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10/15/2016 EssayWritingGuideforPsychologyStudents|SimplyPsychology

Togglenavigation

Psychologists

Behavioral

IvanPavlov
JohnWatson
B.F.Skinner
EdwardThorndike
AlbertBandura

Humanist

AbrahamMaslow
CarlRogers

Cognitive

JeanPiaget
JeromeBruner
EdwardTolman
AnneTreisman
DonaldBroadbent
AlbertEllis
AaronBeck

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DavidKolb
WilhelmWundt
LeonFestinger

Psychodynamic

SigmundFreud
ErikErikson
CarlJung

Social

SolomonAsch
StanleyMilgram
HoflingNurseStudy
PhilipZimbardo
SergeMoscovici
HenriTajfel

Memory

RichardAtkinson
AlanBaddeley
FergusCraik
ElizabethLoftus

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Developmental

LevVygostksy
JeromeBruner
MaryAinsworth
JohnBowlby
LawrenceKohlberg

Theories

Behavioral

BehavioristApproach
ClassicalConditioning
OperantConditioning
SchedulesofReinforcement
LawofEffect
SocialLearningTheory

Humanist

HumanisticPsychology
HierarchyofNeeds
CarlRogers

Personality

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PersonalityTheories
TypeA

Cognitive

CognitivePsychology
InformationProcessing
Attention
Perception
CognitiveDissonance

Memory

MemoryIntro
ShortTerm
LongTerm
MultiStoreModel
WorkingMemory
LevelsofProcessing
Forgetting
EyewitnessTestimony

SigmundFreud

PsychodynamicApproach
Psychoanalysis
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Id,Ego,SuperEgo
UnconsciousMind
PsychosexualStages
DefenseMechanisms

Social

SocialPsychology
Conformity
Obedience
Attitudes
SelfConcept
Prejudice

Developmental

JeanPiaget
SensorimotorStage
PreoperationalStage
ConcreteStage
FormalOperationalStage

LevVygostksy
ZPD

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JeromeBruner

Attachment
JohnBowlby

KohlbergMoralDev

PsychosocialStages

Studies

Conformity

AschLineStudy
SherifStudy
JennesBeansStudy

Obedience

MilgramShockStudy
HoflingNurseStudy
ZimbardoPrisonStudy

Attachment

44Thieves
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StrangeSituation
Schaffer&Emerson
VanIjzendoorn&Kroonenberg
Harlow'sMonkeys
Hodges&Tizard
Genie

Behavioral

Pavlov'sDogs
LittleAlbert
BoboDoll

Memory

SerialPositionEffect
LoftusandPalmer
PetersonandPeterson

Stress

KiecoltGlaser
SRRSRahe

Developmental

Scaffolding(ZPD)
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HeinzDilemma
ThreeMountainsTask
ObjectPermanence

ResearchMethods

Experimental

LabExperiment
FieldExperiment
NaturalExperiment
ExperimentalDesigns
Variables

NonExperimental

CaseStudy
Interviews
Questionnaire
LikertScales
Observations

ConductingResearch

Hypotheses
Sampling
ScienificApproach
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LabReport
EthicalGuidelines

Data

QualitativeQuantitative
Reliability
Validity
Correlation
Statistics

HomePsychologyEssayGuide

bySaulMcLeodpublished2014

SimplyPsychologyApp

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EssayWritingGuidefor
PsychologyStudents

Beforeyouwriteyouressayit'simportanttoanalysethetaskand
understandexactlywhattheessayquestionisasking.Itispossible
yourlecturerwillgiveyousomeadvicepayattentiontothisasit
willhelpyouplanyouranswer.

Nextconductpreliminaryreadingbasedonyourlecturenotes.At
thisstageit'snotcrucialtohavearobustunderstandingofkey
theoriesorstudies,butyoushouldatleasthaveageneral'gist'ofthe
literature.

Afterreading,planaresponsetothetask.Thisplancouldbeinthe
formofamindmap,asummarytable,orbywritingacorestatement
(whichencompasstheentireargumentofyouressayinjustafew
sentences).

Afterwritingyourplanconductsupplementaryreadingandrefine
yourplanandmakeitmoredetailed.

Itistemptingtoskipthesepreliminarystepsandjustwritethefirst
draftwhilereadingatthesametime.However,readingandplanning
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willmaketheessaywritingprocesseasier,quicker,andensurea
higherqualityessayisproduced.

Nowletuslookatwhatconstitutesagoodessayinpsychology.
Thereareanumberofimportantfeatures.

1.AGlobalStructurestructurethematerialinawaythat
allowsforalogicalsequenceofideas.Eachparagraph/
statementshouldfollowsensiblyfromitspredecessor.
Theessayshould'flow'.Theintroduction,mainbodyand
conclusionshouldallbelinked.

