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10+ Years of Helping Psychology Students Write Better
Blackthorn Heuristics was founded in 2016 by Associate Professor Cyril R. Latimer, while serving as Adjunct Associate Professor in Psychology at Charles Sturt University, a position he continues to hold today.
Students kept raising the same problem: not enough detailed instruction in essay writing, and too little useful feedback on marked work. Having taught and marked Psychology essays across four Australian universities, Cyril knew this wasn’t unique to one institution. The problem came down to time pressure on markers, with markers themselves (often part-time staff or postgraduate students) sometimes lacking strong essay-writing skills of their own.
So he established a free service where students could submit draft essays and reports for detailed commentary. There was no advertising. It grew entirely through word of mouth.
Today, Blackthorn Heuristics continues that same mission, alongside Cyril’s book, How to Write a Psychology Essay, which also explains how to use AI properly and ethically in academic writing.
The Principles That Drive Everything We Do
At Blackthorn Heuristics, our values shape the way we support students, guide their writing, and build lasting academic confidence. We are committed to honest, ethical, and genuinely helpful feedback in everything we do.
Integrity
Academic Excellence
Student Focus
Associate Professor Cyril R. Latimer
Associate Professor Cyril Latimer is a world-class academic with a distinguished career spanning nearly 40 years at the University of Sydney.
He graduated BA (Hons I) in 1970 and was awarded a PhD in 1979, receiving the H Tasman Lovell Memorial Medallion for his doctoral research. His academic appointments progressed from Lecturer to Senior Lecturer and ultimately Associate Professor in 2001.
His teaching covered undergraduate and postgraduate Psychology across areas including:
- Cognition and Perception
- Biological Bases of Behaviour
- Research Methods and Philosophy of Psychology
- Environmental Psychology
- Computer Methods in Psychology
His research interests include pattern recognition, visual attention, eye-movement analysis, symmetry detection, cognitive modelling, and the philosophy of psychology.
Beyond academia, Associate Professor Latimer has applied psychological research to real-world problems, including:
- Banknote design
- Print quality judgment
- Colour and memory
- Road and rail safety
- Expert witness testimony
He has consulted for numerous government bodies, legal firms, media organisations, and corporations, including the Reserve Bank of Australia, NSW Roads and Traffic Authority, QANTAS, ABC, SBS, and Channel 9.
Although retired from full-time teaching in 2002, he continues to hold honorary academic positions and remains deeply committed to supporting Psychology students.
Dr Wendy Joung
Dr Wendy Joung is a psychologist and Human Factors practitioner with over 25 years experience in research and industry.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Science, Honours in Psychology, followed by a PhD in Psychology from the University of Sydney in 2000, for which she was awarded the H Tasman Lovell Memorial Medallion.
Wendy is a registered Psychologist and a Psychology Board of Australia Approved Supervisor with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. She is a member of the College of Organisational Psychologists, Australian Psychological Society, and the Human Factors & Ergonomics Society of Australia.
During her years at the University of Sydney, she worked as a tutor, research assistant and Post-doctoral Fellow in the School of Psychology. She taught in cognitive psychology, perception, social psychology and supervised Honours students. She has also delivered lectures and coordinated assessors in marking student assessment at Macquarie University for the Masters in Organisational Psychology program. She is an experienced trainer with over 10 years experience, designing training and assessment programs in large organisations.
Wendy is experienced in a range of quantitative and qualitative psychological research methodologies including large scale population surveys, focus groups, evaluations, interviews and laboratory-based experiments. She has an extensive publication list consisting of international & national journal articles, book chapters, conference papers in applied & academic psychology, organisational & government reports, and reports for client organisations.
Wendy truly believes her early studies in psychology formed the basis of her career in applied psychology and is passionate about helping students succeed in their psychology studies.