Motivation and emotion/Assessment/Topic

Topic development — Guidelines

Develop a chapter plan and user page

Book / 2026

Overview

Weight: 10%
Due Week 3: 9:00 a.m. Fri 28 Aug 2026
Tasks
- Create a Wikiversity user account.
- Select or negotiate an approved topic in the 2026 table of contents.
- Build wiki editing skills.
- Develop a plan for the book chapter on Wikiversity which consists of:
  - Title and sub-title
  - Headings (and possibly sub-headings)
  - Key points for each section (and sub-section)
  - Figure (at least 1)
  - Learning feature (plan at least 1)
  - References (6+ relevant, high quality sources)
  - Resources (2+ see also and 2+ external links)
- Create a Wikiversity user page:
  - Introduce yourself
  - Summarise at least three different types of social contributions on your Wikiversity user page
Follow the detailed instructions and address the marking criteria.
Guidance for this assignment is provided in Module 1:

Purpose

The primary purpose of the topic development is to share your ideas and plans to date, enabling feedback that can help refine and strengthen the book chapter. The secondary purpose is to encourage development of collaborative wiki editing skills.

Marking and feedback

Submissions will be marked according to the marking criteria and marking rubric.
Marks will be provided via UCLearn by Census Date (end of Week 4).
Written feedback to help guide book chapter drafting will be provided via the topic's Wikiversity discussion page.
Follow up with the unit convener if you have any questions.

Extensions and late submissions

Apply for extension using the unit's online Extension Application Form (see UCLearn) with appropriate documentary evidence.
Submissions will be accepted up to 3 days late (-10% per day late).
If you don't submit this assessment, withdrawal from the unit by Census Date (end of Week 4) is recommended.

Learning outcomes

How the unit's learning outcomes are addressed by this assessment exercise:

Learning outcome	Assessment task
Integrate theories and current research towards explaining the role of motivation and emotions in human behaviour.	Identify the main psychological theories and peer-reviewed research which can be used to explain a specific motivation or emotion topic.
Critically apply knowledge of motivation or emotion to an indepth understanding of a specific topic in this field.	Propose how psychological knowledge can be applied to a specific topic to improve motivational and emotional lives.

Graduate attributes

How the unit's graduate attributes are addressed by this assessment exercise:

Category	Graduate attribute	Assessment task
Be professional	Communicate effectively	Communicate your ideas by sharing a chapter plan; provide feedback on other plans.
Be professional	Display initiative and drive, and use organisation skills to plan and manage workload	Get organised by selecting a topic and submitting an on-time chapter plan.
Be a lifelong learner	Evaluate and adopt new technology	Learn how to edit in a collaborative, online environment.

Instructions

The topic development should communicate your current thinking and plans for the project. It is not expected to be a fully developed or final product. Outline your ideas as they currently stand, even if these are still evolving. Focus on clearly communicating the proposed direction so that constructive feedback can be provided.

The following instructions should be used to guide the topic development:

Develop a plan for a chapter which consists of:
1. Title and sub-title (pre-approved or negotiated)
2. Overview
3. 3 to 5 other top-level headings (subheadings are optional)
  - Key points for each heading and subheading, with citations
  - 1+ relevant figure(s)
  - 1+ actual or planned learning feature
4. Conclusion
5. See also
  - 2+ internal links (1 to Wikiversity (e.g., another book chapter) and 1 to a Wikipedia article)
6. References (at least 6, which are cited)
7. External links
  - 2+ external links (to external resources)
8. Wikiversity user page
  - Self-introduction
  - A link to the chapter being worked on
  - Social contributions in a numbered list with a summary and direct link to evidence:
    - 1 direct edit to improve another book chapter (past or present)
    - 1 talk page comment on another book chapter (past or present)
    - 1 UCLearn discussion post
Generative AI may be used with appropriate acknowledgement
Length (Word count): There is no minimum or maximum length. Top-ranked topic development examples range from 875 to 2900 words (average 1700).
Submit a PDF of the topic development via UCLearn, with the title, sub-title, and user name in the submission comments

Template

Quickstart tip:
To insert this template, which provides an initial structure:
1. Copy {{subst:ME/BCS}}.
2. Click "Create source" or "Edit source" on the target chapter page.
3. Paste, then "Publish", and you're underway!

Marking criteria

Topic developments will be marked against the following criteria.

