- Writing :On pg 7 of The Elements of Teaching Writing, the authors argue that what constitutes good writing differs across different discourse communities. Based on your experience, describe briefly (in 150 words approx.) what constitutes good writing in psychology? While responding, you might want to consider genres apart from academic papers, such as blog posts, newspaper articles, podcasts as well. Post your responses as comments on this post
- Designing: Design /revise an existing assignment or class project from your syllabus to incorporate the use of social media. Please create a separate blog post for your assignment, and select the category “Spring 2023” before publishing.
- Reading: Chp 2 of Gottschalk & Hjortshoj. During our next workshop we will be reviewing our assignments using the criteria listed on pages 29-40 .
I haven’t considered this question until I taught a semester of undergraduate experimental psychology. When I would read some of the students’ literature review drafts, I would think to myself – this is not “essentially bad” however, some would not meet the ‘expectations” (e.g., linking the main hypotheses, findings, and arguments with their hypotheses) with a standard literature review of a psychology research paper. However, the writing itself I would often consider good. For example, plain and straight forward language that is devoid of literary devices and overly flowery rhetoric. Additionally, succinct in conveying their ideas to the reader/listener to emphasize their main point(s). Furthermore, the ability to incorporate critical responses to the psychological concepts that one is encountering in their work is essential despite if it’s a blog or a research proposal. Lastly, I believe it’s important for one to provide valid evidence when arguing their main points.
So I have been having a hard time thinking about what I consider good writing in psychology. I teach APA style writing for my course and I often see students struggle with their final paper. They have a difficult time particularly with the literature review and the discussion section. Good writing for this paper means being able to connect the different articles to the experiment they performed. Having transitions from one thought to another and not overly relying on quotes. I want to read their ideas and many are accustomed to quoting everything.