Eachparagraphshouldcompriseamainthemewhichare
illustratedanddevelopedthroughanumberofpoints
(supportedbyevidence).

2.KnowledgeandUnderstandingrecognise,recalland
showunderstandingonarangeofscientificmaterialthat
accuratelyreflectsthemaintheoreticalperspectives.

3.CriticalEvaluationargumentsshouldbesupportedby
appropriateevidenceand/ortheoryfromtheliterature.
Evidenceofindependentthinking,insightandevaluation
oftheevidence.

4.QualityofWrittenCommunicationwritingclearlyand
succinctlywithappropriateuseofparagraphs,spelling
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andgrammar.Allsourcesreferencedaccuratelyandin
linewithAPAguidelines.

Inthemainbodyoftheessayeveryparagraphshoulddemonstrate
bothknowledgeandcriticalevaluation.

Thereshouldalsobeanappropriatebalancebetweenthesetwoessay
components.Trytoaimforabouta60/40splitifpossible.Most
studentsmakethemistakeofwritingtoomuchknowledgeandnot
enoughevaluation(whichisthedifficultbit).

Itisbesttostructureyouressayaccordingtokeythemes.Themesare
illustratedanddevelopedthroughanumberofpoints(supportedby
evidence).Chooserelevantpointsonly,onesthatmostrevealthe
themeorhelptomakeaconvincingandinterestingargument.

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KnowledgeandUnderstanding
Rememberthatanessayissimplyadiscussion/argumentonpaper.
Don'tmakethemistakeofwritingalltheinformationyouknow
regardingaparticulartopic.

Youneedtobeconcise,andclearlyarticulateyourargument.A
sentenceshouldcontainnounnecessarywords,aparagraphno
unnecessarysentences.

Eachparagraphshouldhaveapurpose/theme,andmakeanumber
ofpointswhichneedtobesupportbyhighqualityevidence.Be
clearwhyeachpointisisrelevanttotheargument.Itwouldbeuseful
atthebeginningofeachparagraphifyouexplicitlyoutlinedthe
themebeingdiscussed(.e.g.cognitivedevelopment,social
developmentetc.).

Trynottooverusequotationsinyouressays.Itismoreappropriateto
useoriginalcontenttodemonstrateyourunderstanding.

Psychologyisasciencesoyoumustsupportyourideaswith
evidence(notyourownpersonalopinion).Ifyouarediscussinga
theoryorresearchstudymakesureyoucitethesourceofthe
information.

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Notethisisnottheauthorofatextbookyouhavereadbutthe
originalsource/author(s)ofthetheoryorresearchstudy.

Forexample:

Bowlby(1951)claimedthatmotheringisalmostuselessif
delayeduntilaftertwoandahalftothreeyearsand,formost
children,ifdelayedtillafter12months,i.e.thereisacritical
period.

Or

Maslow(1943)statedthatpeoplearemotivatedtoachieve
certainneeds.Whenoneneedisfulfilledapersonseeksto
fullfilthenextone,andsoon.

Asageneralrulemakesurethereisatleastonecitation(i.e.nameof
psychologistanddateofpublication)ineachparagraph.

Remembertoanswertheessayquestion.Underlinethekeywordsin
theessaytitle.Don'tmakethemistakeofsimplywritingeverything
youknowofaparticulartopic,beselective.Eachparagraphinyour
essayshouldcontributetoansweringtheessayquestion.

CriticalEvaluation
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Insimpletermsthismeansoutliningthestrengthsandlimitationsof
atheoryorresearchstudy.

Therearemanywaysyoucancriticallyevaluate:

Methodologicalevaluationofresearch

Isthestudyvalid/reliable?Isthesamplebiasedorcanwe
generalizethefindingstootherpopulations?Whatarethe
strengthsandlimitationsofthemethodusedanddata
obtained?

Becarefultoensurethatanymethodologicalcriticismsare
justifiedandnottrite.Ratherthanhuntingforweaknessesin
everystudyonlyhighlightlimitationswhichmakeyoudoubt
theconclusionsthattheauthorshavedrawne.g.wherean
alternativeexplanationmightbeequallylikelybecause
somethinghasntbeenadequatelycontrolled.

Compareorcontrastdifferenttheories

Outlinehowthetheoriesaresimilarandhowtheydiffer.This
couldbetwo(ormore)theoriesofpersonality/memory/child
developmentetc.Alsotrytocommunicatethevalueofthetheory
/study.
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Debatesorperspectives

Refertodebatessuchasnatureornurture,reductionismvs.
holismortheperspectivesinpsychology.Forexample,
wouldtheyagreeordisagreewithatheoryorthefindingsof
thestudy?