Title and sub-title (10%)

Use the approved wording, casing, etc. for the title and sub-title (i.e., as per the book chapter table of contents)
Do not include additional bold, italics, or change font size from the book chapter template
Do not include user name; authorship is as per the page's editing history

Headings (10%)

Use the standard headings recommended in the book chapter template (i.e., Overview, Conclusion, References, See also, External links)
Provide 3 to 6 informative top-level headings between the Overview and Conclusion. These sections may each contain 2 to 5 sub-headings; avoid sections with only 1 sub-heading.
The top-level headings should align with the sub-title and focus questions
Headings should use sentence casing (see also heading casing)

Overview (10%)

A scenario or case study (real or fictional), in a feature box
At least 3 bullet points outlining the "problem" (i.e., explain the key concept(s) and importance of the topic)—to be expanded into sentences and paragraphs for the book chapter
3 to 5 focus questions that unpack the topic and address the sub-title, in a feature box

Key points (10%)

At least 3 bullet points per section (i.e., per heading or sub-heading)
Overview the most relevant theory(ies), including key citations
Overview the most relevant research, including key citations
Provide at least 1 introductory bullet point before branching into sub-sections
Address the problem (i.e., answer the question in the sub-title)

Figure (10%)

Display at least 1 relevant figure. See example.
Number each figure sequentially (e.g., Figure 1, Figure 2 etc.)
Include a descriptive caption that connects the figure to the text
Cite each figure at least once in the main text (e.g., see Figure 1)
Optimise image display size to make it easy to read (i.e., not too big or too small)

Learning feature (10%)

In addition to the scenario in the Overview, include at least 1 of the following learning features:
- Another scenario/case study: A follow-up or second scenario/case study in the main body in a feature box
- Internal (wiki) links:
  - At least 1 embedded link (i.e., in main body text) to a relevant book chapter, and
  - At least 1 embedded link (i.e., in main body text) to a relevant Wikipedia article
- Quiz question with correct and incorrect answers
- Table with an APA style caption

References (10%)

Provide at least 6 APA style references to the best peer-reviewed sources about the topic (e.g., see list of motivation and emotion journals)
Each source should be cited at least once in the key points
Include a balance of key theoretical and key research articles

Resources (10%)

See also (Level 2 heading): Provide at least 2 internal (wiki) links (1 to a Wikiversity article; 1 to a Wikipedia article)
- Provide at least 1 bullet-pointed:
  - internal (wiki) link to a relevant book chapter
  - internal wiki link to a relevant Wikipedia page
- The linked text is the same as the name of the target page using sentence casing
- Include the source in parentheses after the link (e.g., Book chapter, 2023)
- Use alphabetical order
External links (Level 2 heading): Provide at least 2 external links to key internet resources
- Provide at least 2 bullet-pointed external links to key internet resources (not Wikiversity or Wikipedia or academic articles)
- The linked text is the same as the name of the target page using sentence casing
- Include the source in parentheses after the link (e.g., The Conversation)
- Use alphabetical order

User page (10%)

Create a Wikiversity user page for your user account
Edit the user page to provide information about yourself
Recommended headings:
- About me
- Book chapter I'm working on
  - Include an internal (wiki) link to the chapter page
- Social contributions
Consider linking to your other online profiles

Social contribution (10%)

On your Wikiversity user page, summarise and link to direct evidence that you made at least 3 different types of contributions:
1. direct edit to improve a book chapter page (current or previous topics)
2. provided feedback by commenting on a book chapter's talk page (current or previous topics)
3. posted about motivation or emotion or the assessment tasks to the UCLearn discussion forum
More info

Marking rubric

Examples

About

Below are some examples of topic development submissions which received 100%
The links go to snapshots of topic pages and user pages as submitted for the topic development; these are not the final book chapter submissions
It is possible to get full marks using only bullet points, however some examples below go beyond the requirements for 100% (e.g., involve drafting a full chapter)

2025

2024

Groups and individual motivation reduction - U3216883

2023

Licensing

Contributions to Wikiversity are made under Creative Commons 4.0 ShareAlike (CC-BY-SA 4.0) and GFDL licenses. These licenses give permission for others to edit and re-use contributed content, with appropriate acknowledgement. These licenses are irrevocable.For more information, see the Wikimedia Foundation's Terms of use. If you do not wish to contribute your work under these licenses, discuss alternative assessment options with the unit convener.