Drugs Addiction Portrayal in Movies

Term Paper Grading Rubric:
_____/5 The paper meets the length requirements (at least 5 pages not counting reference page or title page; no more than 8 pages; 12-point font double-spaced).
_____/10 Overall writing quality, such as paper has been proofed for errors (e.g., run-ons, grammar, spelling, etc.) and is written in a way that flows well.
_____/10 Your topic is summarized, including reasons for why it is interesting/important. I want you to explain the media portrayal enough so that it can be understood, but NOT using a lengthy narrative/play-by-play. The majority of your paper should involve the sources and critique described below.
_____/15 You adequately review the findings from each academic source that you cite. This includes discussing type of study the authors completed and their primary conclusions.
_____/15 Information from these sources is used to provide YOUR judgment on how accurate or responsibly the media source you chose is at presenting the topic.
_____/10 A minimum of 3 sources from academic journals (i.e., no magazines, newspapers, or secondary sources) cited in the text and in the reference section. More sources are fine as long as this minimum is met.
_____/5 All references (in text and in reference section) are in APA style. Reference section is included on a separate page at the end of the paper.
_____/70 OVERALL TOTAL / 5 = _____ (Your total out of 14% of course grade)
The purpose of the term paper is to use material that you are learning from the course to evaluate a popular media source’s portrayal of an issue pertaining to addiction. In addition to course material, you will be expected to cite at least three scholarly articles (from academic journals) as a part of your evaluation. The theme is to integrate your knowledge from the course and research articles in order to evaluate something occurring outside of the course.
Choose a topic that is related to addiction, then, start by selecting one example in the popular media that deals with that topic. This could include a news article/blog, movie, television show, book, etc (I am pretty open about what you use – as long as you find it interesting!). You will then find three scholarly articles in the professional literature related to this topic. NOTE: Scholarly articles must be peer-reviewed and found in a library database such as Psychinfo. Write a paper that demonstrates an understanding of the topic by drawing on the material from the three articles. Discuss how the concepts, theories, findings from your articles relate to the topic. Aside from reviewing your articles, the most significant portion of the paper should be a critique of the popular media source in terms of how accurately (or inaccurately) it presents the issue.
The best papers will: 1) briefly summarize the popular media source and describe the topic that is the focus of the paper, 2) introduce the relevant ideas and results in the 3 journal articles in a thoughtful, integrative manner, 3) use the information to make an informed and detailed critique of the media source, and 4) provide some concluding thoughts based on the previous sections (e.g., could they have improved? Are there directions for future research?). The paper should be APA style and should include a reference list. I will mark down papers that are not edited for complete sentences and proper grammar (Please use the Writing Center!). The total length of the papers should not exceed 8 pages of text. A minimum of 5 pages is expected (not including the reference list or title page).