Are Repressed Memories Real?

This assignment is a 2500-word Argumentative Essay that is worth 40% of your final grade. Based on your Assignment 1 feedback (Group Debate), you will further gather and examine evidence to put together an essay to address your chosen topic.

How to complete your assessment

Step 1: Choose a topic The topics for the argumentative essay are the same as the topics for the Group Debates. You must select ONLY one of these topics for your essay. While we recommend that you stick to the same topic as your Group Debate to streamline your preparation, you are welcome to select any of the ten topics. You may find the list of topics on Moodle HERE.

Step 2: Conduct your research In your essay you must provide evidence to support your points, from a multitude of sources.  • You must include a minimum of 7 references o Important note: You will require greater than 7 references from a diverse range of sources to demonstrate a deep understanding of the topic. • Journal articles and scientific reports are generally considered stronger sources of evidence. Keep in mind that the quality of your evidence is a key element of the marking criteria, so it is strongly recommended that you stick to journal articles and scientific reports.  o Important note: Sources that you use as key evidence (at least 7) to support your arguments should be published within the last 10 years (2013-2023), to align with current/up-to-date findings and understandings. Older sources (before 2013) may be used if you feel that they include seminal information, or provide supplementary support for evidence/points made. • Ways to find suitable academic sources been previously demonstrated in the tutorials. Please use the knowledge and skills you have developed in tutorials to assist you here. You can also use the following links to search for sources: o Monash Library o Google Scholar o Subject-specific databases (select ‘Psychology’) o Science Direct

Step 3: Develop your contention After conducting some preliminary research, you should start to develop some informed thoughts and ideas on your chosen topic. These thoughts will help you develop your contention – which is a single sentence (worded as a statement), that takes a position and answers the essay topic. You will work on developing your contention in your tutorials. 

Step 4: Develop your key arguments Based on a collation of evidence from the sources you have found, it is important that you develop some key arguments – as these will be the focus of your body paragraphs. Key arguments are main points (worded as statements – topic sentences of body paragraphs) which support the contention. You will work on developing your key arguments in your tutorials.

Step 5: Write your essay   Your essay should include an introduction, approximately 4 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. • The introduction should clearly introduce the topic (including key definitions and concepts), discuss the rationale for the essay (the purpose and possible translational impact of findings from the essay), signpost the contention, and outline the key arguments that will be explored in each paragraph. Your introduction should follow a logical sequence. 3  • Your body paragraphs should be approximately 4 key arguments that you explore the current evidence towards. The key arguments should be clear themes or ideas that are clearly different from one another yet support the overall contention. All body paragraphs should follow the TEECL structure: o Topic sentence – the first sentence in a body paragraph that clear states a key argument. It tells the reader what the main idea or claim of the paragraph will be. o Explanation – Explain what you mean in greater detail. o Evidence – Provide evidence to support your idea or claim. To do this, refer to your research (i.e., the findings from the studies discussed in the journal articles you have found). Remember that all evidence will require appropriate citation. o Comment – Consider the strengths and limitations of the evidence and examples that you have presented. Explain how your evidence supports your key argument (i.e. how does it ‘prove’ your topic sentence?). o Link – Summarise the main idea of the paragraph, and make clear how this paragraph supports your overall contention. • Your conclusion should recap the importance of the essay topic, clearly state your essay findings (summarise key arguments, including limitations), and conclude the validity of your position on the topic given the current evidence. You will also need to discuss the potential implications of your findings toward support for the theory and real world/translational/societal impact. Your conclusion should follow a logical sequence.