Writing skills for social science essays and assignments

1. Writing skills for social science essays andassignments Academic Study Skills for Social Scientists

2. Aims • To consider the different parts an essay or assignment is usually made up of • To think about the steps involved in planning, writing and re-writing an essay • To consider the importance of re-drafting, editing and proof reading • Think about how to deal with writing blocks

3. What is an essay? • An academic essay can be defined as: • a continuous piece of writing • set out in paragraphs • in response to a question or title • demonstrating a breadth of knowledge and understanding • demonstrating a questioning and enquiring approach (critical & analytical) • supported by evidence

4. Formatting issues… • Font style? • Font size? • Line spacing? • Word length (e.g. 2000 words)? • Reference list included in word count?

5. Social sciences essays • What is distinctive about a social science essay?: • Requirement to support arguments with evidence of good quality (systematic, rigorous research) • Use of theory to build explanations about how social world works (Redman & Maples, 2011, p.6)

6. Circuit of social scientific knowledge Sherratt et al. 2000, p.18 cited by Redman & Maples, 2011, p7.

7. Circuit of social scientific knowledge generate generates generate Concepts & theories shape structure Sherratt et al. 2000, p.18 cited by Redman & Maples, 2011, p8.

8. ESSENTIAL STAGES IN ESSAY WRITING

9. Essay Structure • Title • Introduction (approximately 7 – 8% of total essay word length) • Main body • Conclusion (usually around 12 – 15% of total length) • Reference list (not included in word count)

10. Introduction • Use the introduction to tell the reader how you will answer or respond to the essay question or title • Give the reader an overview of what will be covered • Don’t get caught up in specific detail at this point • Should function as a useful summary, or ‘road map’ of areas that will be visited and route taken.

11. Main body (i) • Focus on answering or responding to the essay title/question • Take a detailed look at the main issues and debates • Define key terms or phrases: • E.g. “Racial discrimination can be defined as…” • Organise your ideas into logical groups, think about order in which they need to be dealt with – should suggest paragraph order in your essay • Always try to support points with evidence • Examples • Case studies • Statistics • Published work and research studies

12. Main body (ii) • Try to include some “critical analysis” • Comparing and contrasting things • Identify strengths and weaknesses of arguments • Are there things that haven’t been looked at in the available research? • Are research methods fit for purpose? • Are there reasons why it is difficult to come down on one side or the other? • Do some things complicate the picture – if so, what are they and how do they contribute to the debate?

13. Think of paragraphs as conversations between reader and writer…

14. Conclusion • This is a summary of what you’ve found out through doing the essay • Avoid bringing new topics into the conclusion • Re-state the main, important points • Emphasis what your essay investigation has highlighted or ‘discovered’

15. Re-drafting, editing & proof reading

16. Writing style • Normally, avoid sentences that include the words ‘I’, ‘my’, ‘me’, ‘we’ etc. WHY? – they tend to make your essay sound as if you are just writing your own personal opinion. (EXCEPTION: It’s usual to use ‘I’ in reflective writing, like the essay for your HFB2001 portfolio.) • How do you avoid that? Consider these examples: • I will explore concepts of labelling and social exclusion. • This essay will explore concepts of labelling and social exclusion. OR: • Liberal feminist theory is helpful in my analysis of the labour market because... • Liberal feminist theory can be useful in analysing the labour market because...

17. Try to avoid… • Writing as if you were having a conversation in the cafe: • “Some guy called Johnson reckoned that…”  • “Based on Johnson’s research (2006) it could be argued that...”  • Sweeping generalisations: • A 50 year old woman in Beeston was issued with an anti-social behaviour order which proves that older people are as anti-social as younger people.

18. Make sure you… • Answer, or respond to, the question as closely as possible. • Address the learning outcomes (these will ALWAYS be listed in the module handbook) • Demonstrate you have a broad understanding of the topic – this will require BACKGROUND READING! • Show the marker that you understand the things you’re talking about, even if you feel a bit shaky about some aspects of it (relates back to session on referencing where we discussed why it is better to paraphrase than use extensive direct quotes).

19. Sources of support… • Module leaders – guidance and assistance with module assignments