Psychology essays at Uni

Hello, I'm really worried about psychology essays at university - they seem to be very different from A-level essays, and the furthest my uni has got to telling us about it is that there's an introduction where you set out arguments and define stuff, the main body where you put all your references and talk about things (?), and then the conclusion where you summarize and state your answer again. I know that's quite a bit of info but I'm still really worried as when I think about it I have no idea what to put or what to write about or even how to find things to put in the essay. Basically I'm just worried about the essays and I'm not sure what to do. If anyone has any tips or advice, on structure, content, anything at all that you found helpful, I'd really appreciate it, thank you!

Hello, I'm really worried about psychology essays at university - they seem to be very different from A-level essays, and the furthest my uni has got to telling us about it is that there's an introduction where you set out arguments and define stuff, the main body where you put all your references and talk about things (?), and then the conclusion where you summarize and state your answer again. I know that's quite a bit of info but I'm still really worried as when I think about it I have no idea what to put or what to write about or even how to find things to put in the essay. Basically I'm just worried about the essays and I'm not sure what to do. If anyone has any tips or advice, on structure, content, anything at all that you found helpful, I'd really appreciate it, thank you!

Hi there
I just want to reassure you that i felt the exact same way when I first started psychology at uni. Luckily that is exactly what first year is for! None of your first year essays count towards your degree so although you should still try your best to get a good grade, getting feedback is the most important thing.
-The main piece of advice I will give is to always back up everything you say with evidence. Sites like google scholar and Psycinfo are great for finding research to back up your arguments. Just type in some keywords and skim read the abstracts to see which papers are relevant to your essay. Reference as you go along in case you lose the link to the papers or you forget.
- In terms of structuring your essay, your uni should explain this a bit more as you go along. Its definitely nowhere near as specifically structured as Alevel essays so please try not to worry
-Psych essays at uni are structured a lot more like English essays in lower school. Introduction (define any key words and briefly outline the points you will discuss in your essay), main body ( different paragraph for each point -> my advice is to always try and link the last sentence of each paragraph back to the essay question), conclusion (include all relevant points again and summarise your main point/argument)
-One big mistake I made at the start of the year was using most of the lecture content to write my essays. Unless specifically told to do so, I would avoid adding most lecture content in your essays. You aren't supposed to be taught the answers to the essays (unlike at A level), at uni you are expected to research your own points and back them up with evidence.
Hope this helps a bit! Let me know if you have any specific questions
Best wishes
Joanna
-Uni of Kent Rep