Writing in Psychology

"In short, Miller presents many important writing- related concepts that we aim to teach our students and consolidates them in a single book. Thus, Writing in Psychology is a useful tool for instructors to help their students navigate the route to high- quality formal writing."- Pam Marek & Adrienne L. Williamson, Department of Psychology, Kennesaw State University

"Students of psychology must quickly become fluent in the writing style and requirements of the field. Miller (emer., Univ. of Florida) brings to this book his considerable experience with teaching, writing, and research methods in psychology. He addresses not only how to write - both generally and for psychology papers, reports, and articles - but also the aspects most challenging to many students: how to determine what to write and how to conduct a productive literature review. It should also be useful in courses that focus on learning how to write in psychology. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through graduate students." - A.I. Piper, New College of Florida, in CHOICE, August 2014 

"In this book, Scott Miller gives us a clear, comprehensive guide to what makes good writing. Tackling sentence structure, overall organization, and everything in between, Miller gently steers would-be writers away from common pitfalls and towards the outcome of a well-written manuscript. Everyone who writes in the field of psychology will find this book useful. Everyone who teaches students how to write for the field will find this book invaluable." - Erika Hoff, Florida Atlantic University, USA

"This book is an excellent resource for psychology students and writers at all levels. Miller provides valuable guidance addressing the challenge of what to say in addition to how to say it effectively." - Anne Moyer, Stony Brook University, USA

"This is a book to keep by you as you write. It is a user-friendly guide to all things needed to become a more effective academic writer. It has much to offer any student or professional who wants to improve their writing. It will also appeal to anyone needing straightforward, sound advice on writing essays and dissertations and to any academic looking to refresh their writing style or for successful writing tips. Recommended!" - Deborah Biggerstaff, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, UK

„It is obvious that the author has tremendous experience teaching writing psychology in the classroom. He writes ... as if he is talking directly to students and has anticipated their questions. ... He justifies why each section is important and provides helpful suggestions to engage the reader. ...The numerous examples ... make this ... a valuable reference." - Amy E. Lindsey, Utica College, USA

"A very helpful text for undergraduate and graduate students. ... It seems to tap the needs of novice writers in a more practical way. ...The sections with advice on how to organize, what level of detail to use, how to write smoothly, and how to draw conclusions all exceptional. The clarity and the practicality make this stand out among books I’ve seen on writing in psychology. ... I would absolutely consider this book in lieu of the current one I use for a course on writing in psychology." - Nancy Davis Johnson, Queens University of Charlotte, USA

"I found this to be quite helpful as would graduate students. ...The ‘learning tools’ (including examples) are ... attractive because of their simplicity and clarity. ... It was an excellent read and I learned from it. ... [It is] an excellent text." - Kenneth C. Elliott, University of Maine at Augusta, USA

"Appropriate for numerous courses in which we require students to write papers, especially those completing our senior capstone (Experimental Methods, followed by Advanced Research in Psychology or Advanced Social Psychology). ... Students need better books to teach them how to write in APA style and how to write in general." - Travis Langley, Henderson State College, USA

This book helps readers become better writers of psychology and better writers in general. After reading thousands of course papers, theses, and dissertations, Dr. Miller knows and addresses the issues that students find most challenging when writing about psychology. Written with the utmost flexibility in mind, the chapters can be read in any order. More comprehensive than similar texts, this book provides detailed coverage of how to write empirical reports, research proposals, and literature reviews, and how to read meta-analyses. Readers will also find invaluable strategies for improving one’s writing including how to adopt an engaging yet accurate style, thorough coverage of grammatical and word use rules that govern writing in general, and the APA (American Psychological Association) rules that govern the expression of that content.

• Describes the most common APA style rules encountered and/or highlights references to the Manual when more detailed knowledge is required.
• Numerous examples from journal articles that help readers gain a clearer understanding of content they will encounter in writing psychological reports.
• Chapter exercises that provide an opportunity to apply the points conveyed in each chapter.
• Examples of the most common mistakes made by students and how to avoid them and best practices for improving one’s writing.
• Tables that help readers gain a clearer understanding of the new standards in the APA Publications Manual, 6th ed (Appendix A).
• Errors in APA Style exemplified via an improperly formatted paper and another version noting corrections pertaining to APA style and grammar, to highlight the most common pitfalls encountered by students (Appendix B).

Ideal for courses on writing in psychology or as a supplement for graduate or advanced undergraduate courses in research design or research methods, this book also serves as a resource for anyone looking for guidance on how to write about psychological content.