis Paragraph followed by an annotated bibliography of 4 empirical sources related to your critique of the literature. Each source should be written in APA format as it would appear in the References section of your paper. For each source, you should summarize the pertinent information (25%) and integrate the information from that source into your overall critique of the literature (75%).