Requirements:

Class participation: 5% (P/F)

2 rough drafts 10% (P/F)

Poster session 5% (P/F)

Midterm exam: 15% (graded)

Final exam: 25% (graded)

First paper (all but discussion) 15% (graded)

Second paper (full paper) 25% (graded)

Class participation (5%):

A pass/fail participation grade will be awarded reflecting your active participation in class discussions and exercises (including labs). It is required that you read assignments in advance of class and you can expect to be called upon during class.

Exams (40%):

There will be two multiple choice exams during the quarter. These will cover material from the textbook, research articles, and lectures. The first will be a midterm, worth 15% of the total course grade and the final will be comprehensive (including some questions from PSYC111A), worth 25% of the total course grade. These will be graded as a percent out of 100.

Research papers (40%):

Both papers will be graded as a percent out of 100. The first research paper (15%) will include everything except for a discussion section. The second research paper (25%) will report an original experiment and will include all parts of an APA paper. The design and implementation of the second paper will be arranged through groups. It is allowable to work on the statistical analyses in groups. However, the writing of the second paper must be your own.

Poster session (5%):

There will be an in class poster session for the results of the second experiment. This will be similar to what happens at a conference. For the second paper, the class will be split into 6 groups and each group will put together one poster. Each member of the group will be expected to “defend” the poster while others in the class ask questions. Participation in the poster session will be pass/fail.

Rough drafts (10%):

For each research paper, an initial draft is due during the week prior to the final paper due date. This will be graded as pass/fail, and will be worth 5% for each rough draft. During class, students will exchange rough drafts and provide comments to help improve these papers. Participating in this writing exercise is part of the pass/fail rough draft grade.

Late assignments:

Exams can only be made up with a documented absence. Papers will drop a third grade for each day late. Papers are due at the start of class. Extensions will be granted only with sufficient reason and advance notification.

Academic honesty:

Students are encouraged to work together in the development of their papers and assignments. However, the actual writing must be your own. If plagiarism is suspected, punishment will be sought according to UCSD disciplinary policy.

Grading %

97-100% A+ 93-96% A 90-92% A-

87-89% B+ 83-86% B 80-82% B-

77-79% C+ 73-76% C 70-72% C-

67-69% D+ 63-66% D 60-62% D-

<60% F

Grades will be rounded to the nearest whole percent