Assignment Instructions Major Paper Assignment Instructions and Grading Rubric This assignment meets the following Course Learning Objectives: -- Articulate basic drug terminology and drug taking behavior -- Identify the various addictive substances legal and illegal and their classifications -- Analyze the reasons people commonly abuse substances -- Analyze how substances affect the mind and body and society In 2010, The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a policy statement addressing the complex relationships among children, adolescents, substance abuse, and the media. This assignment requires a critical examination of the AAP publication and a critique of a media portrayal of substance use, with links made to the AAP statement and course material. Conclusions about the implications of the media portrayals and the policies recommended by the AAP also should be made. Successful completion of this paper will require work over multiple weeks. A two paragraph summary of the proposed example of substance use portrayal in the media was due by the end of Week 3. The full paper is due at the end of Week 7. This assignment proceeds in four steps: Preparation Step One: Read the AAP Policy Statement located below. Make some notes for yourself about points of agreement or disagreement you have with the statement and specific findings regarding media depictions of substance use that you want to assess when you write the paper. Step Two: Find a current example of substance use portrayal seen in the media; for example, scenes from a movie, a television show, or a commercial; print ads; or portrayals found in new media as discussed in the AAP article. The Internet is a good tool for finding film or television portrayals of substance use as well as examples of print ads if ready access to first-hand media is not available. A two paragraph summary of the proposed example of substance use portrayal in the media that will be used for the paper is due by the end of Week 3. This proposal is a separate assignment and is worth 10 points. Construction Step Three: Write the paper. Begin the paper with an introduction that summarizes the main findings of the AAP article and previews what will be covered in the coming pages. Next, compare and contrast the portrayal of substance use found in the media with the information learned about that substance in the class and textbook. What messages about the substance are being portrayed? How accurate are those messages relative to the actual data on substance use? Be sure to cite the textbook as needed. Continue by comparing and contrasting the portrayal of substance use found in the media with the criticism of media portrayals found in the AAP paper. Does the media example match their arguments or contradict them? What links and connections can be made? Be sure to cite the article as needed. Next, draw some conclusions about the portrayal of substance use found in the media, addressing the following: What are the implications of this type of portrayal? What messages are being sent and to whom? Are those messages an accurate representation of the use of this substance? Should media portrayals be required to be accurate in their depictions of use, showing both positive and negative consequences? Finally, review the guidelines suggested by the AAP at the end of their policy statement and address the following: Although directed specifically at pediatricians, which of those recommendations is most important? Why? Are these recommendations necessary? If followed, will they be effective in addressing the concerns raised earlier in the article? Be sure to cite sources as needed. Step Four: Proofread and spell-check the finished paper and submit it to Turnitin.com. The required length of this paper is 7-8 pages, plus a required a cover page and a reference list. Papers must comply with APA formatting rules, including font size and margins, and must have a scholarly focus and tone. Quoting of published material and use of the first-person I are not permitted and will result in point loss. All source material must be paraphrased into your own words and cited appropriately. A self-evaluation of compliance with the APUS policy on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity in the form of a Turnitin.com originality report must accompany the final paper. Instructions for obtaining an originality report from Turnitin.com are located below. A Turnitin.com report in the acceptable range (indicated by a green report and less than 24% similarity index) is required for submission and a PDF copy of the Turnitin report (the actual report which includes at the top a total percentage of content copied from published sources, not a certificate of receipt from Turnitin.com) must be submitted with the assignment.

