Читать книгу How to Write Brilliant Psychology Essays - Paul Dickerson - Страница 88

In many forms of writing there is an expectation that terms referred to will be defined. This is particularly the case in technical manuals – mixing up your engine nozzle, docking tunnel and sensing probe could prove really awkward if you are trying to fly your space rocket back to earth. Sometimes – rightly or wrongly – we are encouraged to start essays by defining our terms. This can work well in some cases, for certain types of essays, but it can leave our essay on the launchpad (to stay with the space metaphor), unable to really take off.

One way in which sources are frequently misused is to provide a clumsy, simplistic definition, often right at the start of an essay. Perhaps a textbook is referred to, or worse, a dictionary or a mediocre website, and the definition is given as a truth that cannot be questioned. And that is the problem. The reason to be cautious about turning to sources for simplistic definitions is that it takes that whole area out of what can be debated, discussed, thought about.

Imagine you have this as an essay title:

‘Critically evaluate empirical evidence of the idea that aggression is best thought of in terms of intrapsychic processes?’

Now, imagine that after an introduction you launch into your definition of aggression:

Aggression has been defined as: ‘feelings of anger or antipathy resulting in hostile or violent behaviour; readiness to attack or confront’ (www.dictionary.com).

Quite apart from the clumsy, ‘lifted from the dictionary without thought’ way in which this is written, this presents as unnecessary for further consideration what is actually at the very heart of this essay, which asks us to critically evaluate how aggression has been conceptualised. This illustrates that defining terms sometimes takes them off the table as something to be discussed or debated. If that is required for the specific assessment – an a priori definition may be just what is needed – but often it isn’t. Our essays might be stronger if we discuss the intricacies of definitions or debate different perspectives concerning how we think about them, rather than treat it as a matter of common agreement right at the start of our essay.