My  guidelines  are  only  (1)  length  (4-5 pages    single-spaced; (2) sources  (at  least  2  other  than  the  textbook,  and  they can be reputable web sites as well as books and journal articles); (3) style (the more coherent and tied together the  narrative  is,  the  better  the  grade,  so  topics  should not to be so overly broad that coherence is difficult to achieve);  (4)  your  own  opinions  are  encouraged,  and particularly   important   when   there   is   controversy between   two   or   more   viewpoints.    There   are   no guidelines  for  topic  other  than  that,  and  so  much relates  to  motivation  and  behavior,  so  please  just  say what interests you and I’ll take it from there.

For references, I am most familiar with APA style, but if there is another format that you’re comfortable with (e.g., MLA)  that’s  OK  too.    However,  no  matter  which  style you  use,  the  references  at  the  end  should  either  be  in alphabetical order by last name of first author or listed by number   in   order   of   first   appearance.      Even   more important,  the  citations  in  the  text  need  to  be  complete and match the references listed at the end.  For example, if in the text you are taking some material from the article by Kraut (1982) on facial feedback and emotion, it is notenough  to  list  the  Kraut  article  at  the  end:  you  also  must cite  it  in  parentheses  or  brackets  at  the  place  in  the  text where  you  are  using  that  material.    That  way  the  reader knows  as  exactly  as  possible  the  sources  of  your  stated ideas, and can check them on his or her own.  Related to that: if you cite one article in the text but found that article within   another   article   that   you   actually   read,   it   is important  that  you  say  so  in  the  references  at  the  end, again so the reader interested in pursuing the topic further can  find  what  you  found.    There  are  many  ways  to  do that:  one  way  would  be  to  say  “Kraut  (1982)  …    Cited  in Ekman (1986) …”I  am  not  expecting  the  paper  to  be  a  research  article presenting  original  findings,  though  I  will  accept  it  with pleasure if it is!  So you don’t need the APA trappings of Abstract, Introduction, Methods, etc., though sub-sections usually make it go smoother.In addition to guidelines for what is legal for a termpaper, there are also some guidelines for effective writing:Do  not  choose  a  topic  that’s  overly  large  (e.g., motivation  for  success  in  education  is  probably too big, but motivation for success in high school algebra is not).Try  to  avoid  long  run-on  paragraphs.    Generally a  paragraph  that’s  longer  than  a  page  single-spaced or two pages double-spaced is likely to be too long.  Break up the paragraph when the ideas become    different,    even    if    related    (that’s something that’s a matter of feel.)Some usage issues:Differentiate   between   “affect”   and   “effect.”  Illness   “has   an   effect”   on   motivation   but “affects”  motivation.    If  “affect”  is  used  as  a noun it means the expressive part of emotion.Differentiate between “principal” and “principle.”    The  adjective,  meaning  main  or most  significant,  is  “principal.”    “Principle”  is  a noun  and  means  a  rule  that  governs  conduct  or behavior.    If  “principal”  is  used  as  a  noun  it means the chief officer of a grade school or high school.Don’t   avoid   apostrophes   when   you’re   using possessives.    The  ball  that  belongs  to  Mary  is “Mary’s   ball,”   and   the   class   that   Dr.   Ickes teaches  is  “Dr.  Ickes’  class.”    One  exception  (I don’t know why this is) is that the possessive of “it” is not “it’s” but “its.”  (“it’s” means “it is.”)