Whataretheethicalissuesoftheresearch?

Doesastudyinvolveethicalissuessuchasdeception,privacy,
psychologicalandphysicalharm.

Genderbias

Ifresearchisbiasedtowardsmenorwomenitdoesnot
provideaclearviewofthebehaviorthathasbeenstudied.A
dominantlymaleperspectiveisknownasanandrocentric
bias.

Culturalbias

Isthetheory/studyethnocentric?Psychologyispredominantlya
white,EuroAmericanenterprise.Insometexts,over90%of
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studieshaveUSparticipants,whoarepredominantlywhiteand
middleclass.Doesthetheoryorstudybeingdiscussedjudge
otherculturesbyWesternstandards?

AnimalResearch

Thisraisestheissueofwhetheritsmorallyand/or
scientificallyrighttouseanimals.Themaincriterionisthat
benefitsmustoutweighcosts.Butbenefitsarealmostalways
tohumansandcoststoanimals.

Animalresearchalsoraisestheissueofextrapolation.Can
wegeneralizefromstudiesonanimalstohumansastheir
anatomy&physiologyisdifferentfromhumans?

ThePECSystem
Itisveryimportanttoelaborateonyourevaluation.Don'tjustwritea
shoppinglistofbrief(oneortwosentence)evaluationpoints.Instead
makesureyouexpandonyourpoints,remember,qualityof
evaluationismostimportantthanquantity.

WhenyouarewritinganevaluationparagraphusethePECsystem.
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MakeyourPoint.

Explainhowandwhythepointisrelevant.

DiscusstheConsequences/implicationsofthetheoryorstudy.
Aretheypositiveornegative?

ForExample
(Point)Itisarguedthatpsychoanalytictherapyisonlyofbenefit
toanarticulate,intelligent,affluentminority.

(Explain)Becausepsychoanalytictherapyinvolvestalkingand
gaininginsight,andiscostlyandtimeconsuming,itisargued
thatitisonlyofbenefittoanarticulate,intelligent,affluent
minority.Evidencesuggestspsychoanalytictherapyworksbestif
theclientismotivatedandhasapositiveattitude.

(Consequences)Adepressedclientsapathy,flatemotionalstate
andlackofmotivationlimittheappropriatenessof
psychoanalytictherapyfordepression.Furthermore,thelevelsof
dependencyofdepressedclientsmeanthattransferenceismore
likelytodevelop.

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UsingResearchStudiesinyour
Essays
Researchstudiescaneitherbeknowledgeorevaluation.

Ifyourefertotheproceduresandfindingsofastudy,thisshows
knowledgeandunderstanding.

Ifyoucommentonwhatthestudiesshows,andwhatitsupports
andchallengesaboutthetheoryinquestion,thisshows
evaluation.

WritinganIntroduction
Itisoftenbesttowriteyourintroductionwhenyouhavefinishedthe
mainbodyoftheessay,sothatyouhaveagoodunderstandingtothe
topicarea.

Ifthereisawordcountforyouressaytrytodevote10%ofthisto
yourintroduction.

Ideallytheintroductionshould

1.Identifythesubjectoftheessayanddefinethekeyterms.
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2.Highlightthemajorissueswhichliebehindthe
question.Letthereaderknowhowyouwillfocusyour
essaybyidentifyingthemainthemestobediscussed.

3.Signposttheessayskeyargument,(and,ifpossible,
howthisargumentisstructured).

Introductionsareveryimportantasfirstimpressionscountandthey
cancreateahaloeffectinthemindofthelecturergradingyouressay.
Ifyoustartoffwellthenyouaremorelikelytobeforgivenforthe
oddmistakelaterone.

WritingaConclusion
Somanystudentseitherforgettowriteaconclusionorfailtogiveit
theattentionitdeserves.Ifthereisawordcountforyouressaytryto
devote10%ofthistoyourconclusion.

Ideallytheconclusionshouldsummarizethekeythemes/arguments
ofyouressay.Statethetakehomemessagedontsitonthefence,
insteadweighuptheevidencepresentedintheessayandmakea
decisionwhichsideoftheargumenthasmoresupport.

Also,youmightliketosuggestwhatfutureresearchmayneedtobe
conductedandwhy(readthediscussionsectionofjournalarticlesfor
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this).

Don'tincludenewinformation/arguments(onlyinformation
discussedinthemainbodyoftheessay).

Ifyouareunsureofwhattowritereadtheessayquestionandanswer
itinoneparagraph.

Pointsthatuniteorembraceseveralthemescanbeusedtogreat
effectaspartofyourconclusion.

