Psychology Essay
A psychology essay is a brief composition that requires a student to demonstrate his or knowledge about a particular psychological practice, theory, or pathology. Psychology essays are commonly featured on psychology exams. They can also be required as formal writing assignments for psychology courses.
A psychology essay may be different from the types of essays a student has composed in his or her English classes in that it is a purely academic text. This means that even though the student is sharing his or her own thoughts, analyses, and opinions, he or she should do so in an academic voice and through the use of academic conventions. This means that unless otherwise indicated, the essay should not include any mention of the writer's personal experiences, should avoid the use of the first-person voice ("I" and "me"), and should be focused entirely on informing or arguing rather than reflecting. In other words, a psychology paper must be a formal, thesis-based text that either seeks to inform the reader about a specific psychological phenomenon or argues for or against a particular theoretical stance or practice.
Because they are formal academic texts, psychology essays must make their claims through the use of sound, research-based evidence. This means that writers cannot simply assert their opinions, but must point to precedents or research studies that support those opinions. In a psychology essay for an exam, a student will not have access to secondary research, so should rely on his or her knowledge of the course material for his or her evidence. In a formal writing assignment, however, the student should support his or her claims with valid scholarly research. Students should ensure that this research is current, as psychology is a field in which many advances and changes are made regularly.
Psychology essays will be organized around a thesis—the central point or argument of the essay. Therefore, every paragraph should relate directly to the development or support of that thesis. These paragraphs should begin with topic sentences that clearly alert the reader to the primary objective of the paragraph, and then should proceed to fully develop the point being asserted through the use of evidence and analysis.
If the essay is being composed for an exam, it is likely that the essay writer has a limited allotment of time in which to write. Therefore, such essays must be extremely direct and to the point, and should strive for clarity of content rather than stylistic polish. In a formal essay assignment, however, the student must focus on developing his or her writing style to suit the formal tone of the assignment. Furthermore, all formal psychology essays should follow the stylistic and documentation guidelines issued by the American Psychological Association (APA) and its Style Manual.
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