Martin Seligman’s Ted Talk: “The New Era of Positive Psychology”

Logistics:

3-4 pages, double-spaced (not counting works cited page)
5 paragraphs
MLA format for page set-up

Rubric (100 points):

Clear thesis and topic sentences: /5

(Thesis clearly synthesizes all parts of the paper into a single main idea at end of introduction paragraph; topic sentences introduce content of paragraphs, maintain focus of thesis, and help the reader transition through the paper)

Introduction (Paragraph 1): /15

(Introduces concept of “3 happy lives,” Seligman’s ideas presented using summary, paraphrase and/or quotation, connects the concept to your life, ends in thesis)

Analysis (Paragraph 2): /15

(Analyzes Seligman’s ideas in connection with your life, includes specific examples from Seligman’s video and your life, determines how aligned your life is with “3 happy lives” concepts)

Intervention Synthesis (Paragraph 3): /15

(Explains one of Seligman’s interventions for boosting happiness, explains your previous/current ideas about boosting happiness, analyzes how Seligman’s and your own ideas are similar or different)

Intervention Reflection (Paragraph 4): /15

(Details which intervention you tried, what you did, how it went, and what you learned)

Conclusion (Paragraph 5): /5

(summarizes main points of paper; explains why these ideas are important, so what?!)

Citations: /10

(Includes a signal phrase with Seligman’s name before each summary, paraphrase, or quotation from the video)

Works Cited Page: /10

(Last page of essay; accurately cites using MLA formatting rules)

Editing/Length: /10

(Uses proper spelling, punctuation, and grammar; 3-4 full pages, not counting works cited page)