Read the article. Identify key points: the research topic, hypotheses, what was done, the results, and how the experimenter interpreted the results.

WRITING YOUR SUMMARY

  1. Read the article. Identify key points: the research topic, hypotheses, what was done, the results, and how the experimenter interpreted the results. Circling these points will help you find them when you write. Do your best to understand the article. Write notes in the margin and use a highlighter to mark important sections. Talk about the article with others and see if you can explain it to somebody who has not read the paper. You are encouraged to use half the time that you plan to spend on this assignment on this step.
  2. Write the summary. The summary should be a condensed version of the article rather than an article abstract. Abstracts are more concise and reflect the authors’ decisions about information that should be mentioned. Avoid “lifting” sentences from the article or the abstract. Use your own words. Here is one possible plan.

Plan to write at least one paragraph for each section below. For some areas (e.g. methods and discussion you will likely have more than one paragraph).

• Background  Why was the research conducted; why is the research question interesting (for them, not you)?

• Purpose of study What is the researchers’ hypothesis? Are there several hypotheses?

• Methods Who participated, how many participated, what were the materials, what is the research design – what conditions were compared, measures, procedure – what was done. Is there an independent variable and a dependent variable? Not all studies will have these variables but if it does, clearly identify the variables. What statistics were used in the study? You don’t have to understand all of the statistics to report on them.

• Results Describe the key findings. Did the results support the researchers’ hypotheses?

• Discussion What do the results mean? What are the conclusions? What are the implications? Are there plans for further research based on the test of this hypothesis?

APA style headings are appropriate. Use the headings above.

3. Revise the summary. One good step is to have someone else (who has not read the article) read your rough draft. Then have your reader describe the article in his or her own words. What readers say will clue you in to anything you have left out. You may also take your draft to the Tutoring Service offered by Learner Success Services. Then revise your paper.

GETTING HELP

You are encouraged to visit the Tutoring Services for excellent feedback on psychology assignments. Remember that many students meet with Tutoring Services before they have a complete first draft or before they actually start writing. DO NOT wait until you think you have the perfect complete paper.

Guidelines:

  • Proper APA citations must be provided for at least two Students may use the textbook as one of their sources.
  • Papers that are missing a reference list or in-text citations will not be graded and all papers will be checked for academic dishonesty.
  • Papers must adhere to the APA formatting guidelines set out in your APA Template and Guides content module. When formatting your paper, select Times New Roman, 12 point font.  Use one-inch margins (2.54 cm) on all sides of the page and double-space the entire paper.
  • Correct grammar (including correct verb tense), sentence structure, spelling, and terminology are expected. You must also eliminate run-on sentences (sentences that do not end or have proper punctuation) and incomplete sentences (fragments).