How to Write Brilliant Psychology Essays. Paul Dickerson
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’).
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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 example of how it is not simply that we get ideas clear in our head and then write them down, but instead that there is a dynamic dialogue between our thinking and our writing (see the ‘Think’ box below).
Where does that leave the reader – A clearly articulated statement of intent communicates that you have thought about what will be included in your essay and the order in which you will do so. If it is really well written and reflective of good thinking in terms of what is included and when and how the different ideas interrelate, then the reader already feels that this is a well-structured essay that addresses the essay title and may anticipate that it will be critically evaluative also. While it is possible that the body of the essay could cause the reader’s positive anticipation to be revised, an excellent statement of intent is likely to have come from careful thinking. Even the writing of a strong statement of intent can help the author to improve the body of their essay, and the reader, aware of that, comes to the essay in a positive frame of mind.
Think Sculpting not smashing
Think of someone sculpting a beautiful statue, having to work with the clay or other materials, bringing form out of them, with them and through them. The medium used isn’t just the passive recipient of the will of the artist; it can inform and shape what happens next. This act of creation is quite different from an act of destruction, where the will to destroy is simply imposed on the outer world with little or no engagement with the target object. Essay writing – good essay writing – has that creative quality, working with the words and ideas. We take our plans to our writing, but our writing then talks back to us – it highlights problems, offers new ways of seeing things and it suggests things to us.
Our writing helps our thinking which helps our writing
We may struggle with our writing at just the point where we are thinking through different ideas. Our writing can help identify that struggle – for example, that effort to characterise an approach. This develops our thinking as we try to think about the issues we are writing about more deeply. This dynamic interplay is at the heart of some of the best academic writing. The author isn’t the font of static, fixed knowledge that they passively convey as if taking down some dictation. Instead, the author is dynamically struggling with ideas and articulating them. In making ideas clear to others, they are simultaneously making them clear to themselves. This dual articulation process involves passages that run smoothly and then hit a snag, but the snag isn’t like a blockade in the road ahead; instead, it identifies an issue that can be taken deeper – an opportunity to further clarify, deepen or extend our understanding. Writing and thinking are dynamic, mutually-enhancing processes. That is what makes them creative, fun and worthwhile.
How to write introductions like a reader
This advice might be best left on one side when you are trying to get words on the page – you certainly don’t want your inner editor inhibiting you. But writing is a bit more like speaking than we sometimes realise. When we talk, we often take into account our audience. We sense, or try to sense, how well they are understanding what we are trying to communicate and what they feel about it. We can’t get that sort of live feedback when