Helpful Resources for Chapter 2:
Writing Essays and Term Papers

• "Guide to writing thesis statements" from the University of Washington
• "Creating a Thesis Statement"  from OWL at Purdue
• Good advice and an example of going from a general topic to a specific thesis statement
• Thesis builder (Simple and effective)
• As mentioned on page 28,  to get started on your term paper, you will usually narrow down your general topic by either (a) studying a more specific subtopic or  (b) by examining a specific hypothesis about that topic. In either case, entering the name of your topic in the following websites' search boxes may help you narrow down your topic. 

• Hyperdictionary (highly recommended) 
• Highbeam Encyclopedia (will often look up your term in Colman's dictionary of psychology, and that dictionary will often provide you alternative search terms)
•  Roget's Thesaurus
•  Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus
•  Wikipedia will often give you alternative search terms, especially if your original term is broad. Look for other search terms in (a) the introduction to the article (when the term will be defined), (b) in the first section of the article after the introduction (often labeled "1 Forms of ..." or "Versions"), (c) before the References, there may be a  "See also" section, and (d) in the side bar box on the right side of the screen (most entries will not have such boxes). If you want to go directly to Wikipedia's list of psychology topics, click here.

p. 32, footnote: Getting the page header right

• Template for title page that you can download

 pp. 36-40 Organizing the body of your paper by outlining it

•     Outlining tips for the disorganized person

Guide to writing a basic essay

Click to grade a sample term paper or to see the graded version. When asked for the password, use the first  problem plural
listed in Appendix B (be sure to use the plural form of the word).