Writing a Psychology Paper: Reading Your Assignment

Before you begin, make sure you understand the following. If you are unsure of any of the below, ask your professor.

• How long your paper should be The length of the paper often implies the number and types of resources you should use.
• What type of resources you should use Are you expected to use certain types of sources? Or can you use anything on the Web? Any limitation to the type of Web/Internet resources you can use?
• What type of sources you should use Are you expected to use articles AND books?
• If a draft is due at anytime
  Drafts can give you useful feedback and prevent a total paper disaster.
• When the final paper is due
  Knowing the due date can help you avoid late penalties or ultimate failure.
• What format your bibliography should be in
  There are many types of formats-make sure you know which you should be using.  For Psychology, the APA Style Manual is usually the required format:  
  • Publication Manual of the American Psychogical Association
    • Hunt Library Ref-1 BF76.7 .P83 2010
  • Basics of APA Style: a Tutorial
  • APA Style of Documentation: a Pocket Guide
    • Hunt Library Stacks-2 BF76.8 .P75 2010
  • APA Citation Style (Cornell University)
  • Cite Right : A Quick Guide to Citation Styles 
    • Contains a chapter on APA style
  • Concise Rules of APA Style
    • BF76.7 .C66 2005
    • BF76.7 .C66 2010 

Ana E. Van Gulick, Ph.D.

Research Liaison to Psychology and BrainHub

University Libraries

Department of Psychology

Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition

Carnegie Mellon University

email: anavangulick@cmu.edu

phone: 412-268-7311

Hunt Library 410