Are video games harmful to children?

Argument Template

Delete all blue colored instructions from the template

before submitting your paper for grading.

The Cover Page shown here is on a separate page from the body of your paper.

Week 6 Assignment
Learner’s Full Name
PSYC3002
Capella University
Month, Year

Introduction

The introduction of this paper includes three elements:

A brief statement regarding the ongoing debate about whether video games are harmful or helpful to children and adolescents. This can be one or two sentences to give the reader some background on this issue.
A clear thesis statement telling the reader your position in this debate (videos are harmful or videos are helpful). Because there is research support for both sides of this video game debate, your thesis statement must be concise, very clear, specific, and persuasive. Guidance for creating a clear thesis statement is found in this article by Baggett (2017)..
A very brief introduction (overview) of the basic arguments that support your thesis statement. Be sure to include at least one in-text citation to a journal article that supports your thesis statement. Including citations raises the professional credibility of your statements above the level of personal opinion. End your introduction by leading the reader into the next section of your paper, your arguments.

Arguments

In this section present your arguments in greater detail to support your thesis statement. Each paragraph should be a brief statement about what the research shows to support your thesis statement. Apply relevant psychological principles (e.g., violence, prosocial behavior, empathy, bonding, competition, aggression) in your arguments. It is essential that you include in-text citations to the journal articles that support your arguments. Depending on your wording, this section may contain one to three paragraphs.

Counterarguments

In this section present counterarguments to your thesis statement. Counterarguments show the reader you are aware of the opposing viewpoints and that you can cite sources, using in-text citations, with brief descriptions of the counterarguments while applying relevant psychological principles (violence, prosocial behavior, empathy, etc.) of those counterarguments. Depending on your wording, this section may contain one to three paragraphs.

Conclusion

In this section you state your conclusion. Your conclusion should support your thesis statement and provide a very brief summary of the arguments and counterarguments presented in your paper. The conclusion is similar to “closing arguments” in a court trial where the attorneys present their perspective of the results of the trial and why the jury should vote to support their position or client. You are providing a conclusion based on the evidence you have presented in your arguments and counterarguments.

References

The reference page is provided on a separate page of your paper. A reference in APA style for each cited source of information must be included in the reference page. You may also copy and paste references found in the course room if you cite those sources because they are presented in APA style. References are listed alphabetically by the first author’s last name.