In this assignment, you will practice conveying specialized information in an understandable way to non-
psychologists. You will select a scientific paper from the primary literature and rewrite it for the general public, thus
taking information written for a specialized academic audience and explaining it so that an educated lay person will
not only be able to understand it, but will be interested enough in it to keep reading. You do not have to (and in fact,
should not) summarize every aspect of the article, but only those details that are necessary for the major points of the
article to be understood.
Who will your audience be? Once you have identified your topic, consider what population you would like to
share this information with or who might benefit from reading what you write. Is it college students, a particular
identity group, clinicians, parents, doctors, a particular population of people who suffer from a particular mental
health disorder? You will direct your writing to them, referencing things that are relevant to their interests or
identity. In general, let us assume that our audience is an intelligent layperson, such as someone who might pick up
the New York Times or similar publication. Don’t assume that your reader has any specialized knowledge of your
field. It may help to visualize someone you know that has not had any training in psychology (family members?
friends?).
Specific writing goals:
The goal of this assignment is to actively engage and effectively communicate scientific information to a
general audience.
To achieve this goal, focus on the following:
To engage the reader, open with a strong hook so that they will want to continue reading your article.
Use an appealing tone throughout the piece. How can this information be made more appetizing and
exciting to someone who may not have a strong background in this field?
Pay particular attention to vocabulary. Will your reader know the jargon or acronyms common in your
field? Do you NEED to use that jargon or those acronyms, or can you find another way to say it that is still
accurate?
psychologists. You will select a scientific paper from the primary literature and rewrite it for the general public, thus
taking information written for a specialized academic audience and explaining it so that an educated lay person will
not only be able to understand it, but will be interested enough in it to keep reading. You do not have to (and in fact,
should not) summarize every aspect of the article, but only those details that are necessary for the major points of the
article to be understood.
Who will your audience be? Once you have identified your topic, consider what population you would like to
share this information with or who might benefit from reading what you write. Is it college students, a particular
identity group, clinicians, parents, doctors, a particular population of people who suffer from a particular mental
health disorder? You will direct your writing to them, referencing things that are relevant to their interests or
identity. In general, let us assume that our audience is an intelligent layperson, such as someone who might pick up
the New York Times or similar publication. Don’t assume that your reader has any specialized knowledge of your
field. It may help to visualize someone you know that has not had any training in psychology (family members?
friends?).
Specific writing goals:
The goal of this assignment is to actively engage and effectively communicate scientific information to a
general audience.
To achieve this goal, focus on the following:
To engage the reader, open with a strong hook so that they will want to continue reading your article.
Use an appealing tone throughout the piece. How can this information be made more appetizing and
exciting to someone who may not have a strong background in this field?
Pay particular attention to vocabulary. Will your reader know the jargon or acronyms common in your
field? Do you NEED to use that jargon or those acronyms, or can you find another way to say it that is still
accurate?
2
Remember that you do not have to summarize every bit of information in your article. What are the main
points? Try to give the reader a good sense of the study that you are describing without drowning them in
unnecessary detail.
And above all, make sure that you are accurately representing science!
Submitting your final paper:
For the final draft, submit the following two items in a single document through the TurnItIn link o
− Reflect on the overall process of the paper, including generating each draft, the peer review process, the
revising process, and finalizing your draft for submission. Consider any challenges, your strengths and
weaknesses, and how you might improve on the process in the future.
Provide a general remark on the peer comments that you received and how you responded to these
comments, including what major changes you made. You may elect not to take specific pieces of
advice; describe and defend that decision in your letter. (When psychologists and neuroscientists
submit manuscripts and revisions to journals, they write to the journal editor in this way.)
Identify any additional improvements to the paper above and beyond what your peers suggested.
(2) Your final paper, carefully proofread so that spelling and grammatical errors are eliminated. T
Remember that you do not have to summarize every bit of information in your article. What are the main
points? Try to give the reader a good sense of the study that you are describing without drowning them in
unnecessary detail.
And above all, make sure that you are accurately representing science!
Submitting your final paper:
For the final draft, submit the following two items in a single document through the TurnItIn link o
− Reflect on the overall process of the paper, including generating each draft, the peer review process, the
revising process, and finalizing your draft for submission. Consider any challenges, your strengths and
weaknesses, and how you might improve on the process in the future.
Provide a general remark on the peer comments that you received and how you responded to these
comments, including what major changes you made. You may elect not to take specific pieces of
advice; describe and defend that decision in your letter. (When psychologists and neuroscientists
submit manuscripts and revisions to journals, they write to the journal editor in this way.)
Identify any additional improvements to the paper above and beyond what your peers suggested.
(2) Your final paper, carefully proofread so that spelling and grammatical errors are eliminated. T