Foreword and Acknowledgemets
Research psychologists commit virtually everything they do to writing. You know that, course. But now you are
facing a new challenge: How to teach the tools of the trade to new concentrators eager to master the techniques
of their undergraduate discipline. These new concentrators have already taken a course in Expository Writing at
Harvard, which has taught them how to formulate a thesis (or argument), provide a motive for the thesis, sup-
port this thesis with convincing evidence, and to anticipate objections from readers. Now they need to learn the
crucial refinements essential to good writing in psychology: what constitutes an acceptable scientific thesis or
argument, how to evaluate existing empirical evidence and incorporate their own reasoning to support or cri-
tique it, and what sort of objections psychologists are likely to make to their reasoning. When students complete
your tutorial, they will have learned to write short papers on assigned readings and will also have completed the
Sophomore Essay, a scholarly argument, supported by a literature review, on a topic of their choice.
This booklet contains the accumulated wisdom of many experts. Nancy Sommers and Tom Jehn of the Expository
Writing Program provided the central direction and guidance throughout the process for both this guidebook and
the one written for students. Mary-Ann Winkelmes and Sue Lonoff of the Graduate Writing Fellows program at
the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning have given the two of us many tips on teaching writing which
we have incorporated into our own tutorials over the years. Stephen Kosslyn and Robin Rosenberg published the
QALMRI method described here, to which tutors and teaching fellows including Chris Chabris, Kevin Ochsner, Erin
Driver-Linn had contributed over time. Other tutors shared information with us at biweekly tutor meetings and
generously gave us copies of their written advice to students (provided in the Appendices).
We also thank our colleagues Jeanne Fama and Shelley Carson, the authors of the parallel student writing guide,
for their collaboration. A Gordon Gray grant from Expository Writing Program made the development of this
guide possible.
We would particularly like to thank Stephen Kosslyn for his unparalleled input, assistance, patience and inspira-
tion.
A TF's GUIDE TO TEACHING WRITING FOR PSYCHOLOGY
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Summary :
Nancy Sommers and Tom Jehn of the Expository Writing Program provided the central direction and guidance throughout the process for both this guidebook and the one written for students. Mary-Ann Winkelmes and Sue Lonoff of the Graduate Writing Fellows program at the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning have given the two of us many tips on teaching writing which we have incorporated into our own tutorials over the years.
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