Assignment Instructions Major Paper Assignment Instructions and Grading Rubric This assignment meets the following Course Learning Objectives: -- Articulate basic drug terminology and drug taking behavior -- Identify the various addictive substances legal and illegal and their classifications -- Analyze the reasons people commonly abuse substances -- Analyze how substances affect the mind and body and society In 2010, The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a policy statement addressing the complex relationships among children, adolescents, substance abuse, and the media. This assignment requires a critical examination of the AAP publication and a critique of a media portrayal of substance use, with links made to the AAP statement and course material. Conclusions about the implications of the media portrayals and the policies recommended by the AAP also should be made. Successful completion of this paper will require work over multiple weeks. A two paragraph summary of the proposed example of substance use portrayal in the media was due by the end of Week 3. The full paper is due at the end of Week 7. This assignment proceeds in four steps: Preparation Step One: Read the AAP Policy Statement located below. Make some notes for yourself about points of agreement or disagreement you have with the statement and specific findings regarding media depictions of substance use that you want to assess when you write the paper. Step Two: Find a current example of substance use portrayal seen in the media; for example, scenes from a movie, a television show, or a commercial; print ads; or portrayals found in new media as discussed in the AAP article. The Internet is a good tool for finding film or television portrayals of substance use as well as examples of print ads if ready access to first-hand media is not available. A two paragraph summary of the proposed example of substance use portrayal in the media that will be used for the paper is due by the end of Week 3. This proposal is a separate assignment and is worth 10 points. Construction Step Three: Write the paper. Begin the paper with an introduction that summarizes the main findings of the AAP article and previews what will be covered in the coming pages. Next, compare and contrast the portrayal of substance use found in the media with the information learned about that substance in the class and textbook. What messages about the substance are being portrayed? How accurate are those messages relative to the actual data on substance use? Be sure to cite the textbook as needed. Continue by comparing and contrasting the portrayal of substance use found in the media with the criticism of media portrayals found in the AAP paper. Does the media example match their arguments or contradict them? What links and connections can be made? Be sure to cite the article as needed. Next, draw some conclusions about the portrayal of substance use found in the media, addressing the following: What are the implications of this type of portrayal? What messages are being sent and to whom? Are those messages an accurate representation of the use of this substance? Should media portrayals be required to be accurate in their depictions of use, showing both positive and negative consequences? Finally, review the guidelines suggested by the AAP at the end of their policy statement and address the following: Although directed specifically at pediatricians, which of those recommendations is most important? Why? Are these recommendations necessary? If followed, will they be effective in addressing the concerns raised earlier in the article? Be sure to cite sources as needed. Step Four: Proofread and spell-check the finished paper and submit it to Turnitin.com. The required length of this paper is 7-8 pages, plus a required a cover page and a reference list. Papers must comply with APA formatting rules, including font size and margins, and must have a scholarly focus and tone. Quoting of published material and use of the first-person I are not permitted and will result in point loss. All source material must be paraphrased into your own words and cited appropriately. A self-evaluation of compliance with the APUS policy on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity in the form of a Turnitin.com originality report must accompany the final paper. Instructions for obtaining an originality report from Turnitin.com are located below. A Turnitin.com report in the acceptable range (indicated by a green report and less than 24% similarity index) is required for submission and a PDF copy of the Turnitin report (the actual report which includes at the top a total percentage of content copied from published sources, not a certificate of receipt from Turnitin.com) must be submitted with the assignment.

Wishbone added on 03/04/14 at 07:24 PM (PST):

Hey JAVA,
Here is an email exchange between my professor and me regarding this major paper. THis gives you some idea as to the age group that I am (late 40s) so the Smokey and the Bandit comparison with the drinking and high risk behavior and Justin Beiber should be included.

I actually LOVE the idea of Smokey and the Bandit! :-)

Think about the proposal this way - I'm making you submit your idea for your paper, just so I can confirm that you're on the right track for the paper.

The paper requires some complex connections: You start with an intro - that's straight-forward. First major task requires you to explain a media example of substance use (in the most typical case it's of substance use portrayal - for example, in the movie Grease (which I'm assuming you saw), cigarettes and alcohol use were portrayed as something the `cool kids` did and, apart from Sandy's vomiting in the bathroom, with no consequences. Further, in the end of the movie, you knew she was now `cool` because she was smoking). Then, you're making connections between that portrayal from the media and the textbook - that is, what does the textbook say about (in the case of Grease) drinking and smoking? What kinds of consequences SHOULD we see, if the movie was accurate? Then, you're making connections between your media portrayal and the AAP article. What kinds of depictions did the AAP find in media vs. what you found? Last, you're looking at the AAP recommendations (which is a section fairly independent of your chosen media example) and your summarizing your whole paper.

Does that overview of the paper make sense?

Back to the `proposal` then - I'm just looking to make sure that the media example each student is picking for his or her paper will allow for a successful analysis in the final paper. In the best of all cases, a student also mentions some of the connections that he or she sees to the class text and to the AAP article. Then I KNOW that we're on the right track.

While I understand your point about the Beiber madness, do you see my concern for your paper? I just don't know what kinds of connections you'll be able to make to the text and/or the article. What do you think?

I want you to choose a topic you feel interested in (and good about look at) but I just don't want you to be hating me, life, or the assignment in two weeks!

Thoughts?

DR