In this assignment, you will evaluate all you have learned and, upon considering their merits, resonance, and your personal reactions to each theory we’ve covered, you will choose at least 3 of them to synthesize into a toolkit. And you will leverage this toolkit in four ways.
- First, you will reinforce your understanding of human personality development by explaining your three toolkit choices and how they fit together.
- Second, you’ll apply this understanding to your own life and, as a point of contrast, to someone in your life with whom you tend to butt heads.
- Third, you’ll evaluate your relationship with this person through the new lens of your toolkit.
- Lastly, you’ll consider how similar or different your new toolkit is from the perspectives you shared in your Unit 3 assignment and draw conclusions about the value of your learning in this course.
Assignment Instructions:
Compose an essay that addresses the four points below, bookended by a compelling introduction and conclusion. While 1,500 words is established as a goal post, you will likely find that to explore some ideas thoroughly, you will need to go beyond that. But this paper should not exceed 2,000 words. Simply meeting the 1,500 minimum does not constitute a paper that is on par (hitting that number doesn’t mean you nailed it, necessarily. It may, but it may not). It is the execution of the assignment that matters more, so focus on that. But 1,500 – 2,000 are your goal posts.
- Introduction (100+ words)
- Introduce your work with a compelling start
- Summarize for your reader what you are going to share with them and the purpose of doing such an exercise.
- Body Section I – My Toolkit Explained (400+ words)
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- Corresponding with bullet points 1 above
- Describe each toolkit selection and end with your synthesis of them. The last sentence will be your one-sentence descriptor (or “motto”).
- Body Section II – Applying My Toolkit (350+ words)
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- Corresponding with bullet point 2 above
- You are hitting two main “themes” here – you are considering your own personality through your toolkit lens, and then doing the same for your selected person.
- Body Section III – Toolkit Offers a New View (250+ words)
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- Corresponding with bullet point 3 above
- Here you will discuss whether the analysis above has changed your view of the person you butt heads with. You’ll cover how this extends to considering other relationships. And if you are going into a helping profession, you might have an additional note here that applies to that.
- Body Section IV – Comparing the Old and the New and Looking Ahead (250+ words)
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- Corresponding with bullet point 4 above
- You’ll be comparing/contrasting the two perspectives (your “before and after”, as it were) and analyzing that shift and the value of doing so (or not, if you ultimately conclude you have more use for your Unit 3 paper perspective). You’ll also supply some specific forward-looking application to other domains of your life.
- Conclusion (150+ words)
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- Read your paper again and here, end with some take home messages and a satisfying, forward-looking message for your reader.
Paper Writing Guidelines:
- Paper will fall between 1500-2,000 words (title page and references do not count toward the length requirement). 1500 is not the minimum, necessarily. Meeting the demands of the assignment takes more priority, but this gives you some goalposts.
- Paper should be written in APA 7 style; this includes title page and document formatting (1-inch margins, double-spaced, 12-point font, etc.) as well as properly formatted in-text citations and reference page. An abstract is not required.
- Apply sound writing mechanics: write with clarity and pay attention to spelling/grammar. Consider reading your paper out loud or having a friend, family member, or dictation software read it back to you for a different perspective.
- Use subject headings to visually organize your paper for you and your reader. These can correspond with the outline above.
