Posts

How to write an RA application

-
If you’re thinking about a career in research, working as a research assistant (RA) can be a great first step on the ladder. You’ll be working with an established academic, and possibly a team of other researchers, on a real-world study. The exact project will dictate the nature of the job, but it might involve recruiting participants, collecting data, preparing data for analysis, and possibly doing some of the analysis too. These jobs are competitive. I’ve read through several hundred RA applications now, and there’s an art to writing them. Here are my tips. 1. Before you begin: get some research experience outside your undergrad degree I know: this is the crappy can’t-get-experience-without-experience bind. But the reality is that few people get RA jobs without some prior research experience. This could be in the form of a masters, but this is not the only option. (Masters are expensive. I never did one.) The other option is to get some paid or voluntary short-term R
Read more

How to write an excellent psychology essay

-
If you’re doing a BSc or MSc in psychology, then you’ll be very familiar with the importance of writing. Many of your assignments will be essays, which means that being able to write well can make a huge difference to your final degree. There is no magic formula for producing a perfect essay, and writing is hard, but there are lots of tips and advice that can help you along the way. I’ve summarised them here. Before we start, I want to mention the importance of two things. First, clarity. In writing, clarity is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, the princess in the castle: clarity is your final, most important goal.  You cannot write well unless you write clearly. Second, you must think about your reader. When writing an essay, never, ever forget about your reader. Good writing means having a constant awareness of what the reader knows, what they don’t know, and what they need to know next. Hold your reader in mind the entire time that you write, then deliver the message to
Post a Comment
Read more