| Course | NS420 Nutritional Counseling |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 4 |
| Paper type | Readiness assessment |
| Length | About 690 words, 5 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Nutrition Science |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NS420 Unit 4
Three Habits, Three Stages: A Unit 4 Readiness Assessment for a Bank Teller in Her First Year Living Alone
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
NS420: Nutritional Counseling
Unit 4 Readiness Assessment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The client and her quotations are composite; the stages of change article, the self-efficacy article and the motivational interviewing text cited are real.
Client and Purpose
Priya moved into her first apartment eleven months ago and works 8:30 to 5:00 at a bank branch. She came to counseling on her own after noticing she had gained weight and felt tired by midafternoon. In the first session she named three habits she was unhappy with. Readiness differs by behavior, so each habit is staged on its own, using the stages described by Prochaska and DiClemente (1983): precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance.
Habit 1: Skipped Breakfast
Her words: "I'm not hungry in the morning. I'd rather sleep the extra fifteen minutes. My mom always made me eat breakfast and I hated it."
Importance rating: 3 of 10. Confidence rating: 6 of 10.
Stage: precontemplation. Priya does not see skipping breakfast as a problem and links it to an old family conflict. She is not planning to change it.
Note: Pushing breakfast here would likely repeat the struggle with her mother and invite resistance.
Habit 2: Afternoon Iced Coffee
Her words: "The coffee is my reward for getting through lunch rush. I know it's like a milkshake. I've thought about getting a small, but then I'd just want another one."
Importance rating: 6 of 10. Confidence rating: 4 of 10.
Stage: contemplation. She sees the cost and names the sugar, but she also sees real benefits and doubts she could manage a smaller size. Both sides of her ambivalence are present in one sentence.
Habit 3: Weekend Delivery
Her words: "Delivery is killing my budget. Sixty, seventy dollars a weekend. I bought a slow cooker last month and haven't opened the box. I want to start using it."
Importance rating: 8 of 10. Confidence rating: 7 of 10.
Stage: preparation. Priya has a reason she cares about, money, has taken a step by buying the slow cooker and says she intends to start. Her confidence is the highest of the three.
Delivery is the habit Priya is readiest to change, because she has already named her reason, bought the equipment and said she wants to start, even though breakfast is the habit most nutrition guidance would address first.
Choosing Where to Start
A textbook approach might start with breakfast, since regular meals can steady energy across the day. But her readiness for breakfast is the lowest of the three. Starting there would ask her to change the habit she is least willing to change and would likely end the counseling relationship early.
Starting with delivery has three advantages. Her motivation is her own, so the counselor does not need to supply it. Her confidence rating of 7 suggests she believes she can succeed, and self-efficacy predicts whether people attempt and persist in a change (Bandura, 1977). A slow cooker meal on Sunday could also give her a packed lunch on Monday, which may later make an afternoon coffee feel less needed.
Approach by Stage
For delivery, preparation stage: help her set one specific plan, such as one slow cooker recipe on Saturday morning, and agree how she will know it worked.
For the iced coffee, contemplation stage: explore both sides without pushing. Reflect her own words about the reward and the milkshake and ask what a reward could look like that she would not regret. Miller and Rollnick (2023) describe this as developing the discrepancy between a habit and the person's values without arguing for change.
For breakfast, precontemplation stage: leave it alone for now, while staying open if she raises it. Respecting her choice protects the relationship.
Limitations
The stages came from one session and her self-report. Ratings may shift as counseling goes on, and stages are best treated as a guide to the next conversation, not a label. Priya may also move between stages quickly, so each habit will be checked again at the next visit.
References
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191-215. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191
Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2023). Motivational interviewing: Helping people change and grow (4th ed.). Guilford Press.
