General & Assignment- Specific Writing Advice

1. General & Assignment-Specific Writing Advice

2. Write in clear, simple, direct language • avoid passive “the paper was written by Jonathan” for direct “Jonathan wrote the paper.” • Guide Your Reader through your argument • Use topic (roadmap) sentences, subject headers, thesis statement, etc.

3. Use “social science” language: • Avoid flowery language, avoid metaphor unless it is necessary to your argument. • Do not use slang. • It is fine (better) to write in first-person: “I will apply Durkheim’s arguments about integration to explain the difference in social order.”

4. Remember theory is a lens for explaining cases • Do not relate details about your cases that do not pertain to the level of social order or the theory that explains it. The theory will point out which details of the case matter. • Do not provide excess (unnecessary) historical narrative. • Remember, you are making the case that one theory group BEST explains the variation in order.

5. Miscellaneous • Do not say your cases are “sufficient to compare” – the issue is similarity. • Remember, we use the theories to explain the difference in social order between our cases. So, if it explains or predicts the same amount of order in case 1 & 2, don’t use it (e.g., Goffman on interaction rules) • Don’t use the term “spuriousness” alone—you need to specify “spurious causes of my measure of social order.”

6. Follow the Assignment Instructions • Explain the theory group you are using. Start with a basic restatement of the argument, e.g., how values/norms theories explain social order. Then say which individual theorists within the theory group explain your case. Apply those theorists to explain why one case has higher social order than the other. You do not need to use each theorist in the theory group!

7. Reread the assignment instructions! • Explain why your cases are sufficiently similar to compare (so they ordinarily one might expect them to have the similar levels of social order) • Explain your cases clearly—they should be distinct, identifiable groups of people. Specify who is included (eg, if a school, is it students, staff/teachers/administration, parents, or a combo) • Explain in clear language how you are measuring social order (incl. how many measures, and whether they are measuring predictability, cooperation, or both)

8. Cite Right! • Include works cited page, cite direct language (“quotes”), but also arguments you have read, even when not directly quoting the author. Cite data sources. Use ASA style guide (link provided on class website under resources) • On the next slide I will provide a complete example of how to cite from our course reader.

9. Engels argues that the state “is a product of society at a particular stage of development” (Engels [1884] 2003: 179). The full reference that would appear in your “Works Cited” list at the end of your paper would be: Engels, Friedrich. [1884] 2003. “The Origins of the State.” Pp. 179-182 in Theories of Social Order: A Reader, edited by M. Hechter and C. Horne. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

10. Legitimate Sources & Plagiarism

11. Use legitimate sources • Avoid use of sources that are not “refereed,” meaning there is no claim to accuracy, no fact-checking mechanism. This for the most part includes wikipedia and many blogs, with some exceptions (as when outside citations are provided). In that instance, consult and use the outside source.

12. Plagiarism pla·gia·rism –noun 1.the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work. (dictionary.com) If you directly use the author’s words, you must use quotation marks and indicate the page #. If you simply paraphrase them, you must also indicate the page #. If you describe the general ideas expressed in an entire piece or article (so that they are not found on a single page), you should still use parenthetical reference to indicate the source, e.g., (Hechter and Horne 2003). If you present data of any sort, you should cite the source, unless you are presenting common knowledge (rarely the case).

13. Again, please refer to the following helpful link:http://depts.washington.edu/grading/issue1/honesty.htm#plagiarismIt describes the most common forms of plagiarism students commit, and details the consequences when you are caught.

14. Apply the peer review grid to your own paper! • We use the grid to give structured feedback to your peers, but I will use a similar rubric to evaluate your papers. • If you are “weak” on the points identified in the grid, you know that you will not do well on the assignment.

15. Peer Review feedback is a gift. Don’t be sorry, but do make it constructive! We’ll review how to apply the grid (give helpful feedback) in class…