How to Write a Psychology Critique Paper

Psychology papers are much different than your normal English paper. Professors often give an initial assignment to write a psychology critique paper. This will serve as a writing orientation into this new style of writing. Writing a critique will allow you to analyze how experiments are conducted and how the results are interpreted in psychology. These students can then be able to relay the results in a psychology paper. Learning to write an effective critique paper is essential in understanding how to write a psychology paper.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Read each section of the psychology article thoroughly. Make mental notes of whether the article's principles and ideas are clear and concise.

2. Analyze each section. Jot down notes and questions you may have. Each section should make sense.

3. Take a position and explain your reasoning on why you agree or disagree with the researcher's conclusions.

4. Write your introduction. Include the author's name and a brief description of the article that is being critiqued. Include the main hypothesis and the relevance of the information given. State your thesis after this has been established.

5. Summarize the article's main points, results and discussion section in the next part of your critique. This should be kept somewhat brief.

6. Analyze the article in the next section you write. This should include your critique of the paper. Make sure you detail any issues or problems you had. Include these along with your reasoning and possible alternatives to their thinking.

7. Write your conclusion. This section will close the critique out with an overview of the arguments of the paper, the conclusions you made and other reactions.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep your questions and notes in mind while writing.
• Make an outline of your thoughts before you begin writing to make the process a little easier.
• Don't rely on your ability to have objectivity with your own paper. Have someone look over your rough draft before you write the final draft.

Resources

• Writing in Psychology
• Major Steps in Writing a Psychology Critique

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