How to Write a Psychology Paper (APA Style)

TL;DR

• Psychology papers follow APA format with a specific structure: Title Page, Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, References
• The Method section is usually the hardest for beginners — describe participants, materials, and procedures in enough detail that someone could replicate your study
• Statistical results have a specific APA reporting format (know how to write t-tests, ANOVAs, and correlations)
• Your Discussion section is where you show critical thinking — don't just repeat results, interpret what they mean

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Psychology is one of those subjects where writing matters as much as the science. You could run the most brilliant study ever, but if you can't communicate your findings clearly in APA format, nobody will take it seriously.

The good news: APA format is very structured. Once you learn the template, you can apply it to any psychology paper. The bad news: there are approximately one million formatting details, and your professor will notice every one you get wrong.

Let's walk through each section so you know exactly what to write, how to write it, and what your professor is actually looking for.

The APA Paper Structure

Every empirical psychology paper follows this structure:

1. Title Page
2. Abstract
3. Introduction (no heading needed — it's assumed)
4. Method
5. Results
6. Discussion
7. References
8. Tables and Figures (if applicable)
9. Appendices (if applicable)

For non-empirical papers (literature reviews, theoretical papers), you'll skip the Method and Results sections, but the APA formatting still applies.

Title Page

APA 7th Edition Format:

• Paper title in bold, centered, upper half of the page
• Your name
• Your institutional affiliation (school name)
• Course number and name
• Instructor name
• Due date

Title tips:

• Be specific: "The Effect of Sleep Deprivation on Working Memory in College Students" beats "Sleep and Memory"
• Keep it under 12 words if possible
• Don't use abbreviations in the title
• Capitalize major words (Title Case)

Abstract

The abstract is a summary of your entire paper in 150-250 words. Write it LAST, even though it appears first.

Include:

• The research question/purpose (1-2 sentences)
• Method summary (participants, design, measures) (2-3 sentences)
• Key results (1-2 sentences)
• Main conclusion/implication (1 sentence)

Format:

• New page after title page
• "Abstract" centered and bold at top
• Single paragraph, no indentation
• Keywords listed below in italics: Keywords: sleep deprivation, working memory, college students

Example:

This study examined the relationship between sleep quality and academic performance among first-year college students. A sample of 120 freshmen completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and provided their cumulative GPA. Results indicated a significant positive correlation between sleep quality and GPA, r(118) = .34, p < .001. Students who reported fewer than 6 hours of sleep per night had significantly lower GPAs than students who slept 7-9 hours, t(118) = 3.42, p = .001, d = 0.63. These findings suggest that sleep interventions may be a viable target for improving academic outcomes in college populations.

Introduction

The introduction does three things:

1. Introduces your topic and why it matters
2. Reviews relevant previous research (literature review)
3. States your hypothesis

Structure

Opening paragraph: Hook the reader and establish the topic's importance. Why should anyone care about this research question?

Literature review (2-5 paragraphs): Summarize what previous researchers have found about your topic. Organize thematically, not chronologically. Each paragraph should cover a theme or aspect of the existing research.

Key rules for the lit review:

• Cite everything: (Author, Year) for parenthetical citations or Author (Year) for narrative citations
• Don't just list studies — synthesize them: "Several studies have found X (Smith, 2020; Jones, 2021; Lee, 2023)"
• Identify gaps in the research — this is where your study fits
• Be critical — note limitations of previous work

Hypothesis paragraph (final paragraph): Based on the literature you've reviewed, state your specific prediction: "Based on previous research demonstrating the relationship between sleep and cognitive function, we hypothesized that students reporting higher sleep quality would demonstrate higher GPAs (H1) and that this effect would be stronger for STEM courses than humanities courses (H2)."

Common Mistakes in the Introduction

• Writing a full history of the field (stay focused on what's relevant)
• Citing too many sources without synthesizing (this reads like a bibliography, not an argument)
• Stating the hypothesis without building the logical case for it
• Using too many direct quotes (paraphrase and cite instead)

Method

The Method section describes exactly what you did, in enough detail that another researcher could replicate your study. It has three standard subsections.

Participants

Include:

• Number of participants (N)
• Demographics: age (M and SD), gender breakdown, race/ethnicity, relevant characteristics
• How they were recruited
• Exclusion criteria (if any)
• Compensation (if any)
• IRB approval statement

Example:

Participants were 120 first-year students (72 women, 45 men, 3 non-binary) at a large Midwestern university. Ages ranged from 18 to 22 (M = 18.7, SD = 0.9). Participants were recruited through the psychology department's participant pool and received course credit for their participation. The study was approved by the university's Institutional Review Board.

Materials (or Measures)

Describe every questionnaire, test, or instrument you used:

• Full name of the measure and citation
• What it measures
• Number of items and example item
• Reliability in your sample (Cronbach's α)
• Scoring procedure

Example:

Sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI; Buysse et al., 1989), a 19-item self-report questionnaire assessing sleep quality over the past month. Items are scored on a 0-3 scale, with total scores ranging from 0 to 21. Higher scores indicate poorer sleep quality. Scores above 5 indicate clinically poor sleep quality. The PSQI demonstrated acceptable reliability in the current sample (α = .78).