TheImportanceofFlow
Obviously,whatyouwriteisimportant,buthowyoucommunicate
yourideas/argumentshasasignificantinfluenceonyouroverall
grade.Moststudentsmayhavesimilarinformation/contentintheir
essays,butthebetterstudentscommunicatethisinformation
conciselyandarticulately.

Whenyouhavefinishedthefirstdraftofyouressayyoumustcheck
ifit'flows'.Thisisanimportantfeatureofqualityofcommunication
(alongwithspellingandgrammar).

Thismeansthattheparagraphsfollowalogicalorder(likethe
chaptersinanovel).Haveaglobalstructurewiththemesarrangedin

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awaythatallowsforalogicalsequenceofideas.Youmightwantto
rearrange(cutandpaste)paragraphstoadifferentpositioninyour
essayiftheydon'tappeartofitinwiththeessaystructure.

Toimprovetheflowofyouressaymakesurethelastsentenceofone
paragraphlinkstofirstsentenceofthenextparagraph.Thiswillhelp
theessayflowandmakeiteasiertoread.

Finally,onlyrepeatcitationswhenitisunclearwhichstudy/theory
youarediscussing.Repeatingcitationsunnecessarilydisruptsthe
flowofanessay.

Referencing
Thereferencesectionisthelistofallthesourcescitedintheessay
(inalphabeticalorder).Itisnotabibliography(alistofthebooks
youused).

Insimpletermseverytimeyourefertoaname(anddate)ofa
psychologistyouneedtoreferencetheoriginalsourceofthe
information.

Ifyouhavebeenusingtextbooksthisiseasyasthereferencesare
usuallyatthebackofthebookandyoucanjustcopythemdown.If

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youhavebeenusingwebsitesthenyoumayhaveaproblemasthey
mightnotprovideareferencesectionforyoutocopy.

ReferencesneedtobesetoutAPAstyle:

Books

Author,A.A.(year).Titleofwork.Location:Publisher.

JournalArticles

Author,A.A.,Author,B.B.,&Author,C.C.(year).Articletitle.
JournalTitle,volumenumber(issuenumber),pagenumbers

AsimplewaytowriteyourreferencesectionisuseGooglescholar.
Justtypethenameanddateofthepsychologistinthesearchboxand
clickonthe'cite'link.

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Next,copyandpastetheAPAreferenceintothereferencesectionof
youressay.

Onceagainrememberthatreferencesneedtobeinalphabeticalorder
accordingtosurname.

FurtherInformation
WritingSkillsforPsychologists

StudySkills

EssayWritingGuide

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10/15/2016 EssayWritingGuideforPsychologyStudents|SimplyPsychology

Howtocitethisarticle:
McLeod,S.A.(2014).EssayWritingGuideforPsychology
Students.Retrievedfromwww.simplypsychology.org/psychology
essay.html

Comments(11)
Sortby: Date Rating LastActivity

millie 73weeksago +1
thisisveryhelpful,Ithinki'mdoingwellwithessayssofar,achievingdistinctiongrades,butgoingontoapsychdegreethisseptemberI
willneedtostepupmygame.thanksforthis!

Reply Report

monica 57weeksago 0
Thanks,thiswasextremelyhelpful.Thorough,yetsuccinct!

Reply Report

Nigel 48weeksago +1
Thanks.lfoundthisveryhelpful.Nowlcangetbacktobusinessandwritethebestessay

Reply Report

Bobbi 31weeksago 0
Greatpost!Thankyousomuch!

Reply Report

Anrol 22weeksago +1
WelldoneMcLeod,S.A.(2014).IthinkyoushouldbeteachingmePsychology.Irefertoyouconstantly.Thankyou

Reply Report

catheadgasket 21weeksago +1
Itistemptingtoskipthesepreliminarystepsandjustwritethefirstdraftwhilereadingatthesametime.However,readingandplanning
willmaketheessaywritingprocesseasier,quicker,andensureahigherqualityessayisproduced.

Reply Report

cookupaparty 0p 21weeksago +2
Thishasbeensohelpfulwhilstrereadingmyfinalessayforthisyear.ThepartabouttheflowofanessaywasparticularlyusefulasI
realisedminedidn'tuntilIreadthroughyouradvice.Thankyou!

Reply
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10/15/2016 EssayWritingGuideforPsychologyStudents|SimplyPsychology

Report

Blacka 20weeksago +1
Thanks.Itsreallyhelpful

Reply Report

SteveLocke 17weeksago 0
Somegreattipsforessaywritinghere.

Reply Report

JogalaxmiDas 8weeksago 0
Thanks,itsreallyveryamazingandsohelpful

Reply Report

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