NEUR1020 Research Claim Essay
How do we ensure that we remember important information—like the content covered in a psychology course? Careful study is a key ingredient to successful recall, but what is the most efficient way to study? Research on the so-called testing effect has shown that recall is superior when study involves testing one’s memory for the material rather than simply reviewing it. Refining your own study practices by incorporating periodical testing of your memory is a straightforward way to improve your learning!
For the Research Claim Essay, we want you to present and defend a thesis statement that is supported by evidence drawn from two scientific journal articles (details provided below). The articles both focus on the testing effect. Guidance on how to structure and write the research claim essay will be provided in tutorials.
The evidence supporting your thesis statement must be sourced from the following two articles:
Karpicke,J. D. & Roediger, H. L. (2008). The critical importance of retrieval for learning. Science, 319, 966-968.http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1152408
Note: You will need to look through the supplementary materials for this article, which are included in the PDF available on Blackboard.
Khanna, M. M. (2015). Ungraded pop quizzes: Test-enhanced learning without all the anxiety. Teaching of Psychology, 42, 174-178.http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0098628315573144
You will have to develop your own thesis statement based on the information provided in these two research articles. The evidence from each of the two articles must independently support your thesis statement in its entirety (i.e., the evidence from each article should support all aspects of your thesis statement, not just part of it). You may cite additional research papers as background to introduce the topic, but the evidence supporting your thesis statement must come from the two articles mentioned above. We are not looking for a review of the overall balance of evidence, nor are we looking for a discussion of points both for and against the thesis statement.
Your essay will be marked by the course tutors. All marking will follow the Marking Criteria that you can find on Blackboard via the Assessment tab, in the Research Claim Essay section.
The word limit for the Research Claim Essay is 1500 words (+10% leeway). We require that you include a statement detailing the extent to which you relied on AI tools when producing your essay. You should acknowledge whether AI tools were used to assist in planning, drafting, proofreading, and/or refining your essay text by including a Transparency Statement on the use of AI Tools. This statement does not contribute towards the word limit.