April 30, 2017

Dear PSY101/ENG101 Learning Community Students:

Its been a pleasure to have you in class this semester and to share this learning
community experience with you. One of the goals of this Get Psyched learning
community was to help you learn how to think like a psychologist and to express that
understanding not only in quizzes and exams, but also in clear, focused essays using
research, whether the research began with yourself (as in the first essay), describing the
scholarly research of others in a literature review (second essay), or writing a
psychological case study (third essay).

For your final writing task (in which you may use I), you will write a letter to incoming
Get Psyched Learning Community students in which you explain things that will help
them succeed. Specifically, you will have six paragraphs that convey to incoming
students the importance of research notes in college.

In a 1.5 to 2-page single-spaced block form letter with a date, salutation, and closing (the
format you see here), describe how you did use or could have used journal notes as the
basis for your third essay. Consider FIRST whether your understanding and use of
research notes changed from the first assignment to the third. Then in the case study, how
did you use the notesdid you find you had good material and just needed to write topic
sentences and work in with other research and theoretical frame? In reflecting and
conveying your insights to your incoming class, please let them know what you learned
about the pre-writing process. Please also let them know what you learned about the need
for observational notes for psychology.

If you did not really work on your journal notes, please write here why not and
explain in specific detail how the notes could have helped you write and develop the
case study or made it stronger/easier to write, so that a new student coming in will
realize the importance of this.

Use specific examples from your essays as evidence and explain them. Please
demonstrate an understanding of thesis, PIE body paragraphs (POINT = Topic sentence,
ILLUSTRATION = evidence from your own workexamples you describe or quote
EXPLANATION = your explanation of your illustration and how it relates to your
POINT and why that is significant.

Paragraph 1: Introductory paragraph: What did you understand research to be prior

to this class? If you did not have any idea, thats okjust explain that. Then explain how
you used research notes (or could have more in Essay #1how did your
notes/observations change (if they did) by essay #3the case study? This will be your
thesis that you will demonstrate in the remaining paragraphs).
Paragraph 2how did you use your notes in Essay 1or if you didnt write any, how
could you have used them had you done so?

Paragraph 3 or perhaps 4How did you use your notes for your case study or if you
did not do your notes, how would they have helped? Remember: we asked you to submit
your notes based on the notes handout: assumptions prior to going to the event and after,
as well as taking down the books story, so you would remember details.

Paragraph 4How are notes important for thinking like a psychologist and for the basis
of doing experimental studies?

Paragraph 5--How important are notes for success in college classes?

Paragraph 6--concluding paragraphconclude with your own reflections of what it

means to think like a psychologist. Consider that different disciplines (history, sociology,
economics, law, for example) ask you to think in that discipline, so historian think
historically (ask historical questions), whereas sociologists will ask other kinds of
questions and do other research based on the same evidence. Go back to your original
definition of psychologywhat do you now understand that you wish incoming students
would take to heart?

We wish you success on your final exams and all the best for your next semester.

Sincerely,

Dr. Reineke and Dr. Ramos