Critical evaluation is a process of assessing the relative merit of a piece of work, which may have been presented as a journal article, in a text book, on the internet, in a radio or television article, or in just about any other format (for academic purposes, this will usually be Jun 14, · Critical evaluation is an important skill in psychology (and any other subject that requires research) as it allows you to look at others' work and discuss its strengths and weaknesses, where it can be improved, and whether or not the claims made are good quality Sep 02, · As you can guess, first you should find something to criticize and evaluate. Make sure that you are familiar enough with the subject of your critical evaluation essay. Let us take a movie as an example. Step 2. In the introductory paragraph of your critical evaluation essay, introduce your subject (a movie in our case)
Critical Evaluation in Psychology: Essay - Words
By Dr. Saul McLeodpublished Before you write your essay it's important to analyse the task and understand exactly what the essay question is asking.
It is possible your lecturer will give you some advice - pay attention to this as it will help you plan your answer. Next conduct preliminary reading based on your lecture notes. At this stage it's not crucial to have a robust understanding of key theories or studies, critical evaluation psychology essay example, but you should at least have a general 'gist' of the literature.
After reading, plan a response to the task. This plan could be in the form of a mind map, a summary table, or by writing a core statement which encompass the entire argument of your essay in just a few sentences. After writing your plan conduct supplementary reading and refine your plan and make it more detailed.
It is tempting to skip these preliminary steps and just write the first draft while reading at the same time. However, reading and planning will make the essay writing process easier, quicker, and ensure a higher quality essay is produced. Now let us look at what constitutes a good essay in psychology, critical evaluation psychology essay example.
There are a number of important features. Each paragraph should comprise a main theme which are illustrated and developed through a number of points supported by evidence. In the main body of the essay every paragraph should demonstrate both knowledge and critical evaluation. There should also be an appropriate balance between these two essay critical evaluation psychology essay example. Most students make the mistake of writing too much knowledge and not enough evaluation which is the difficult bit.
It is best to structure your essay according to key themes. Themes are illustrated and developed through a number of points supported by evidence.
Choose relevant points only, ones that most reveal the theme or help to make a convincing and interesting argument. Don't make the mistake of writing all the information you know regarding a particular topic. You need to be concise, and clearly articulate your argument. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences. Be clear why each point is is relevant to the argument.
It would be useful at the beginning of each paragraph if you explicitly outlined the theme being discussed. cognitive development, social development etc. Try not to overuse quotations in your essays. It is more appropriate to use original content to demonstrate your understanding. Psychology is a science so you must support your ideas with evidence not your own personal opinion.
If you are discussing a theory or research study make sure you cite the source of the information. Bowlby claimed that mothering is almost useless if delayed until after two and a half to three years and, for most children, if delayed till after 12 months, i.
there is a critical period. Critical evaluation psychology essay example stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs. When one need is fulfilled a person seeks to fullfil the next one, and so on. As a general rule make sure there is at least one citation i. name of psychologist and date of publication in each paragraph. Remember to answer the essay question. Underline the key words in the essay title.
Don't make the mistake of simply writing everything you know of a particular topic, be selective. Each paragraph in your essay should contribute to answering the essay question. In simple terms this means outlining the strengths and limitations of a theory or research study. Is the sample biased or can we generalize the findings to other populations?
What are the strengths and limitations of the method used and data obtained? Be careful to ensure that any methodological criticisms are justified and not trite.
Rather than hunting for weaknesses in every study; only highlight limitations which critical evaluation psychology essay example you doubt the conclusions that the authors have drawn — e. Refer to debates such as nature or nurture, reductionism vs. holism or the perspectives in psychology. For example, would they agree or disagree with a theory or the findings of the study? If research is biased critical evaluation psychology essay example men or women it does not provide a clear view of the behavior that has been studied.
A dominantly male perspective is known as an androcentric bias. The main criterion is that benefits must outweigh costs. But benefits are almost always to humans and costs to animals. Animal research also critical evaluation psychology essay example the issue of extrapolation. It is very important to elaborate on your evaluation.
