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Body and Mind Writing Project

After learning a lot about the how the body and mind work together to control our actions,
thoughts, and desires I want you all to focus on something that seems very interesting to you.
You will be asked to write a research paper about a specific topic related to our many broad
topics discussed throughout the unit. Please follow below for the research paper details.
Research:
You will be asked to find 5 quality sources to support in the writing of your paper.
Each source will be outlined in an annotated bibliography prior to starting your paper
- Citations will be done MLA style
- Purdue OWL Online Writing Lab
Annotated Bibliography Due: Sunday September 20th @ noon on Schoology
- Do not begin writing your essay until you get a good to go comment on your
submission
Rough Draft:
You will be asked to get your writing edited and critiqued by a parent or teacher prior to your
final submission. You will have them fill out an editing form when they proofread your writing.
Rough Draft Due: Wednesday September 23rd in class with form
Final Research Paper:
Your final research paper will be between 1200 and 1600 words, written in MLA format, and
have research citations at the end of paper. Also please add your word count below the your
citations; this can be found under your tools section on the menu bar.
Final Research Paper Due: Friday September 25th 11:59 pm on Schoology
Possible topics:
You will be asked to select either a subtopic prompt already designed for you or create your own
prompt that must be approved prior to beginning your research. The subtopics are all specific
subjects that fall inside the one of the 6 bigger topics discussed in class: Central Nervous
System, Parts of the Brain, Endocrine System, Sleep, Altered States, and Sensation and
Perception.
Central Nervous System
- What is Alzheimers and can it be cured?
- What is Epilepsy and how does it impact a persons life?
- What are the challenges one might face with a serious injury to their spinal cord?
Parts of the Brain
- What are the parts of the brain and how would a person be impacted with injuries
to the various parts?

Body and Mind Writing Project


- How do concussions impact the brain and what are the short and long term
issues related to repetitive brain trauma?
- Explain the relationship between the two sides of your brain and how they work
together to help you develop skills and personality.
Endocrine System
- What are some of the genetic diseases/conditions that can transferred from
parents to children at birth and how do those diseases/conditions impact a persons
body and mind?
- Is a persons personality more dictated by heredity or environment?
Sleep
- Explain various sleep disorders and their impact on a persons body.
- What do dreams tell us about ourselves?
- How does the amount of sleep someone gets per night impact their physical and
mental functioning?
Altered State
- How does hypnosis work and what would be the pros and cons of hypnotherapy?
- How do various illegal drugs interact with a persons brain to change their state of
consciousness?
Sensation and Perception
- What is homunculus? Where did it come from? Why does it look the way it does?
- How do optical illusions work?
- How does perception interact with your brain to create reality?
Other Topic:
___________________________________________________________________
- Get teacher approval
Timeline:
Wednesday - Select topic
Thursday - Research and work on Annotated Bibliography (Due Sunday @ noon)
Monday - Rough Draft
Tuesday - Rough Draft
Wednesday - Start Final Draft (Rough Draft and Editing Form Due)
Thursday - Start Learning and Cognitive Development Unit (Paper due Friday @ 11:59)
** See website and Schoology for format help and examples**

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