Most paper assignments or writing
projects in Psychology courses expect students to write "scientifically"
-- with a particular style
that may be somewhat different from what you have learned in writing courses
or used in other contexts. In addition, often you will
be asked to write in "APA format" (the paper format specified by the American
Psychological Association, or APA). While APA format
would lend itself well to scientific writing, many students focus heavily
on the formatting parts of APA (width of margins, how to cite
resources, construction of the reference section, and so on) and sometimes
they get distracted from the actual paper content (their ideas).
While many instructors will subtract points if APA format is not followed
correctly, remember that you earn points by having good ideas
and communicating them clearly and concisely in a well-organized manner.
The links below are just a few of
the many online guides to writing well in Psychology. There
are some good tips in the books
for this class, but the resources below pack a lot of useful information
into a very few pages. There are books which focus on
writing in Psychology or on scientific writing. You can find guides
at the Metropolitan State library and other libraries.
Search libraries, book stores, or the Internet for "writing in psychology"
or "scientific writing." Also, the Writing Center at
Metropolitan State can help people with more general writing topics and
paper organization.
LINKS For Writing in Psychology
APA Format Guide
compiled by the Reference Librarians at Metro State (Spring 2010 version)
A good, yet brief, guide on writing scientifically from the University of
Washington: Click here!
A web site from George Mason University, includes advice from a range
of faculty: Click
here
"The OWL" (Online Writing
Lab) at Purdue U. has useful writing advice and information (many topics/sections)
More general Web Resources also provide advice, this link is from about.com:
Click
Here
Special do’s and don’ts for
writing in Psychology:
Do demonstrate an understanding of the scientific
enterprise when you present material. (Among other things, this would involve
presenting not only supportive data but also contradictory information.)
Do master the distinction between the use of personal experience
as illustration and its use as evidence; while personal experience might well
be reviewed in the light of scientific findings, it has only limited use
as evidence for arguments advanced in a paper.
Do present material with sufficient fullness so that it does not
require a great deal of inference on the part of the reader.
Do pay careful attention to advice about avoiding plagiarism—click
on the “Avoiding Plagiarism” navigation bar link above for resources and
advice.
Don’t make unfounded, sweeping statements.
Don’t rely excessively on Internet sources or on material from popular
publications.
Tip: When
you search periodicals databases for good sources, check the box that limits
a search to scholarly and peer-reviewed journals.
Don’t merely insert quotes from references without clearly exploring
their applicability.