Assignment: Infants and Toddlers

For this assignment, you will need to research web sites containing information and advice about raising young children. Based on your research, your goal is to compile a list of five "must-read" pages for any new parent. These may include advice on social/emotional, cognitive, and/or physical development. The only restriction on the type of pages you can include is that they can't be just a collection of blatantly obvious statements (e.g., a page whose message is "child abuse is a bad thing.") The web sites you visit do not have to be academic sites—they can be sites aimed at a lay audience, such as KidsHealth. However, they should be reputable sites. I've included some links below to get you started, but you can feel free to use other sources as well.

The pages you include in your list must come from five different sites. Not sure about the difference between a page and a site? You're not alone! So here's the clarification:

A site refers to a collection of pages. A site is the big picture, such as Parents.com, whereas an individual file within that site would be an example of a page. (Basically, a page is anything that you can see on your screen without following a link—once you do that, you have opened up a new page.) So for this assignment, you can't just list five articles from Parenting.com, for example, since they are five separate pages, but all part of the same site. (For the purposes of this assignment, there is only one exception to the rule I just stated, and that's if an article spans more than one page, such as the article at http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/05/opinion/la-oe-fumento5-2010feb05 (link will open in new window). In that case, feel free to use the whole article and count it as one page.)

Once you've compiled your list of pages, you need to do two things:

1. Compose an annotated bibliography of these pages. This means that for each page, you need to provide the following information:

   1. A citation. This includes both the title and the author of the page/article; you also need to include a specific URL. The URL is the web address, such as http://unitproj.library.ucla.edu/col/bruinsuccess/03/01.cfm So if you cite an article within Parenting.com, for example, you need to give me the URL of the article and not just the main Parenting.com address. I should be able to click on the URL in your paper and have it go right to the article. URLs can get really long and complicated, so your best bet is to copy and paste them directly from your browser's address bar. Here is an example of a complete citation (It's a real article—very funny! Go check it out!):

      Shea, S. E., Gordon, K., Hawkins, A., Kawchuk, J., & Smith, D. (2000). Pathology in the Hundred Acre Wood: A neurodevelopmental perspective on A. A. Milne. Retrieved August 18, 2007 from http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/163/12/1557

   2. A 1-2 paragraph summary of what's on the page, and why a parent should have to read it.. If the author provides a number of tips for parents, you may choose to include one or more as an example, but you should not list all of them. The idea here is to summarize only—not to rewrite the entire article. Since it is you writing about someone else's work, your writing style should reflect this (Example: "In this article, the author makes an argument in favor of the all-pizza diet. She cites its advantages, including....."). You are writing your paper for an audience of parents, so consider this as you write—you need to make it clear why they should take the time to go read this page.

2. At the end of your paper, you should also include a 2-4 paragraph conclusion. Out of all the pieces of advice you could include, or pages you could suggest, why did you choose these? Why are they so important that they justify inclusion on a "top five" list of must-reads? Note that you need to justify your choice of topics and your choice of sites.

Grading

There is no set number of pages, but the typical paper will be 4-5 double-spaced pages. You will be graded according to the following criteria:

• Did you meet the basic requirements of the assignment (e.g., including a summary at the end; citing each page correctly, choosing pages from five separate sites)?
• Is your advice consistent with what we’ve learned about child development?
• Did you adequately justify why these particular pages or pieces of advice are the most important?
• Is your writing free of spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors? While this is not English class, it is still a college-level course. As such, I expect that you will write in a manner appropriate for a college paper; writing style accounts for 10% of your grade. I've compiled a list of some of the most frequent errors/sources of confusion on one resource page. If you need further assistance with this, you can get free help at the Writing Center. You can also get online assistance through SmarThinking (linked through the course tab).
• Are the summaries truly written in your own words, rather than plagiarized? Plagiarism—even if it's inadvertent—is a serious offense, which can lead to penalties up to and including failing the course. See the resources in ANGEL on what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.

Rough drafts

I welcome rough drafts (or partial rough drafts) at any time during the writing process. I'll be glad to give you feedback on any or all aspects of the assignment—content, writing style, etc. See the course calendar for the deadline on submitting rough drafts. It takes more planning, because you've got to write your paper earlier, but it's well worth it in the end!

Links to get you started (links will open in new windows)

• Tufts University Child & Family WebGuide
• KidsHealth
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• Parenting.com