week 4 - writing skills (essay)

descriptive vs. critical analytical writingg

styles of writing

• descriptive

• argumentative/analytical

• evaluative/analytical

• reflective

descriptive writing

• describes what happened

• describes main features or functions

• summarises main points of theory or article

elevate descriptive writing

• identify what is relevant

• be clear, precise, and accurate

• organisation

• keep to the point

• indicate significance

argumentative/analytical writing

1. state your position

2. support your argument with evidence

3. consider the opposition

elevate argumentative/analytical writing

• be clear about position

• construct a clear line of reasoning

• take multiple perspectives

evaluative/analytical writing

• compare (emphasise points of similarity)

• contrast (emphasise points of difference)

• evaluate significance

• make a judgement

• show your criteria

• synthesise

elevate evaluative/analytical writing

• compare like with like

• check for balance

reflective writing

• involves analysis of your personal experiences, practice, skills, and responses in order to learn and improve

• e.g.

  • scrutinise an experience and how you dealt with it

  • evaluate a project and what could be done differently next time

  • reflect on what you have read and how it links to the theory, practice, and reality

elevate reflective writing

• do more than describe —> critically analyse

• have clear line of reasoning

• incorporate evidence (e.g. relevant literature) and examples

• consider how you will apply what you have learned

what is an essay?

• Activity to sharpen your thinking and improve your writing 

• Means to develop your generic written communication skills 

  • Writing with particular purpose, structure, and layout, typically in response to question 

  • Writing in formal, academic style 

• Means to demonstrate understanding and critical thinking skills → tutors can check progress 

• Transferable skills - e.g. report writing

generic essay marking criteria

• Knowledge and understanding 

• Analysis 

• Reading and referencing 

• Essay structure 

• Use of language 

• Use of Gen AI

essay structure - marking

Essay is structured to make argument and discussion clear and coherent

essay structure - basic organisation

• Title 

• Introduction 

• Main body, organised into paragraphs 

  • Develop argument and line of reasoning 

• Conclusion 

• References

analyse essay title

• Start with process (or task) words

• E.g. discuss, assess, examine, evaluate

Cottrell (2019)

• most essays fit four main types

• ‘For or against?’ - e.g. criticise, discuss, evaluate, justify 

• ‘To what extent’ - is something true? Is something effective? 

• ‘Compare and contrast’ - identify significance of similarities and differences 

• Reflective

marking criteria - knowledge and understanding

• Essay demonstrates evidence of sound knowledge of topic and makes accurate use of appropriate terminology 

  • 2(i) shows evidence of relevant and sound knowledge and understanding of topic

marking criteria - reading and referencing

• 2(i) essay well informed by reading which goes beyond key texts

• Accurate use of APA style 

• May be minor lapses in attention to detail

introduction

• Explain how you interpret question and summarise conclusion 

• Define key terms (necessary)

• Identify issues you are going to explore 

• Give brief outline of how you deal with each issue and in which order

thesis statement

• Concise (e.g. 1-2 sentence) summary of position or argument to be developed in essay 

  • Connects to essays line of reasoning

• “Essay will argue that combining pharmacological treatments with CBT provides the most effective results in reducing both the symptoms and underlying causes of anxiety disorders”

main body

• Develops and supports thesis statement by presenting evidence, analysis, and your arguments 

• Writing style - more critical analytical, than descriptive 

• Paragraph structure - e.g. PEEL

• Concise summaries of research, e.g. 

  • In a sample of A, method B produced result C, thereby supporting the view that X causes/predicts/etc. Y

• Coherence (flow) - logical arrangement, connection, relevance 

• Synthesis - combining separate elements to form whole 

• Transition words (e.g. for example) and phrases (e.g. it could be argued that…)

conclusion

• Summarise the argument and main themes 

• State the general conclusions 

• Make it clear why those conclusions are important or significant 

• In the last sentence, sum up argument very briefly, linking it to title

conclusion - implications and recommendations

• Implications - what does your argument/analysis mean?

  • How and why is it important?

  • How does it contribute to the field?

  • How does it connect to other theories/ideas in the field?

• Recommendations: what are the next steps in the research (or practice)?

  • Specific and realistic suggests to improve field

references

• Who, when, what, and where 

• Do not need to include bibliography for your psychology assessments, only reference list 

• Follow APA style 

• Familiarise yourself with formats for different sources

in-text citations

• Mid- or end-of-sentence use a parenthetical citation 

  • E.g.  (Cowie et al., 2013)

• Start of sentence as a narrative citation 

  • E.g. Cowie et al. (2013) 

• For in-text citations and references aim for consistency