Tips for Writing Social Psychology Papers
Three common problems plague most writers of psychology papers. 1. Most importantly, many students do not cite sources properly in a way that borders on plagiarism. In a nutshell, it needs to be crystal clear in a paper which ideas are YOUR OWN ORIGINAL ideas and which come from another source. (This is not only true for something you quote directly, but also for any idea that you put on paper that you only know about because you read it somewhere). For example, if you have a long introductory paragraph that talks about stereotypes and schemas and automatic processes, and so on, you MUST cite sources for those ideas (either the textbook, or preferably, the authors of the original ideas that the textbook cites). ANY sentence in a paper that does not have a citation means that you are claiming this idea as your own. Students often think they don’t have to give citations in such a paragraph because it is “just an intro” or because these things are “just common knowledge”, but they are NOT common knowledge—you know about them because you have read and heard about them in your social psychology (or perhaps a sociology) class. You must cite a source to tell the reader where they can find more information about that idea. Moreover, it is NOT enough to have a citation--such as “(Brehm, Fein, & Kassin, 2002)” at the end of a long paragraph full of facts, because it is not clear what information the citation is covering (readers typically assume that it's just the one sentence containing the citation). It’s especially confusing if you have some of your own thoughts mixed in that paragraph. Instead, as soon as you bring up a fact, definition, or opinion other than your own, you should immediately (at the end of that very first sentence) cite an author or source. If you want to continue with that source in your next couple of sentences, just make it clear to the reader that the same citation applies. For example, if sentence 1 says "studies have shown that prejudice is an automatic process...(Devine, 1987)” so that Devine is cited at the end, sentences 2 and 3 could say, “In one study, Devine and her colleagues had participants come to the lab...The results showed........”. In other words, as long as it's clear that you're still talking about Devine’s study, you don't need to cite her name again. However, as soon as you switch to another source (e.g., Brehm et al) or your own opinion, you need to start citing again. If this doesn't make sense or you want me to look over your paper to explain how to cite properly, I'll be happy to, because this is SUCH an incredibly important issue (not just now, but throughout your SU career). • To help you out, I’ve put links on the web page to excellent sites discussing (and showing examples of) plagiarism; please take a few minutes to explore these. 2. In some cases, I have a hard time judging students’ content because the paper is poorly organized. Please be sure to outline your paper before you begin, so that you know exactly what main point you want to make in each paragraph. (Believe me, if you don't have an outline, I’m sure not going to be able to find one :-). if you just sit down and start randomly typing, that's exactly what your paper will read like...a random hodgepodge/laundry list of related ideas. A paper should be organized like an hourglass, broad at the beginning, narrowing down into the specifics of your topic, and then ending broadly and generally. In addition, try to use transitions for better flow. Don't just throw down one sentence after another, and start a new paragraph on an unrelated topic. Make sure to smoothly transition from one idea and paragraph to the next. [Hint: one way to know whether your paper is well-organized and has good transitions is to write down the first sentence of each paragraph on a separate page, and see if the ideas tell a story and make sense together.] Related to this is that some of you may have problems with poor grammar (e.g., run-on sentences, choppy/awkward writing, punctuation problems). If this describes you, please go to the writing center and have them look over your paper before you turn it in. Alternatively, you may also have a friend (not in the class) proofread your paper, but please be sure to acknowledge their help in a note at the end of the paper. Also, spell checking will take you so far, but you still need to proofread your own paper, even after it's printed out. Spellcheckers don't catch the word "on" at the beginning of a sentence when you mean "one", and they don't know the difference between "hear" and "here" and "there" and "their". • To help you out, I’m including some grammar tips below. 3. Please follow the assignment rules. This may seem obvious, but I’ve seen quite a few papers where it’s clear that students didn’t bother to read the assignment before starting the paper or before turning it in. In the past, for example, some students ignored questions that I directly asked them to address in a paper
(e.g., not discussing potential future research applications of the IAT). Also, I specifically ask that students NOT have any direct quotes in the paper, but students sometimes ignore my pleas and do it anyway. In psychology, quotes are perceived as lazy and are distracting to the reader. It is boring and tedious to read a paper that contains lists of quotes strung together. I want to hear YOUR opinions, thoughts, ideas, so please use your own words (i.e., paraphrase the important ideas of others). As a general rule, quotes should be used in papers very rarely, and only then for beautiful, exquisite prose (like Shakespeare) that simply cannot be said another way. Quotes should not be used for dry definitions because you are too lazy to paraphrase or put them into your own words. • To help you out, I distribute detailed handouts about what I expect on papers.
**Grammar Tips (quoted from Scott et al, 2002; “The Psychology Student Writer’s Manual”)**
1. Avoid the “comma splice” (joining two complete sentences with only a comma). Use a period or semi-colon to break up the two clauses, or use a comma and a coordinating conjunction (and, but, for or, nor, so, yet) between the sentences. WRONG: A doctoral candidate finds many challenges in writing her dissertation, she finds opportunities as well. RIGHT: A doctoral candidate finds many challenges in writing her dissertation. There are opportunities as well. WRONG: The student’s presentation described the major differences of opinion over recovered memories, it also suggested areas for future research. RIGHT: The student’s presentation described the major differences of opinion over recovered memories, and it also suggested areas for future research. 2. Use parallel structure so that sentences do not seem sloppy and out of balance. (This often requires adding “to” before series and lists). WRONG: Male athletes are more likely to have sex with their fans, spit on the crowd, and bite their coach than female athletes. RIGHT: Male athletes are more likely to have sex with their fans, to spit on the crowd, and to bite their coach than are female athletes. 3. Avoid run-on sentences (when two independent clauses that can stand on their own are run together without any suitable connecting word, phrase, or punctuation). WRONG: The research committee members were exhausted they had debated for two hours. RIGHT: The research committee members were exhausted. They had debated for two hours. RIGHT: The research committee members were exhausted, having debated for two hours. RIGHT: The research committee members were exhausted; they had debated for two hours. 4. Avoid “choppy” (abrupt) sentences. Good transition phrases to use: Thus, that is, in other words, consequently, specifically, for example, interestingly, it follows that, it seems logical that, by contrast, however, consistent with, similarly, in a similar vein, in short, in sum, in essence, overall, in general, moreover, furthermore, in addition, first, next, then, finally…