General Psychology 1130

Third Mini-paper Assignment

Journal Writing for Health, Stress and Coping

The third mini-paper requires that you read the attached article and carry out a journal writing exercise similar to the one reported in the paper (which you do not turn in) and then write a 2-3 page analysis of your personal experience with the writing process. This assignment is to be done on two consecutive days. Do not leave it until the day before it is due.

Before beginning the assignment

1. Read the Paper.

Day 1

2. Write about a troubling event*. Find a quiet, private place where you are unlikely to be disturbed. Take 20 minutes (or more if you like) to write about an event that is troubling for you. It need not be a major life trauma, it can be anything that has been on your mind lately. It might just be a disagreement that you have had with someone, or a time you were embarrassed. Do not worry about spelling, grammar or neatness. This part of the assignment is not to be handed in. Once you have completed the writing task you can dispose of or store this account in any manner that makes you most comfortable. When you have finished with the writing process note how you are feeling. Do you feel better, worse, tense, upset, relaxed. . . ?

Day 2

3. Write a 2 to 3 page summary of the writing process. In this summary you need not tell me what you wrote about. That is your private business!! You may, of course, refer to the assigned paper (Pennebaker) to help you with this summary. The summary should deal with the following issues (and can include any other observations that you made while doing this exercise).

  • Do you feel that writing about the event helped you deal with it? If so, why might that be. If not explain, why you feel you did not get the benefits that Pennebaker’s article suggested you would?
  • How did you feel immediately after you first wrote about the event? Did your feeling about the event change over the following day? If so how?
  • Do you feel there are things you could have changed about the way you went about the writing

process that might have made it more effective (e.g., the location you selected, if you wrote about the event on more than one occasion)?

  • Do you think the writing process might work better for helping you deal with some stressful events more than it would help with other events? If so, explain?
  • Compare the process of writing about a troubling event to your past experiences with talking to someone about a troubling event. What are the advantages and disadvantages of writing about an event compared to actually talking to someone about the event?.

Due Date: Tuesday November 27th at the beginning of class time. Absolutely no extensions on this date will be given. This assignment is worth 4% of your final grade. Spelling, grammar and neatness do count. DO NOT submit your paper by email unless you have no other means of handing it in on time. If you have any questions about this assignment please feel free to ask!

* If you feel that writing about an event would be too upsetting and you can’t think of a less upsetting event to write about, you can substitute the assignment with a review of the assigned paper.