Welcome to the Online Psychology Writing Center, a joint venture of the Psychology Department and the University Writing Center.
Student Resources
Research articles
How to read a research article
This document gives a brief overview for how Psychology journal articles are organized and gives tips to get the most out of reading them.
Annotated article
This document walks the reader through the finer points of APA style using an actual Psychology journal article as an example with comments.
How to Summarize a Research Article
This brief handout gives step-by-step instructions for summarizing a research article.
Reporting Statistics
This handout gives information about how to write about statistics including examples of some of the most common statistics used in Psychological research.
Other forms of writing in Psychology
Taking Essay Exams
This document will help “decode” what instructors are asking for in essay questions.
Writing a Psychology Literature Review
This document explains what a literature review is and gives step-by-step instruction on how to write a good one.
How to write a Personal Statement for grad school
This handout gives advice about writing personal statements for graduate school applications.
How to create an academic poster
Guidelines for crafting an effective academic poster, including sample layouts.
Style
Style Points for Scientific Writing
This document will help students to refine their writing in Psychology by avoiding some common mistakes.
Style points for Psych Writing
This is a handout from a workshop run with Psychology graduate students. It provides more advanced style guidelines with examples.
Writing the Empirical Journal Article
This easy to read book chapter by Psychologist Daryl Bem is a good introduction to writing journal-style research articles.
Links
George Mason University Psychology Writing Tips
UConn Psychology Department
UConn Writing Center
Books
APA (2005). APA Publication Manual (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Dunn, D. (2003). A Short Guide to Writing About Psychology. New York: Longman.
Scott, J.M., Kock, R., Scott, G.M., & Garrison, S.M. (2001). The Psychology Student Writer’s Manual (2nd ed.) New York: Prentice Hall.
Silva, P.J. (2007). How to write a lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing.Washington, DC: American PsychologicalAssociation.
Sternberg, R.J. (2003). The Psychologist’s Companion: A guide to scientific writing for students and researchers (4th ed.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.