Prochaska, J. O., & DiClemente, C. C. (1983). Stages and processes of self-change of smoking: Toward an integrative model of change. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51(3), 390-395. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.51.3.390
What the NS420 Unit 4 assignment asks for
For Unit 4, NS420 asks students to assess a client's readiness to change one or more eating behaviors and recommend where to start. The prompt often names the stages of change model and may require importance and confidence rulers. Gather the client's own statements about each behavior, since a stage is inferred from what the client says. Stage each habit on its own; one person can be ready for one change and resistant to another. Explain the evidence behind every stage in a sentence or two. Recommend a starting habit and defend the choice, especially if it differs from what a nutrition text would prioritize. Describe a counseling approach suited to each stage. Note the limits of judging readiness from one session. Two to four pages is typical, and quoted client words strengthen every judgment.
How the NS 420 Unit 4 example is put together
The sample begins with Priya's situation and the reason for staging habits separately. Each of the three habits gets its own section with her quoted words, both ruler scores and the stage assigned. Breakfast is staged as precontemplation because she links it to an old family conflict and has no plan to change. The coffee is contemplation, with both sides of her ambivalence visible in one sentence. Delivery is preparation, since she cares about the money and has already bought a slow cooker. The highlighted sentence picks delivery and acknowledges the textbook would choose breakfast. A section argues the choice with her confidence rating and self-efficacy theory. The approach-by-stage section sets one task per habit, and the limitations treat stages as provisional.
Where the points sit in the NS420 Unit 4 rubric
Readiness assessments in this course are generally scored on accurate use of the model, evidence for each judgment and the reasoning behind the recommendation. Most of the Unit 4 marks hinge on whether stages are supported by what the client actually said. Staging behaviors separately shows a more advanced grasp of the model than assigning one stage to the whole person. Ruler scores add evidence when they are interpreted, not just reported. A recommendation that follows readiness, and explains why that matters, earns more credit than one that follows a nutrition priority alone. Matching counseling strategies to each stage shows applied understanding. Naming limitations shows judgment. APA 7 citations to the stages model and supporting theory complete the grade.
Common NS420 Unit 4 mistakes, and how to avoid them
A common error in readiness assessments is assigning a stage without quoting anything the client said. Another is giving the whole person one stage, which hides differences between habits. Writers sometimes misread contemplation as preparation because the client sounds interested. Ruler scores are reported but never used. The recommendation often defaults to the most important nutrition issue, ignoring readiness entirely. Stage-matched strategies are missing or identical for every habit. The model is treated as a fixed label rather than a guide that may change by the next session. If you have your client's statements but are unsure how to stage them or where to start, our team can help you sort the evidence by habit and argue the starting point.
Get an NS420 Unit 4 example written to your instructions
Send the case or session material that your Unit 4 brief provides, with the rubric and whichever model your course names. Each behavior is staged separately from the client's own words, processes are matched to stages, and the recommended starting point is argued rather than assumed. A first sample is free and arrives within 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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NS420 Unit 4 questions, answered
How much evidence does one session provide for a stage?
Enough for a working judgment, not a verdict. A single conversation captures what a client says on one day, and readiness shifts with circumstances. Strong assessments say this in a limits paragraph and suggest what would confirm or revise the stage at the next contact, such as whether a stated intention had turned into an action by then.
Should the assessment use rulers or questionnaires?
Where the prompt requires one or the course has introduced one, yes; otherwise they are optional. Quoted statements coded for change talk are strong evidence on their own and keep the assessment tied to the session. If a questionnaire is used, name it, cite it, and explain what it adds beyond the conversation. Mixing an instrument with interview evidence is fine when both point the same way.
Where can I find a free NS420 Unit 4 sample paper?
This page has a full Unit 4 readiness assessment that stages a bank teller's three eating habits separately, from her own words and two rulers, and chooses where counseling should begin.
Why is each habit staged separately in the NS420 Unit 4 sample?
Readiness differs from one behavior to another. Priya was unwilling to change breakfast, unsure about her coffee and ready to tackle delivery orders, so one stage for the whole person would have hidden the habit she was readiest to change.
Can a NS420 readiness assessment disagree with nutrition priorities?
Yes, and it should say so openly. The sample notes that breakfast would be the usual first target, then explains why starting with the habit Priya was readiest to change protects the counseling relationship and builds her confidence.