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Assignment 1 FAQ 2023
(1) I have never seen or written a professional letter in any capacity to a parent. What should
I do?
You do not need to have seen or written a professional letter in any capacity to a parent to do
this assignment. It is recommended that you read the Assignment Information document
carefully for this assignment, including the marking criteria. It is also useful to refer to Lab 1
slides and the group presentations.
(2) How do I write a letter in APA 7th format?
You can use this letter format:
Dear (parent’s name - for example Ms. Apple),
Body of the letter. For example, you can start with addressing their question (for
example - Thank you for asking my opinion about using (intervention choice) for your
son/daughter.
Use paragraphs as you would in an essay.
End your letter with your professional opinion of the intervention.
Yours sincerely,
(Name)
APA 7th edition formatting applies to the following: in-text citations, reference list, font size-
12pt and double spacing.
(3) Where does the word count start and stop?
It starts from “Dear… and ends at Yours sincerely, Name”. Reference list is not included in
word count.
(4) What is the child’s background information? What is the parent’s background
information?
You should create the profile of a child for this assignment. This is intentionally left for
students to make up so that they can decide the gender, age, and their particular symptoms.
This allows students to evaluate the intervention for the specific presentation of ADHD that
the child has. Do not go beyond this level of detail.
Do not create the profile of the parents for this assignment. It is not necessary for this
assignment. The parents can be any person so there should be no prior judgment of the
parents, including their background or educational level or family setting.
(5) What if I want to state that the child has ADHD comorbid with X?
It is recommended that you focus on ADHD. You can state comorbidity if you really want to
but it is not necessary and not a focus (i.e., do not focus on studies examining a population of
ADHD comorbid with X).
(6) I have only written lab reports before. How do I structure the content/body/argument of
the letter?
Look carefully at the marking criteria to guide you on how you may want to structure your
content/argument of the letter. You should also refer to Lab 1 slides, in particular, the
structure for the presentation is one example that you can modify for your use accordingly.
(7) What does ‘professional opinion’ mean? Am I arguing for the intervention?
The letter should provide your professional opinion of the intervention based on your critical
analysis and evaluation of appropriate and relevant scientific evidence for and against the
intervention. It does not have to provide support for the intervention. This means you can
recommend or do not recommend or recommend with caveat (specify the caveats clearly e.g.,
there is some evidence, but it is insufficient because xyz). What guides your recommendation
is the scientific evidence evaluated.
(8) If I do not recommend the intervention, should I recommend other interventions?
The answer is no.
(9) There are different forms of exercise/animal therapy intervention, can I specify the form
of the intervention (e.g., specific type of animal therapy or exercise)?
The answer is, yes you are welcomed to specify the form if you want. However, at the start of
the letter, you need to address the intervention more generally (note that the assignment states
‘exercise’ and ‘animal therapy’) before specifying the form if you are evaluating. Please also
consider carefully if narrowing the scope is useful for you (i.e., evidence reviewed) or not
particularly useful (i.e., evidence reviewed). If you are focusing on a specific form, remember
to state this clearly in your letter.
(10) If I recommend the intervention, can I specify the form of the intervention (e.g., specific
type of animal therapy or exercise)?
The answer is, yes you are welcomed to specify the form if you want.
(11) Do I need to compare the chosen intervention to other interventions? Do I need to
compare animal therapy and exercise? Do I need to look at both animal therapy and exercise?
The answer is no. Please choose only one intervention (i.e., animal therapy or exercise) and
focus on that chosen intervention.
(12) Should I assume that the parent is asking about the chosen intervention because they
want to use it, OR they want to use it exclusively OR they do not want to use medication as
an intervention for their child?
No, you should not assume that the parent is asking about the chosen intervention because
they want to use it, or they want to use it exclusively or they do not want to use medication. It
is not necessary to assume the intentions of the parents; you should focus on the chosen
intervention.
(13) The first criteria in the marking guide states: Conceptual understanding of the nominated
intervention and ADHD. Should we not assume that the parents already understand ADHD
and/or the intervention?
No, please do not assume what the parents knows. Look closely at the marking criteria. It
states: ‘Describes concepts of the intervention and ADHD clearly’. You are expected to
describe ADHD and the intervention, and the rationale for the use of the chosen intervention
for ADHD. (Note that this is not the rationale why parents are asking about intervention. You
should not assume what is the parents’ reasons. This is the rationale for this intervention for
ADHD from the scientific literature.)
(14) What do you mean by ‘empathic’ or ‘tone is appropriately empathetic’?
It means that the tone of the letter is formal but warm. Write professionally and respectfully.
Do not make judgments about the parents or child. Do not write patronizingly (e.g., “I am so
very sorry for your child’s condition, and you must be devastated to receive the
diagnosis….”; “your child will recover from ADHD after undertaking this intervention…”.
(15) What do you mean by ‘language is accessible’ or ‘writing is appropriate, accessible’?
It means that you are writing for the layman so use language that the general public
understands (i.e., a person without professional or specialized knowledge in a particular
subject). But do not ‘dumb it down’ – do not write in a casual manner and do not write
patronizingly.
Examples:
Do not give data/statistics from studies to parents – explain the findings in words.
Language used in research such as ‘significant’, ‘large effect size’ etc.
The general public can understand ‘significant’ or you can use other accessible
wording. For example, “significant/measurable/remarkable reduction in
symptoms”.
The general public is unlikely to understand concepts such as ‘effect size’ and
you may need to explain/define. For example, “the effect size is small which
means that some may have had no change in their symptoms and therefore we
should be cautious about the effectiveness of this intervention.”