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Notes for Essay Writing

Firstly, and most importantly, the point of an essay question is to provoke students into thinking
in an analytical way. In your essay, you should discuss and analyse issues rather than simply
providing description. You should make a case that you support by drawing on the work of
other researchers and authors.
Presentation
For the sake of clarity, ensure that your handwriting is readable or use a computer or typewriter.
Space your text out properly (i.e. double-lined) and leave sufficient space in the left-hand
margin for the readers comments. Standard word processor settings would be for 1 inch (2.5
cm) margins all round, double line spaced and 10-12 point font, depending on the typeface.
Style
It is important when writing an essay to have a plan and to tell the reader what it is going to be.
Doing this will help you to structure your own thoughts and arguments, as well as guiding the
reader through what you are going to say. A simple paragraph is enough, outlining what your
sections will be, and what will be the arguments you develop and the evidence you cite in each
one. Think of an essay as having three main sections: a beginning (the introduction), a middle
(the main body of the essay) and an end (the conclusion). The introduction should set out the
main thrust of your argument. The body of the essay should incorporate evidence for and
against specific points that you wish to make. You should demonstrate clearly whether you
accept or reject other peoples cases and make your own. You must show the reader that you
have understood and answered the question posed in the title. The conclusion should be just
that, a concluding paragraph or two that ties together the arguments that you have already
made. The use of headings is an additional way of ensuring that the structure of the essay is clear
both to the reader and to you.
It is important to remember that we want to read and understand what you have written. Try to
be clear and to write in plain English and you should not go wrong. Avoid using terms or
phrases that you do not understand. Do not use a long word where a shorter word will do
equally well. If you find a sentence becoming over-long, try to break it up into several shorter
sentences. Always edit your first draft to remove repetition and excessive verbosity.
Do not over-use quotations. If you do quote, use quotation marks and cite the source in
brackets, with the page number after the quotation (see below). Never copy directly from the
text without citing the source. This is plagiarism and will be treated accordingly. Understanding
is facilitated by careful paraphrasing, not by lifting chunks from various sources.
Be careful to avoid sexist language. The BPS Authors Guide (pp. 4-5) offers some tips on how
to do this.
For more detailed advice on style, see the University of Exeters Psychological Writing.
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Referencing
All written work that you submit should be accompanied by a complete list of references cited.
If it is not it may be returned to you unmarked. All references should be given in APA format.
The APA has two recommended styles, one for submitted work and one for published work.
The APA Published style should be used in all work submitted in the Department. Below is a
brief introduction to APA reference format. For more detailed information, see the APA
publication manual, which is available in the Library.
References in the text of the essay
Give the surname of the author and the date in parentheses, separated by a comma. If the
authors name is part of the sentence, just add the date in parentheses:
This evidence was supported in a further study (Walker, 1989), where it was found ...
... as Walker (1989) writes.
If you are referring to more than one work in the same parentheses, separate them with
semicolons and arrange them in the order in which they appear in the reference list (see below)
usually this will simply be alphabetical order:
as various authors have shown (Johnson, 1995; Thomas, 1990; Walker, 1989).
It is not usually necessary to give a page number except with a quotation:
Two classes of variables are important: (1) the psychological state of readiness to take
specific action, and (2) the extent to which a particular course of action is believed to be
beneficial in reducing the threat (Rosenstock, 1966, p. 98).
If a work has two authors, give both surnames with and in between:
(Smith and Jones, 2001)
If a work has three to five authors, give all names the first time they appear, and the first authors
name followed by et al. for subsequent references:
(Albarracn, Johnson, Fishbein and Muellerleile, 2001) (Albarracn et al., 2000)
If there are six authors or more, use the first authors name followed by et al. for all references,
including the first.
If two multi-authored works abbreviate to the same et al. form, include as many names as is
necessary to distinguish them. In this case et al. should be preceded by a comma:
(Weinstein, Lyon, et al., 1998; Weinstein, Rothman, et al., 1998)
Where you have cited more than one work by the same author(s) published in the same year,
add a lower case letter to distinguish between them:
(Walker, 1999a, 1999b)
Treat the name of a group author as follows:
(Department of Health, 1998)
A study by the Department of Health (1998),
Where a group is commonly identified by its initials, give the name in full the first time only
(British Institute of Learning Disability [BILD], 1996) (BILD, 1996)
Where you cite a work via a secondary source, use the following format:
This has been supported by West and Farrington, 1973 (cited in Stephenson, 1992).
You must include the full reference for both the primary and secondary source at the end of the
text. (NB it is always preferable to use primary rather than secondary sources.)
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List of references at the end of the essay
The list should be ordered alphabetically by the surname and initials of the first author, then by
the surnames and initials of subsequent authors, then by date of publication, then by title
(excluding A or The). Remember that nothing precedes something, e.g. Green, Z. precedes
Greenberg, and Weinstein (2000) precedes Weinstein & Lyon (1999).
After the surname, put the authors initial(s) (not full forenames), then put the year of publication
in parentheses, followed by a full stop. For multi-authored works, list all authors (even if there
are more than five), separated by commas, and use an ampersand (&) instead of the word and
before the last name.
Kneip, R. C., Delamater, A. M., Ismond, T., Milford, C., Salvia, L., & Schwarz, D.
(1993).

Journal articles
In the case of a journal article, the author name(s) and year of publication are followed by: the
title of the article (with initial letters in lower case), the name of the journal (underlined or in
italics), the volume number (underlined or in italics) and the first and last page numbers of the
article. (In journals where the page numbering is not continuous throughout each year/volume,
the issue number should be included too.)
Danner, D. D., Snowdon, D. A., & Friesen, W. V. (2001). Positive emotions in early life
and longevity: findings from the Nun Study. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 80, 804-813.
Klimoski, R., & Palmer, S. (1993). The ADA and the hiring process in organizations.
Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 45(2), 10-36.

Books
The author name(s) and year of publication are followed by: the title of the book, which should
be underlined or in italics; the edition or volume (if appropriate); the place of publication and
the publisher. If the publishing house has several sites, give the closest.
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention and behaviour: An
introduction to theory and research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Taylor, S. E. (1999). Health psychology. (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Terry, D. J., Gallois, C., & McCamish, M. (1993). The Theory of Reasoned Action: Its
application to AIDS-related behavior. Oxford: Pergamon.

Chapters in books
The author name(s) and year of publication are followed by: the title of the chapter; the name(s)
of the editor(s), preceded by In and followed by (Ed.) or (Eds.); the title of the book, which
should be underlined or in italics; the edition or volume (if appropriate); the first and last page
numbers of the chapter (in parentheses and preceded by pp. ); the place of publication and the
publisher.
Conner, M., & Sparks, P. (1996). The theory of planned behaviour and health
behaviours. In M. Conner & P. Norman (Eds.), Predicting Health Behaviour: Research
and Practice with Social Cognition Models (pp. 121-162). Buckingham: Open University
Press.
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Gollwitzer, P. M. (1990). Action phases and mind-sets. In E. T. Higgins & R. M.
Sorrentino (Eds.), Handbook of Motivation and Cognition: Foundations of Social
Behavior (Vol. 2, pp. 53-92). New York: Guilford Press.
Maccoby, E. E., & Martin, J. (1983). Socialization in the context of the family: parent-
child interaction. In P. H. Mussen (Series Ed.) & E. M. Hetherington (Vol. Ed.),
Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 4. Socialization, personality, and social
development (4th ed., pp. 1-101). New York: Wiley.

For further information, see
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). (2001).
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
The links under Style and Formatting on the departmental Study Skills page.