A few tips on writing

Introduction: Make sure you have a short, clear introductory paragraph that

lets the reader know what the paper is going to be about. Signal the organization

of your paper. Use headings for different sections.

to affect vs. to effect: This is a terribly common mistake. The verb 'to effect'

is very formal and rarely used; it means 'to succeed in causing something planned

to happen.' When students use 'to effect,' they almost always have a meaning in mind

that is captured by the verb 'to affect': "The presence of other people affects an

individual's performance." "She was strongly affected by her recent life events."

The error comes from the fact that 'to effect' is synonymous with the phrase 'something

has an effect on something else.' So don't use the verb 'to effect'---use 'to affect' or

'to have an effect.'

Genitive ['s]: [singular] "My mother's [not mothers] decision was difficult."
Genitive [s']: [plural] "The mothers' decision was difficult."

Its vs. It's: For example, "Its [not It's] most attractive feature is the price"

"It's [ it is] uncertain that it will rain."

Gender-neutral language: To avoid the traditional sexist use of "he," use one or

more of the following strategies: (a) alternate references to male and female (e.g., if

you gave one example about a woman in one paragraph, use an example about a

man in the next paragraph); (a) say "his or her" and "he or she" (but don't use the

clumsy his/her or s/he); (c) use the plural form "people" (but don't say "they" if you

refer to a single person).

tenet vs. tenant: A tenet of a theory is a major principle on which the theory is

based. Your tenant pays rent to you every month.

A colon [:] introduces a closely related sentence part (e.g., "He made one major

mistake: not to calculate the probabilities right"). The part after the colon can be

a complete or an incomplete sentence.

A semicolon [;] separates two sentence parts more distinctly than a comma does

and less distinctly than a period ("She was not tired; he was exhausted"). The part

after the semicolon must be a complete sentence.

Plural words: "Phenomena" is a plural world--its singular form is "phenomenon"

("These phenomena are intriguing"). The same holds for "data," which is the plural

of "datum" ("The data do not confirm the hypothesis") and "criteria," which is the

plural of "criterion" ("The criteria were set too high").

Do not use definite articles for theories: "Dissonance theory predicts that ..."

(NOT: "The dissonance theory") Same for attribution theory, signal detection theory,

expected utility theory, prospect theory, etc. Note, however, that psychological

processes or phenomena often do carry a definite article (the fundamental attribution

error, the availability heuristic, etc.)

Between and Among: Between two items, persons, places, and among three or more.

People who, not people that: people are not "thats". And "couple is," not "couple are."