Don't just write a shopping critical evaluation psychology essay example of brief one or two sentence evaluation points. Instead make sure you expand on your points, remember, quality of evaluation is most important than quantity. Are they positive or negative? Point It is argued that psychoanalytic therapy is only of benefit to an articulate, intelligent, affluent minority. Explain Because psychoanalytic therapy involves talking and gaining insight, and is costly and time-consuming, it is argued that it is only of benefit to an articulate, intelligent, critical evaluation psychology essay example, affluent minority.
Evidence suggests psychoanalytic therapy works best if the client is motivated and has a positive attitude. Furthermore, the levels of dependency of depressed clients mean that transference is more likely to develop. It is often best to write your introduction when you have finished the main body of the essay, so that you have a good understanding to the topic area. Introductions are very important as first impressions count and they can create a h alo effect in the mind of the lecturer critical evaluation psychology essay example your essay.
If you start off well then you are more likely to be forgiven for the odd mistake later one. So many students either forget to write a conclusion or fail to give it the attention it deserves. Points that unite or embrace several themes can be used to great effect as part of your conclusion.
When you have finished the first draft of your essay you must check if it 'flows'. This is an important feature of quality of communication along with spelling and grammar. This means that the paragraphs follow a logical order like the chapters in a novel. Have a global structure with themes arranged in a way that allows for a logical sequence of ideas.
You might want to rearrange cut and paste paragraphs to a different position in your essay if they don't appear to fit in with the essay structure, critical evaluation psychology essay example. To improve the flow of your essay make sure the last sentence of one paragraph links to first sentence of the next paragraph.
This will help the essay flow and make it easier to read, critical evaluation psychology essay example. Repeating citations unnecessarily disrupts the flow of an essay. The reference section is the list of all the sources cited in the essay in alphabetical order. It is not a bibliography a list of the books you used. If you have been using textbooks this is easy as the references are usually at the back of the book and you can just copy them down.
If you have been using websites then you may have a problem as they might not provide a reference section for you to copy. References need to be set out APA style :. Author, A. Article title. Journal Title, volume number issue numberpage numbers, critical evaluation psychology essay example.
A simple way to write your reference section is use Google scholar. Just type the name and date of the psychologist in the search box and click on the 'cite' link. McLeod, S. Essay writing guide for psychology students. Simply Psychology. This workis licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3. Toggle navigation. Theories Research Methods Academic Skills A-level Statistics. Academic Skills Essay Writing Essay Writing Guide for Psychology Students Essay Writing Guide for Psychology Students By Dr.
A Global Structure - structure the material in a way that allows for a logical sequence of ideas. The essay should 'flow'. The introduction, main body and conclusion should all be linked. Knowledge and Understanding - recognise, recall and show understanding on a range of scientific material that accurately reflects the main theoretical perspectives. Evidence of independent thinking, insight and evaluation of the evidence.
Quality of Written Communication - writing clearly and succinctly with appropriate use of paragraphs, spelling and grammar. All sources referenced accurately and in line with APA guidelines. Debates or perspectives - Refer to debates such as nature or nurture, reductionism vs.
Example of an Effective Critical Analysis Essay
, time: 2:15Essay Writing Guide for Psychology Students | Simply Psychology
Aug 19, · What Is a Critical Analysis Essay? A critical analysis essay requires its writers to write a critical evaluation of an argument. Topics can range from analyzing a modern or historical event, film, book, types of music, and complicated social and political issues. It is a form of evaluation and observation with subjective elements Critical evaluation of social psychology Sample Essay. This essay will research the construct of located cognitions. and assess the importance of this construct to the critical rating of societal psychological subjects. The construct of located cognitions is used as an interrogative subject to help in measuring cognition produced in research Sep 02, · As you can guess, first you should find something to criticize and evaluate. Make sure that you are familiar enough with the subject of your critical evaluation essay. Let us take a movie as an example. Step 2. In the introductory paragraph of your critical evaluation essay, introduce your subject (a movie in our case)
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