Write a psychology essay on violent videogames in the following six sections:

Introduction (Use a funnel/top down format)
•	A brief general intro to the topic area and discuss the argument in the field 
•	Definitions of any important concepts & key words 
•	Provide a thesis statement! 
•	Briefly outline your essay

Theory Description
•	Defining a theory: 
•	“A theory is a framework for understanding some aspect of the natural world. A theory often has a name— usually this includes the word theory, but may sometimes use another label (e.g., model, hypothesis). A theory can be specific or broad, but it should be able to make predictions or generally guide the interpretation of phenomena...” (McPhetres et al., 2020). 
•	Theories explain the ‘how’ and ‘why’ 
•	Go beyond whether Violent Video Games may influence Aggression to consider how and/or why they may influence aggression
•	Select one established psychological theory that can be applied to the evidence supporting your argument/thesis statement 
•	Provide an overview of the theory 
•	Link the theory to violent video games and aggression 
•	Explain how this theory supports your argument 
•	Select one established psychological theory that can be applied to the evidence against your argument/thesis statement 
•	Provide an overview of the theory 
•	Link the theory to violent video games and aggression 
•	Explain how this theory opposes your argument

Body: Main articles 
•	Describe empirical evidence (2 empirical studies) 
•	1 study that is supporting your argument (i.e., violent video games does lead to aggressive behaviour). 
•	1 study that is against your argument (i.e., violent video games do not lead to aggressive behaviour). 
•	Description of participants, methods and findings (for each study) 
•	Clearly explain how the evidence from each study supports or does not support your thesis statement 
•	Clearly explain how the evidence from each study could be explained by theory 
•	Critique each study - Discuss strengths and limitations in relation to the methods and/or findings 
•	Strengths and limitations MUST have justifications and be relevant to your argument 
•	Rules for the 2 empirical studies:
1.	Do not use starter references 
2.	Do not use a meta-analysis or systematic literature review 
3.	At least one main article must be on children or adolescents (under 18 years of age) NOT undergraduate students.

Body: Further research and argument development
•	Detailed discussion of the debate in the field. 
•	Use additional references - in addition to your 2 main articles - to build your story (max 12 references) 
•	Describe supporting evidence for both sides of the argument 
•	Relate supporting evidence back to main articles and thesis statement/your argument 
•	How can you use the supporting evidence from both sides to strengthen your argument?

Body: Overall integration and insight
•	Demonstrate insight into the topic – highlight key issues from wider literature/real world 
•	How does this topic relate to theories of development? Are there alternative explanations for data? Do these data help us understand issues in other areas of psychology? 
•	Should be demonstrating insight throughout the body of your essay (do not treat this criteria as its own paragraph)

Conclusion:
•	Briefly provide a summary of the evidence you discussed and clearly restate your argument 
•	Do not include any new evidence 
•	Based on the critical analysis throughout your essay, provide future research directions for this research area




Additional Notes: 
•	Word limit = 2000 words +/- 10% 
•	12 point legible font 
•	Double-spaced 
•	2.5cm margins all around 
•	APA 7th referencing AND formatting 
•	Use past tense and formal language 
•	First or third person 
•	No direct quotes 
•	Clarity, organisation and logical flow to your essay 
•	Proof read and edit your work 
•	Watch your sentence construction
•	Write at the level of a second year university student studying psychology.
•	Ensure that the essay is between 1800 and 2200 words. 
•	Use APA 7 for the 12 references.


Sectional Criteria Marking: 
Introduction:
•	Violent video games introduced (1) 
•	Argument clearly stated (1) 
•	Essay structure outlined (1) 
Body (Theory description): 
•	Clear explanation of the underlying theory from both sides of the debate (4) Body: Summary of 2 empirical studies 
•	Detailed summary of two empirical articles (including the rationale, methods, and results) (2) 
•	Clear explanation as to how the studies support or challenge the argument (3) 
•	Discussions of strengths and limitations of each study (2) 
Body - Further research evidence and development of argument:
•	Clear formulation of argument (3) 
•	Coherent integration of supporting evidence (3)
Body - Overall integration and insight:
•	Focus on key points (1) 
•	Evidence of insight into topic (2) 
•	Evidence of critical analysis (3) 
Conclusion:
•	Brief review of argument and summation of evidence (1) 
•	Concluding comments/future directions (1) 
Presentation 
•	Clarity and fluency of expression (1) 
•	APA formatting (1) 
Other 
•	Exceeding word limit (reading of essays will stop at 2200 words) 
•	Ensure that essay is above 1800 words but less than 2200 words
•	Limit to 12 references (-1 pt for each reference over)