The Written Assignment The type of written assignment due for this unit is a literature review and synthesis paper. (This is a literature review objective analysis of what published research findings say about a particular thesis.) By writing this essay you should increase your knowledge of a sub-field of biological psychology by reading the primary, peer-reviewed literature. (As just two topic examples, you might find and read papers about the consolidation of memories in the brain during sleep, or about the genetic and neural abnormalities that can lead to schizophrenia.) You should then synthesise what you have read in the primary literature and integrate it within your paper in a coherent way that supports a thesis. One benefit of this type of assignment is that it allows deeper study of an area within biological psychology that interests you so you can really become an expert in that topic. Moreover, the assignment will give you practice in accessing knowledge within the body of published research papers so you can later find out about things on your own. Your paper should also involve an "original contribution" or an idea that you came up with yourself based on your reading of the literature. Ways you may do this include drawing connections between two previously separate areas of research or by proposing a novel study or set of studies that could provide new information within the area of biological psychology you are reviewing. Here are some rules about the assignment 1) The paper should be 2000 words (±10%) that comprise a thorough and well-written literature review. The paper should also have a title page and a reference section but these are not included in the word count. Do not include an abstract. 2) Use APA format for all aspects of the paper. A description of the APA formatting guidelines are available in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA publication manual), which is prescribed material for this unit. There are many other guides about how to write literature review papers in APA format including free ones on the internet. However, ensure the guide you use accurately describes the format of the current (6th) edition of the APA publication manual. 3) Topic: you may write about anything related to biological psychology. Pick a topic that excites you. You may write about a topic that is not covered in the textbook or lectures that you want to know more about, or you may write more in depth about a topic we have discussed in the unit. After you have read a number of articles on to your topic, devise a thesis. Your thesis should be specific rather than broad. For example, Bad (too broad): Learning and experience-related neural plasticity Good (specific): Can NMDA receptor agonists safely enhance learning in humans? Bad (too broad): Anxiety and the brain Good (specific): Could oxytocin be used to reduce social anxiety disorder? 4) Your literature review should focus primarily on peer-reviewed journal articles related to your topic. You may also use scholarly books as references. You should thoroughly search Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, PsycARTICLES, Web of Science or other scholarly database for relevant sources. You should not use textbooks, encyclopaedias, or newspaper/magazine articles as references. 5) How many papers do you need to review? Six references is the minimum. Note however that your reference list will reflect the thoroughness of your reading in your chosen topic area so the best papers will likely have a larger number. Only references that are actually cited in your paper should be included in the reference section. 6) Your paper should consist of an introduction that includes a thesis and reasons why your thesis is important, a body presenting detailed and specific evidence related to your thesis, a conclusions section, and a reference section.