Procedure

Describe what happened, step by step:

• What participants did and in what order
• How long the study took
• What instructions they received
• Whether it was in person or online
• Any manipulation or experimental conditions

Write in past tense. Be specific but not tedious.

Results

Report what you found. Numbers and statistics, not interpretation — save that for the Discussion.

Key APA Statistical Reporting Formats

t-test:

Students with poor sleep quality (M = 2.84, SD = 0.56) had significantly lower GPAs than students with good sleep quality (M = 3.21, SD = 0.48), t(118) = 3.42, p = .001, d = 0.63.

Correlation:

Sleep quality was significantly correlated with GPA, r(118) = .34, p < .001.

ANOVA:

There was a significant main effect of sleep quality on GPA, F(2, 117) = 5.64, p = .004, η² = .09.

Chi-square:

There was a significant association between sleep quality category and academic standing, χ²(2, N = 120) = 8.34, p = .015.

Formatting Rules

• Italicize statistical symbols: t, p, F, r, M, SD, N, d, n
• Use exact p-values (p = .034) unless p < .001
• Report effect sizes alongside significance tests
• Round to two decimal places (except p-values to three)
• Don't begin sentences with a number or statistical symbol

Tables and Figures

Use tables for presenting multiple statistics (correlation matrices, means by group). Use figures for visual patterns (graphs, charts). Each needs:

• A number (Table 1, Figure 1)
• A descriptive title in italics
• Clear labels
• A note explaining abbreviations

Discussion

This is where you show your critical thinking. The Discussion interprets your results, connects them to previous research, acknowledges limitations, and suggests future directions.

Structure

Paragraph 1: Restate and interpret main findings "The results supported our hypothesis that..." or "Contrary to our prediction..." Connect findings back to your hypotheses.

Paragraphs 2-3: Connect to existing literature How do your findings fit with previous research? Do they agree or disagree? Why? "These findings are consistent with Smith's (2020) demonstration that..." "However, our results differ from Jones (2021), possibly because..."

Paragraph 4: Limitations Every study has limitations. Be honest about yours:

• Sample limitations (not diverse enough, too small)
• Measurement limitations (self-report, single time point)
• Design limitations (correlational, no control group)

Don't downplay limitations, but don't be excessive either. Mention the most important ones.

Paragraph 5: Implications and future directions

• What do your findings mean for the field?
• What should future research investigate?
• Any practical applications?

Final paragraph: Conclusion One strong, concise paragraph summarizing the takeaway. What's the most important thing someone should remember from your study?

Common Discussion Mistakes

• Just repeating the Results section (interpret, don't repeat)
• Overgeneralizing from your sample ("all people" when you studied college freshmen)
• Ignoring non-significant results (discuss why you think they weren't significant)
• Introducing new results in the Discussion (all results go in the Results section)

References

APA 7th Edition Basics

Journal article:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume(Issue), pages. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Book:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of book (Edition). Publisher.

Chapter in edited book:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. xx-xx). Publisher.

Key Formatting Rules

• Hanging indent (first line flush left, subsequent lines indented)
• Alphabetical by first author's last name
• Double-spaced
• Include DOI when available
• No "Retrieved from" needed for most sources (just the URL or DOI)

For complete citation formatting, check out our APA citation guide.

General APA Formatting

• Font: 12pt Times New Roman, Calibri, or Arial
• Margins: 1 inch on all sides
• Spacing: Double-spaced throughout (yes, even References)
• Page numbers: Top right, starting on title page
• Running head: Not required for student papers in APA 7th (only for professional papers)
• Headings: Level 1 (centered, bold), Level 2 (left-aligned, bold), Level 3 (left-aligned, bold, italic)

Using AI for Psychology Papers

AI can help with psych papers in several ways:

• Understanding statistics: "Explain what a t-test tells us and when to use it" — tools like Gradily are great for breaking down statistical concepts
• APA formatting questions: "How do I cite a source with three authors in APA 7th?"
• Understanding methodology: "What's the difference between a within-subjects and between-subjects design?"
• Reviewing your writing: "Does this paragraph interpret results or just restate them?"

But remember: your analysis and interpretation must be your own. AI can help you understand the format and concepts, but the intellectual work of connecting findings to theory and identifying implications should come from your own thinking.

Your Psychology Paper Checklist

Before submitting, run through this:

• Title page has all required elements (APA 7th)
• Abstract is 150-250 words with keywords
• Introduction builds logically to your hypothesis
• All claims in the lit review are cited
• Method section is detailed enough to replicate
• Statistical results use correct APA format
• Discussion interprets (not repeats) results
• Limitations are addressed honestly
• All in-text citations have matching reference entries
• References are in alphabetical order with hanging indents
• Entire paper is double-spaced with 1-inch margins
• Proofread for grammar and APA errors

Psychology papers are demanding, but the structure is your friend. Once you learn the template, you can use it for every paper throughout your psych career. The format stays the same — only the content changes.