The COVID Pandemic and Its Effects on Mental Illness

Assignment for this week – Topic / Freewrite / List of Sources due on November 18, 2020:

1. Step One: Choose one of the topics listed below.

(The topic I would like to discuss is: “The COVID Pandemic and Its Effects on Mental Illness.”

2. Step Two: Do a Freewrite on your topic.

a. A freewrite is a pre-writing exercise in which you write down all your thoughts, including reflections, opinions, and any associations you have on the topic, without worrying about organization, spelling, grammar, or punctuation.
b. The purpose of a freewrite is to get all your ideas on a topic out before you start researching it so that you can choose the thoughts that will guide your research. When you do the freewrite, try not to worry about anything – just let all your thoughts flow out.
c. You don’t have to do a freewrite all in one sitting (although that is sometimes best). You can write as much as you can think of, and then return to it the next day; your mind will usually generate new thoughts on the second attempt that you did not have when you first started the freewrite.
d. FORMAT: please type your freewrite using Times New Roman 12-point font. Include a heading at the top of the first page with your name, the class name, and the date. Center a title at the top of the page after the heading. Your title should read: “Freewrite on _________” (you will fill in the blank with the topic you have chosen. Double-space the body of your freewrite, and indent your paragraphs.
i. I said before that you don’t need to worry about organization, but you will find that when you’ve concluded one thought, you naturally break to a new paragraph. This is simply a way to let your reader know that your thoughts on one point have come to an end and a new thought is beginning. You don’t have to organize the freewrite any more than that, though.
e. LENGTH: the goal of the freewrite is to get all your thoughts on your topic out, so your length will depend on how much you already know about your topic and how many opinions or thoughts you have on it. The minimum required length for the freewrite is 2 full pages; there is no maximum limit – write as much as you can.

3. Step Three: Choose your 6 sources and provide an MLA-style citation for each one at the bottom of your Freewrite assignment.
a. I will send you a lecture to assist you with evaluating and choosing your sources. The lecture will also contain information on MLA citations. Finally, I will provide an example of how this assignment (Topic, Freewrite, and List of 6 Sources) should look and what the content should be like.
4. DUE DATE: This first piece of the Annotated Bibliography project is due by November 18; please send it as a Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format document through Blackboard Course Messages.

You need to choose 8 sources. The types of sources required for this project are as follows:

1 Dictionary definition

1 Reference source entry

2 E-books

2 Journal articles

*** The last two sources you choose may be any type of source material, as long as the source is credible, of good quality, and relevant to your topic.