AP Psychology Final Research Paper & Presentation

Research the symptoms, etiology, prognosis, treatment, and recent research on a chosen DSM-5-TR mental disorder using at least six sources, including two peer-reviewed journal articles.

Write a roughly 1,000-word expository paper in APA format with in-text citations and a works-cited page.

Build and deliver a four-to-five-slide, three-to-four-minute presentation that summarizes research findings without reading directly from the slides.

Evaluate a paper or presentation's quality against explicit rubric criteria ranging from distinguished to minimal.

Schedule a class session with the school librarian to teach students how to search and access peer-reviewed journal databases before independent research begins, as the assignment builds this step in directly.

Share the four-level rubric language (distinguished/proficient/developing/minimal) with students before drafting, since it spells out concretely what separates each quality level for both the paper and the presentation.

Use the bonus-points scoring table as a quick rubric during presentations, checking off paper, presentation, sourcing, and timeliness in real time.

Academic research -- students locate and evaluate at least six sources, including two peer-reviewed journal articles, on a specific psychological disorder.

APA research writing -- students compose a roughly 1,000-word expository paper with in-text citations and a works-cited page.

Oral presentation -- students build a short slide deck and deliver a timed, unscripted presentation, then field audience questions about their research.

Self-assessment against a rubric -- descriptive quality-band language lets students gauge their own paper and presentation before submission.