Make sure is right
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Week 4 Assignment 3 Template Example
Instructions: Please review the following document, which is an
example of a completed template for Assignment 3. The author of
this template read the article, “Self-Reported Influences on
Psychology Major Choice and Personality,” and used scholarly
evidence from it to write evidence statements for the value and
anecdote statements below. The author also accurately cited and
referenced the article using APA style and wrote a summary using
the MEAL Plan strategy. You will be asked to complete the same
template for Assignment 3 based on a different article that your
instructor has posted in the Announcements this week.
1) Value Statement: Psychology is a good undergraduate degree
to prepare me for a graduate or professional degree.
Write a supporting Evidence Statement (1–2
sentences):
Marrs, Barb, and Ruggiero (2007) reported that both psychology
majors and non-psychology majors believe that obtaining an
undergraduate degree in psychology is a good way to prepare for
a graduate or professional school. In fact, this ranked third in the
most common reasons students major in psychology (Marrs et al.,
2007).
2) Anecdote Statement: My mother is a very empathetic person
and she has a successful career as a psychologist.
Write a supporting Evidence Statement (1–2
sentences):
Encouragement from family members can influence students’
decisions to major in psychology (Marrs, Barb, & Ruggiero, 2007).
My mother is a very empathetic person and she has a successful
career as a psychologist, which influenced my decision to pursue
a psychology degree.
3) MEAL Plan summary of the article (1–2 paragraphs):
Students choose college majors for many reasons, and
psychology majors are no different. Marrs et al. (2007) compared
the influences on choice of college major for psychology and non-
psychology majors. Though psychology and non-psychology
majors reported largely similar influences for their choices of
major, results showed that psychology majors were less likely
than non-psychology majors to have chosen their major because it
would prepare them for employment after graduation (Marrs et al.,
2007). One possible reason for the results may be that many
psychology students are planning to attend graduate school after
earning their bachelor’s degree, making career preparation less
important at this time in their educational paths. Psychology
Note that the information
highlighted in gray is paraphrased
from the journal article, is cited,
and uses scholarly evidence to
support the value statement.
The sentences highlighted in
yellow constitute the Main Idea
portion, or the M in the MEAL
Plan. They introduce the topic of
the paragraph.
The sentences highlighted in
green constitute the Evidence
portion, or the E in the MEAL plan.
Note that the author of this
summary paragraph could have
focused on many other takeaways
from the article but chose these
pieces of evidence as the main
focus of the paragraph.
Note that the information
highlighted in gray is paraphrased
from the journal article, is cited,
and uses scholarly evidence to
support the anecdote.
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majors were also more likely than non-psychology majors to have
chosen their major based on an interest in the field and less likely
to base their choice on previous life experiences, encouragement
from family, or the hope to earn a good salary (Marrs et al., 2007).
Despite many similarities, some personal and social reasons
appear to impact the choice of major differently for students
headed into the psychology field, some of whom may be
influenced by their previous experiences or the values of those
around them. The choice of college major is complex and
influenced by many factors. Students choose psychology as a
major for many of the same reasons as non-psychology majors,
though some different influences do exist.
4) APA Style Reference of the journal article:
Marrs, H., Barb, M. R., & Ruggiero, J.C. (2007). Self-reported
influences on psychology major choice and personality. Individual
Differences Research, 5(4), 289–299.
The sentences highlighted in blue
constituted the Analysis, or the A in
the MEAL plan. They explain and
analyze the Evidence information
from the article, which is highlighted
in green.
The sentences highlighted in pink
constitute the Lead Out portion, or
the L in the MEAL plan. This section
summarizes the paragraph and
serves as its conclusion.
