Ideal for instructors and students in a wide range of sociological courses, this guide makes the case that thinking and writing are integrally related and that writing, therefore, exercises the sociological imagination. Written in a clear and conversational style, A Guide to Writing Sociology Papers examines a wide range of writing assignments for sociology courses at all levels of the curriculum. Employing a variety of writing samples as a means to illustrate effective writing, this brief and inexpensive text teaches students how to deftly research and write about sociology.
The Sociology Student's Guide to Writing, by Angelique Harris and Alia R. Tyner-Mullings, is a brief, economical reference work that gives practical advice about the writing tasks and issues that undergraduate students face in their first sociology courses. Along with more traditional topics, it incorporates valuable information about composing emails, writing for online forums, and using technology for information-gathering and note-taking. Used by itself or in combination with other texts, this book will increase the quality of student writing and enhance their knowledge of how sociologists communicate in writing.
The Sociology Writer's Guide is designed to help sociology students at any level complete their writing assignments, and strengthen their research and bibliographic skills. Covers every kind of writing assignment a sociology student is likely to encounter: term papers, research papers, essays, compare/contrast papers, quantitative and qualitative research articles, text analysis papers, book reviews, abstracts, and essay exams. Teaches a practical, step-by-step approach to writing, from selecting a topic to submitting finished work. Uses Tips, Notes, and Reminders to highlight key points. Includes a complete list of examples for handling quotes and paraphrases, and for using citations and references in current sociological documentation style. Features a full discussion of bias-free language that covers race/ethnicity, social class, age, disability, religion, family status, and sexual orientation. The author is a sociology instructor, writer, and editor who has taught a writing for sociology class for over 12 years.
With humor and empathy, Mark Edwards’s handbook provides undergraduate and early-career graduate students guidance in sociological writing of all kinds. Writing in Sociology offers unusual approaches to developing ideas into research questions, utilizing research literature, constructing research papers, and completing different kinds of course writing (including case studies, theory papers, and applied social science projects). New chapters in the Second Edition offer insights into giving and receiving effective peer review and presenting qualitative research results. By focusing on how to think about the goals and strategies implicit in each section of a writing project this book provides accessible advice to novice sociological writers.
The Sociology Student Writer's Manual 7/E is a practical guide to research, reading, and writing in sociology. The Sociology Student Writer’s Manual and Reader’s Guide, Seventh Edition, is a set of instructions and exercises that sequentially develop citizenship, academic, and professional skills while providing students with knowledge about a wide range of sociological concepts, phenomena, and information sources. Part 1 begins by teaching students to read newspapers and other sociological media sources critically and analytically. It focuses on the crafts of writing and scholarship by providing the basics of grammar, style, formats and source citation, and then introduces students to a variety of rich information resources including the sociological journals and the Library of Congress. Part 2 prepares students to research, read, write, review, and critique sociology scholarship. Finally, Part 3 provides advanced exercises in observing culture, socialization, inequality, and ethnicity and race.
Ideal for students new to academic writing, Writing in the Social Sciences, Second Edition, is a clear, step-by-step guide to the entire writing process. Students will learn how to select and research a topic, develop and refine their ideas into a comprehensive outline, and convert the outline into a research paper or book report.
A Guide to Writing Sociology Papers insightfully lead students through the writing process, encouraging them to think sociologically as they develop their ideas and begin to write. Written in a clear and conversational style, the Guide both instructs students on the key steps of specific writing assignments—such as developing a proposal or a research paper—and also helps students get started writing, develop their ideas, and conquer writers block. Throughout, actual student papers annotated with author comments provide real-life examples of good writing and how writing can be improved. With new and expanded coverage on evaluating and citing electronic sources, plagiarism, qualitative and quantitative methods, A Guide to Writing Sociology Papers, Seventh Edition remains an essential resource for anyone writing a sociology paper.
Students and researchers all write under pressure, and those pressures—most lamentably, the desire to impress your audience rather than to communicate with them—often lead to pretentious prose, academic posturing, and, not infrequently, writer’s block. Sociologist Howard S. Becker has written the classic book on how to conquer these pressures and simply write. First published nearly twenty years ago, Writing for Social Scientists has become a lifesaver for writers in all fields, from beginning students to published authors. Becker’s message is clear: in order to learn how to write, take a deep breath and then begin writing. Revise. Repeat. It is not always an easy process, as Becker wryly relates. Decades of teaching, researching, and writing have given him plenty of material, and Becker neatly exposes the foibles of academia and its “publish or perish” atmosphere. Wordiness, the passive voice, inserting a “the way in which” when a simple “how” will do—all these mechanisms are a part of the social structure of academic writing. By shrugging off such impediments—or at the very least, putting them aside for a few hours—we can reform our work habits and start writing lucidly without worrying about grades, peer approval, or the “literature.” In this new edition, Becker takes account of major changes in the computer tools available to writers today, and also substantially expands his analysis of how academic institutions create problems for them. As competition in academia grows increasingly heated, Writing for Social Scientists will provide solace to a new generation of frazzled, would-be writers.
“Shows the reader how to harness new technology while upholding the highest standards of research. The result is a joy to read . . . a boon for students.” —Robert J. Sampson, professor of the social sciences at Harvard University Today’s researchers have access to more information than ever before. Yet the new material is both overwhelming in quantity and variable in quality. How can scholars survive these twin problems and produce groundbreaking research using the physical and electronic resources available in the modern university research library? In Digital Paper, Andrew Abbott provides some much-needed answers to that question. Abbott tells what every senior researcher knows: that research is not a mechanical, linear process, but a thoughtful and adventurous journey through a nonlinear world. He breaks library research down into seven basic and simultaneous tasks: design, search, scanning/browsing, reading, analyzing, filing, and writing. He moves the reader through the phases of research, from confusion to organization, from vague idea to polished result. He teaches how to evaluate data and prior research; how to follow a trail to elusive treasures; how to organize a project; when to start over; when to ask for help. He shows how an understanding of scholarly values, a commitment to hard work, and the flexibility to change direction combine to enable the researcher to turn a daunting mass of found material into an effective paper or thesis. More than a mere how-to manual, Abbott’s guidebook helps teach good habits for acquiring knowledge, the foundation of knowledge worth knowing. Those looking for ten easy steps to a perfect paper may want to look elsewhere. But serious scholars, who want their work to stand the test of time, will appreciate Abbott’s unique, forthright approach and relish every page of Digital Paper.
This accessible text provides a roadmap for producing a high-quality literature review--an integral part of a successful thesis, dissertation, term paper, or grant proposal. Each step of searching for, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing prior studies is clearly explained and accompanied by user-friendly suggestions, organizational tips, vignettes, and examples of student work. Also featured are excerpts from peer-reviewed quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods articles. This is the first book to focus on crafting different types of reviews (systematic, traditional–narrative, or hermeneutic–phenomenological) that reflect the writer's research question, methodological choices, and approaches to knowledge. It describes what all reviews have in common and highlights distinct characteristics of each type. The book includes dos and don'ts for evaluating studies and constructing an argument, and software suggestions for locating, organizing, and arranging sources. Pedagogical Features *Checklists and "To Do" activities that break down key steps to take. *Boxed examples, graphics that organize and visually illustrate key concepts, and summary tables. *Group activities that invite students to further explore and apply the methods discussed in each chapter. *Detailed directions for using four different organizing strategies: synthesis matrix, summary table, mapping, and topic outline. *End-of-chapter summaries and "What's Next" sections. *Assessment matrices for reviewing and refining the completed literature review. Winner (First Place)--American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award, Nursing Research Category
