PSYC 123 Social Psychology ~ Personal Paper Guidelines
Your assignment is to find a TED talk at on social psychology. These educational lectures cover a vast array of topics and can provide insight into challenging concepts. Plus they are just straight fascinating. You may choose any topic in social psychology; I recommend something you find personally interesting. The TED talk must be at least 10 minutes long.
Paper format requirements:
~ 2-pages (references may be on bottom of 2nd page, for the sake of the trees…)
~ double-spaced
~ 12 point Times New Roman font
~1 in margins
~ APA style for citations and references.
Headings (Each section of your paper needs to be labeled with the following):
Summary of TedTalk – Summarize the TEDtalk
Who is presenting?
What is a summary of their topic?
Which population are the talking about?
What research is supporting their claim/work?
Include the results from the study that support their claim.
Stick with the facts presented in the talk.
Connection to Course– Explain how this talk relates to our general psychology course.
Which topics, covered in class or the book, does this talk relate to?
Does is relate to more than one?
Use your critical thinking skills here to make connections.
Be sure to cite the textbook
Personal Connection- Discuss how (or why not) this topic resonates with you personally.
How does this topic resonate with you personally?
Does this make sense and/or seem true from your experience?
How will this talk potentially change your way of seeing the world?
Does is offer a way to better understand a subject previously elusive?
Is there anything else along this topic that you are more interested in learning about?
Interject your personal opinion on the topic here.
How to Cite your work:
Author. (Year, Month Date). Title [Video file]. Retrieved from URL
Reference: Example
Palmer, A. (2013, February). Amanda Palmer: The art of asking [Video file]. Retrieved from
In-text citation: Palmer (2013) or (Palmer, 2013)
Napa Valley College Writing Resources
~ Online Tutoring
Students at Napa Valley College have access to online tutoring services from Smarthinking. With Smarthinking, students can chat with a live writing tutor at almost any time of day or night from any Internet connection. Tutors are available to chat one-on-one to provide assistance with APA formatting, grammar, mechanics, organization, outlining, thesis development, research, documentation, etc.... Students can also submit a completed draft of a writing assignment to the Smarthinking Writing Center for a tutor to review. The tutor will provide detailed, personalized feedback on the paper, typically within 24 hours.
HOW TO USE ONLINE TUTORING:
Go to
Enter your username and password.
Your username is "NVC" plus your student ID. For example, if your student ID is 0123456, then your username is NVC0123456. Your initial password is your first name. You can change your password in the "Profile" section of the "Manage Account" tab.
Be sure to provide the paper requirements to ensure you get the correct assistance.
~Writing Center Appointments
Students who would like feedback on drafts of writing assignments can come to the Writing Center to sign up for a half-hour appointment. Appointments must be made or changed in person. Students should come prepared with a copy of the assignment, a typed or clearly legible printed draft, and an idea of what they want to work on.
1