Guidelines for General Psychology
Classes with Dr. Carol Batt
These are guidelines for writing a paper in my General Psych classes. There are two
goals in paper writing for this class: the first is to give you experience in writing as you prepare
for upper division courses; and the second has to do with your ability to pay attention to what
may seem to you like “silly” details. The learning outcome is that you are adaptable. Most of
these are either MLA- or APA-originated. My English experts tell me that APA is a little less
complicated than MLA; when in doubt, use APA. These guidelines incorporate some of both
and are appropriate only in my class! In other classes, find out what your teacher wants!
READ THIS CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU WRITE AND TURN IN YOUR PAPER!!
Please pay attention!! 
Good grammar and punctuation are important! This paper should have NO personal
pronouns. Verb-subject, noun-pronoun and precedent-antecedent agreement in time and
number are required. If you know this is not an area of strength for you, please have someone
read it who understands good format and who knows your challenges. Your campus has a
learning center that can help you. The catch is that you need to approach them earlier than a
few hours before the paper is due!
The upper left hand corner, single spaced, includes your name, the number and name of
the course, my name and the date.
Susan Smith
Psychology 100
Dr. Carol Batt
November 23, 2010
After that, set your computer on double space and DO NOT DEVIATE!! This probably
means understanding your computer’s defaults. On mine there’s an option (in “Styles”) of
“Normal” or “No Spacing”. If you use “Normal”, there will be an extra space between
paragraphs. Click “No Spacing” in Styles, and then on the Paragraph section, click on double
space.
After the heading is the title. Your paper must have a title. It is good to be creative.
“The Autobiography of Susan Smith” is less interesting than “It All Started in Tennessee” for
example. Titles should be in ALL CAPS for this paper. If it’s too long for one line, the format
should be inverted pyramid.
Double space only and then begin your writing. Indent 5-7 spaces at the beginning of
each paragraph. In the computer section “Paragraph” in the bar at the top of your page, be sure
you set your paper on “Align Text to the Left”, the first option. Any other option is incorrect.
THERE IS NO RIGHT MARGIN JUSTIFICATION in APA or MLA; and, most importantly, in my
class!
Begin your writing. Be as creative as you can. Bring a hook, i.e., make me want to read
more. Be sure there are an appropriate number of paragraphs with transitional sentences! Be
sure your paper is the right length for the assignment. “Two to three pages” means two to three
pages of TEXT! The heading and title don’t count as text; neither does the “Sources Cited”
page, if you have one.
If there are words in this writing that are not your very own, i.e., if you quote someone
else, or if you talk about facts that you did not originate, you MUST cite your source. To do
otherwise is PLAGIARISM. I can Google any sentence or part of a sentence and easily find that
the words are not your own.
WIKIPEDIA IS MAY NOT BE USED AS A SOURCE!!
Check out the Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) to determine how to cite.
(https://owl.english.purdue.edu) For papers in my class, choose APA (American Psychological
Association) and following the directions very carefully. It will show you how to cite a source in
the text, and how to properly complete the “Sources Cited” page.
Plan on your printer breaking, or running out of ink or toner, or being too busy for you
when you’re running late; in other words, complete the paper a bit before its due! (Murphy’s
Law)
Good luck! Any other questions, see me.