Final Paper
A paper will be required for this class, which should be due approximately three weeks before
the end of the semester (check Syllabus bellow for date). You are expected to turn the PAPER in
by the due date depositing it in the appropriate section in the ASSIGNMENT FOLDER on the

course website. Papers WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED after that deadline. Please label your
document with your last name and the name of the assignment like this,
FERNANDEZ_paper.doc. Format for papers must be in Microsoft word format. That
means ONLY.doc files or docx files. Please do not submit papers using .wps (wordperfect),
wordpad, .pdf or ANY OTHER FILE FORMATS. If you do and I can’t open your file you
get a “0” for this assignment.

The paper should be an “argumentative” paper, that is, you should expand on a topic, point, or
thesis, and convey your best supportive arguments for it. An “argumentative” paper does not
mean you are going to “argue”, and this should be self-explanatory, but some students ask me
this question regularly. An argumentative paper is a paper in which you advance a thesis framed
in form of a question; that distinguishes it from a purely “descriptive paper”. In other words, let’s
say you are interested on Erickson’s stages of development. Rather than writing a paper
describing the stages of development, I rather you ask for example “Were Erickson’s own
struggles with identity part of his motivation for his theory”? Now we have a good paper on the
making. You should also note the facts or factors that counter your argument. Finally, you
should write a summary or conclusion that takes into account the arguments pro and con.

As with any other good paper, you should have an introduction, a main body of the paper
(separated in sections as needed) and a conclusion. Since I want you to use APA style, your
paper should also have a short Abstract and a Bibliography (5-7 citations), and should be
free of misspellings errors. The length of the paper should be at least 2500 words.
Here is a limited List of approved topics. You are not bound to follow this list and may choose to
write on another topic, which is fine. However, your chosen topic needs to relate to the
description, goals and subject matter for this course.

List:
• Theories of Child Psychopathology
• Childhood Phobias
• Child Abuse, neglect.
• Loss and anxiety during childhood.
• Developmental problems and concerns.
• Parenting and relationship to Psychopathology.
• Best Practices
• Social policies to protect children.
• Pedophilia
• Use of medications with children.
• Suicide.
• Early childhood trauma and Psychopathology.
• Aggression during childhood. • Family dynamics and psychopathology.
• Diagnostic issues.
• Ethnicity and culture in diagnosis and treatment.
• Substance Abuse
• Sexuality