•Many people throughout history (and even recently) have argued that Intelligence is inherited.
•In your essay you must
–Choose a position AGAINST that view.
Basically you must convince the reader that the environment plays at least some significant part in a person's adult Intelligence
–Use EVIDENCE to “ARGUE” against that view
The evidence has to be good. It has to be real. Use scientific studies in Journals. You CANNOT use lecture notes or your textbook as -evidence-
–Build a case for your argument using at least 2 distinctly different “Lines of evidence”
Lines of evidence are basically different ways of looking at the same problem. There are many that relate to Intelligence and if you look through the starter pack of papers I have given you, you will see they fall into a couple of general themes (or lines of evidence). You are not limited to these as there are many more. BUT the evidence has to be GOOD.
Do not ignore evidence that goes against your position... deal with it. You can strengthen your case by pointing out flaws in research that tries to show that Intelligence is genetic
Basic Essay Structure: See the Burton Writing Guide for general info on writing essays
–Have a short Introduction and conclusion paragraph
–Make sure you follow a good paragraph structure. Paragraphs should be about 1 thing, fairly focused and follow a logical structure. Paragraphs should have a topic sentence, the topics should be introduced in that paragraph, it should have at least 4 sentences and it should have a concluding sentence. Paragraphs should be linked so the essay flows well.
–Use at least 6 Primary “Sources” and use proper referencing of sources
Use Journals ONLY as your sources. You can use your text, Google, Wikipedia etc to learn about stuff but these should NEVER be used as sources in your essay. The Burton Writing guide has information on evaluating sources, choosing good arguments Balancing arguments etc. See chapters 3, 4.
You should also use proper APA style IN TEXT citation format and proper APA style REFERENCE list format. These are also covered in the Burton Guide.
DO NOT EVER use quotes in your essay. You will lose points.
DO NOT EVER copy and paste text from a source into your essay. You will lose points and may be considered for Academic Misconduct
DO NOT EVER work with another student in writing your essay. You will be caught and receive penalties for Academic Misconduct
DO NOT EVER show your essay or notes for writing your essay to another student. If they copy it, use it, steal it... you are also at fault
DO NOT EVER use an essay or part of an essay you wrote for another course. That is Academic Misconduct.