This document outlines the requirements and rubric for evaluating written assignments, including application assignments and a final project, in a course on forensic psychology research. It provides details on four quality indicators - responsiveness, content, quality of writing, and research/scholarship style (for the final project only). Application assignments are scored out of 12 points across the first three indicators, while the final project is scored out of 20 points across all four indicators. Guidelines are provided on selecting topics, required sources, length, and formatting for the final project literature review.

1. Application Assignment and Final Project Writing Rubric
This rubric will be used to evaluate submitted written work in
this course (Application Assignments). There are four primary
quality indicators. All written assignments will be scored on the
first three indicators (Responsiveness, Content, and Quality).
The final indicator (Research, Scholarship, and Professional
Style) applies to the Final Project only.
Scoring Instructions
· All Application Assignments, except for the Final Project,
may earn a maximum of 12 points. They will be scored on the
first three quality indicators (Responsiveness, Content, and
Quality); the total possible score will be 12 points (4 points for
each indicator).
· The Final Project may earn a maximum of 20 points. It will be
scored on all three quality indicators. The score on the final
indicator (Research, Scholarship, and Professional Style) will
be weighted more heavily, and worth double. That is, the
maximum score for a Final Project would be 12 points for the
first three indicators plus 8 points for the final indicator to yield
the maximum score of 20 points.
4 (Exemplary)

2. 3 (Meets the Standard)
2 (Progressing)
1 (Emerging)
I. RESPONSIVENESS TO A PAPER OR WRITING
ASSIGNMENT (AS ASSIGNED OR AS SELECTED BY THE
STUDENT IF INSTRUCTIONS ALLOW)
(Did the student respond adequately to the paper or writing
assignment?)
4 Paper or writing assignment is responsive to and exceeds the
requirements given in the instructions. It:
· Responds to the assigned or selected topic;
· Goes beyond what is required in some meaningful way (e.g.,
ideas contribute a new dimension to what we know about the
topic, unearths something unanticipated, etc.);
· Is substantive and evidence based;
· Demonstrates that the student has read, viewed, and
considered the Learning Resources in the course and that the
paper topic connects in a meaningful way to the course content;
· Is submitted by the due date.
3 Paper or writing assignment is responsiveto and meets the
requirements given in the instructions. It:

3. · Responds to the assigned or selected topic;
· Is substantive and evidence based;
· Demonstrates that the student has read, viewed, and
considered the Learning Resources in the course and that the
paper topic connects in a meaningful way to the course content;
· Is submitted by the due date.
2 Paper or writing assignment is somewhat responsive to the
requirements given in the instructions. Content:
· Somewhat misses the point of the assigned or selected topic;
and/or
· Lacks in substance, relying more on anecdotal than scholarly
evidence; and/or
· Contains little evidence that the student has read, viewed, and
considered the Learning Resources in the course and that the
paper topic connects in a meaningful way to the course content;
and/or
· Is submitted by the due date.
1 Paper or writing assignment is unresponsive to the
requirements given in the instructions. Content:
· Misses the point of the assigned or selected topic; and/or
· Relies primarily on anecdotal evidence; and/or
· Contains little evidence that the student has read, viewed, and
considered the Learning Resources in the course and that the

4. paper topic connects in a meaningful way to the course content;
and/or
· Is submitted past the late deadline.
II. CONTENT KNOWLEDGE
(Does the content in the paper or writing assignment
demonstrate an understanding of the important knowledge the
paper/assignment is intended to demonstrate?)
4 Paper or writing assignment demonstrates/provides:
· In-depth understandingand application of concepts and issues
presented in the course (e.g., insightful interpretations or
analyses; accurate and perceptive parallels, ideas, opinions, and
conclusions) showing that the student has absorbed the general
principles and ideas presented and makes inferences about the
concepts/issues or connects them to other ideas;
· Rich and relevant examples;
· Thought-provoking ideas and interpretations, original
thinking, new perspectives;
· Original and critical thinking; and
· Mastery and thoughtful/accurate application of knowledge and
skills or strategies presented in the course.
3
Paper or writing assignment demonstrates/provides:
· Understanding and application of the concepts and issues
presented in the course demonstrating that the student has
absorbed the general principles and ideas presented;
· Relevant examples;

5. · Thought-provoking ideas and interpretations, some original
thinking; and
· Critical thinking; and
· Mastery and application of knowledge and skills or strategies
presented in the course.
2 Paper or writing assignment demonstrates/provides:
· Minimal understanding of concepts and issues presented in the
course, and, while generally accurate, displays some omissions
and/or errors; and/or
· Few and/or irrelevant examples; and/or
· Few if any thought-provoking ideas, little original thinking;
and/or
· “Regurgitated” knowledge rather than critical thinking;
· Little mastery of skills and/or numerous errors when using the
knowledge, skills, or strategies presented in the course.
1 Paper or writing assignment demonstrates/provides:
· A lack of understanding of the concepts and issues presented
in the course and/or application is inaccurate and contains many
omissions and/or errors; and/or
· No examples or irrelevant examples; and/or
· No thought-provoking ideas or original thinking; and/or
· No critical thinking; and/or
· Many critical errors when applying knowledge, skills, or
strategies presented in the course.
III. QUALITY OF WRITING

