How to Write Brilliant Psychology Essays. Paul Dickerson
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Название: How to Write Brilliant Psychology Essays
Автор: Paul Dickerson
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Зарубежная психология
isbn: 9781529737233
isbn:
The statement of intent
‘Statement of intent’ is an unusual term, with a somewhat legalistic ring to it. The statement of intent is the programme guide, street map, menu or orientating briefing for your essay. A clear statement of intent improves the reader’s experience of your essay and that really is important. With a statement of intent, your reader will know what is coming next and so the essay starts to feel well structured. If your statement of intent is really good, then the reader can see the rationale for what you have included and for the order in which you are addressing different ideas in your essay. A strong statement of intent can even help to convey a sense of critical thinking as it can highlight what you identify as some of the key points of discussion and debate that are relevant for the essay topic.
Ace your assignment Think about your reader’s experience – from the beginning
Tables 3.1 and 3.2 present a weaker and a stronger example of some introductory paragraphs and how a reader might interpret them. Look at each example first and pause to think how it made you feel before checking the reader’s reactions.
Table 3.1
Table 3.2
A strong statement of intent can tick so many boxes, conveying an understanding of the relevant literature, a sense of clear structure and some critical awareness, but a typical statement of intent falls short of this. Many essays do not have a statement of intent or have something so generic that it is neither sign-posting a rationale nor demonstrating evaluative thinking. To get a clearer grasp of this, let’s return to the sample essay title used above and see how a statement of intent could be written.
Example
Essay title:
‘Critically evaluate Kelley’s Covariation Model of Causal Attribution.’
Sample statement of intent with feedback
1 This essay discusses Kelley’s covariation model of causal attribution and evaluates it.This is barely a statement of intent at all. It is little more than stating ‘This essay will answer the question that was set’. What is needed is a sense of some further detail about how the essay will answer the question.
2 This essay will examine Kelley’s model. It will also discuss the evidence for it. It will then critique Kelley’s model, it will cover attribution bias, it will refer to work which considers how attributions are communicated and it will end by reflecting on Kelley’s contribution.This provides some further detail about how the essay will address the essay question, so it is a clear improvement on (a) above, but it reads like a list. There is no sense of understanding the different approaches that are covered, limited sense of how they relate to each other and little rationale for why the essay will be addressed in this way.
3 This essay will evaluate Kelley’s model first, by outlining its key elements and the empirical evidence relating to it. It will then consider critique from work which has identified various biases as well as research which challenges Kelley’s neglect of how attributions are communicated. In doing so, the essay will consider whether the framework which Kelley provided is best thought of as limiting or enabling subsequent approaches to understanding attribution.This statement of intent could be further improved – it could characterise Kelley’s approach, perhaps referring to its emphasis on rational thinking. However, it is nonetheless a strong statement of intent. First, it is reasonably specific, though perhaps further specific names and theories could be identified. Second, it conveys some clear thinking about the approaches referred to, for example, the reference to Kelley’s neglect of how attributions are communicated. Third, there is a sense of debate between Kelley’s approach and that of other perspectives that will be drawn on. Outlining the debates to be covered provides a rationale for what is included and demonstrates relevant evaluative thinking. Finally, this statement of intent hints at a conceptualisation of the implications of Kelley’s work (whether Kelley’s framework ‘is best thought of as limiting or enabling subsequent approaches’).
Learn
Table 3.3
Making your statement of intent sparkle!
The statement of intent is a fabulous opportunity to demonstrate your thinking to the reader. It is more than just dressing up an essay with the right catch phrases – the act of writing a really effective statement of intent forces you to pay attention to what you will include in your essay, the order in which you will include it, how the ideas relate to one another, how you would characterise the ideas that you refer to and where you may arrive at the end of the essay. Let’s consider these issues in a little more detail:
What you will include – This is usually the easiest bit of the statement of intent. You need to ensure that you make reference to the key ideas, and possibly some key names, that are relevant for the specific essay title that you are addressing.
The order in which you will include these things – The order may be straightforward but it is worth thinking about. Often essays are ordered chronologically, or in the order in which they have been presented in textbooks or lectures. This may be the best order, but arrive at the order through thought and consideration, such as how can you organise a really effective debate rather than unthinkingly adopting date of publication or order on your lecture slides as necessarily being the best arrangement.
How the ideas relate to one another – This can involve some careful thinking and will inform the order in which you cover ideas in your essay. For many essays it is worth identifying those issues – of relevance to the specific essay title – where there are different views. This is at the heart of evaluative thinking – being able to discuss empirical evidence or theoretical ideas from different perspectives. Developing your understanding about how the ideas interrelate, where there are differences and debates, and where there are confirmations and clarifications can take time, but will improve the quality of your entire essay.
How the ideas can be characterised – Some further careful thinking and reading may help you to get a clearer sense of what the target approach in the essay is offering. This type of thinking is so helpful that it is worth considering with each key idea that you encounter: ‘How can I characterise this perspective?’, ‘How have others made sense of or characterised it?’ and ‘What are the different ways of thinking about this approach?’ This is an СКАЧАТЬ