6. 4
Writing is scholarly and exceeds graduate-level writing
expectations. The paper:
· Uses language that is clear, concise, and appropriate;
· Has few if any errors in spelling, grammar, and syntax;
· Is extremely well organized, logical, clear, and never confuses
the reader;
· Uses a preponderance of original language and uses direct
quotes only when necessary and/or appropriate;
· Provides information about a source when citing or
paraphrasing it.
3
Writing is scholarly and meetsgraduate-level writing
expectations. The paper:
· Uses language that is clear;
· Has a few errors in spelling, grammar, and syntax;
· Is well organized, logical, and clear;
· Uses original language and uses direct quotes when necessary
and/or appropriate;
· Provides information about a source when citing or
paraphrasing it.
2 Writing is somewhat below graduate-level writing
expectations. The paper:

7. · Uses language that is unclear and/or inappropriate; and/or
· Has more than occasional errors in spelling, grammar, and
syntax; and/or
· Is poorly organized, is at times unclear and confusing, and has
some problems with logical flow; and/or
· Reflects an underuse of original language and an overuse of
direct quotes and paraphrases; and/or
· Sometimes lacks information about a source when citing or
paraphrasing it.
1 Writing is wellbelow graduate-level writing expectations. The
paper:
· Uses unclear and inappropriate language; and/or
· Has many errors in spelling, grammar, and syntax; and/or
· Lacks organization in a way that creates confusion for the
reader; and/or
· Contains many direct quotes from original source materials
and/or consistently and poorly paraphrases rather than using
original language; and/or
· Lacks information about a source when citing or paraphrasing
it.
For Research Papers Only, Include the Following Trait
I. RESEARCH, SCHOLARSHIP, AND PROFESSIONAL
STYLE
4

8. The paper represents exceptional research, scholarship, and
professional style. Paper content:
· Significantly contributes to the knowledge in the field;
· Is well supported by current and pertinent research/evidence
(within the previous five years, except for seminal, original
research where appropriate) from a variety of primarily primary,
peer-reviewed sources (rather than textbooks and Web sites);
and
· Consistently uses correct APA form and style (including
citations, references, use of nonbiased language, clear
organization, good editorial style, etc.) with very few or no
errors.
3
The paper meets graduate-level expectations for research,
scholarship, and professional style. Paper content:
· Contributes to knowledge in the field;
· Is supported by current and pertinent research/evidence
(within the previous five years, except for seminal, original
research where appropriate) from a variety of peer-reviewed
books and journals (rather than textbooks and Web sites);
· Uses correct APA form and style (including citations,
references, use of nonbiased language, clear organization, good
editorial style, etc.) with only a few errors.
2
The paper is somewhat below graduate-level expectations for
research, scholarship, and professional style. Paper content:
· Does little to contribute to knowledge in the field;
· Is often supported by older than five-year-old research,
secondary sources (textbooks and websites), and sources that

9. lack in variety; and/or
· Uses APA form and style (including citations, references, use
of nonbiased language, clear organization, good editorial style,
etc.), but has frequent errors.
1
The paper is substantially below graduate-level expectations for
research, scholarship, and professional style. Paper content:
· Does not contribute to knowledge in the field;
· For the most part, is unsupported by current (within the past
five years), primary, and pertinent research/evidence from a
variety of peer-reviewed books and journals; and/or
· Does not use or contains pervasive errors in APA style
(including citations, references, use of nonbiased language,
clear organization, good editorial style, etc.).
Page 1 of 5
FINAL PROJECT GUIDELINES
FPSY 6115: Understanding Forensic Psychology Research
The purpose of the Final Project is to demonstrate your ability
to conduct an abbreviated literature review on a forensic
psychology topic of your choosing and report your findings
from the literature review.
Your Final Project should include 12–15 research articles on
your chosen topic and should be empirically based. The articles
also should represent contemporary findings on your topic and
come from peer-reviewed journals. Your Final Project should
end with a summary of the major findings from your literature
review and your recommendation of possible future directions
that research on your chosen topic may cover.

10. A superior Final Project demonstrates breadth and depth of
knowledge, and critical thinking appropriate for graduate-level
scholarship. The paper must follow APA Publication Manual
guidelines and be free of typographical, spelling, and
grammatical errors. The paper should be 10–12 pages, not
counting the title page, abstract, or references. Please note that
quantity does not always correspond to quality, and a well-
written Final Project that includes all of the necessary
information can be accomplished in fewer than the maximum
number of pages. The Final Project for this course will be
evaluated according to all four indicators in the Application
Assignment and Final Project Writing Rubric located in the
Course Information area.
References
Please note that you must use primary sources. Peer-reviewed
journal articles should make up the bulk of your references
(80% or more). In other words, you may use non-peer reviewed
and non-empirically based material in addition to your 12–15
peer-reviewed, empirically based journal articles. If referring to
a book as one of your non-peer reviewed, non-empirically-based
sources, be sure to include all information in APA style,
including specific page numbers. Note that an article referred to
in a book is a secondary source and does not count as one of
your peer-reviewed, empirically-based articles. You must go
directly to the original source for your 12–15 peer-reviewed,
empirically based articles. Additional information about
secondary sources is available in the APA Publication Manual
and in the Walden Writing Center at
http://inside.waldenu.edu/c/student_faculty/studentfaculty_562.
htm).
Also see "Policies on Academic Honesty" in the Syllabus-II,
Walden University Policies and Information.

11. Although the Final Project is not due until Day 7 of Week 11,
you should become familiar with the paper requirements and
have them in mind as you proceed through the course.