Prof. Faas's Tips for Writing Social Science Essays: Trinity College Dublin, Exams of Sociology

Download Prof. Faas's Tips for Writing Social Science Essays: Trinity College Dublin and more Exams Sociology in PDF only on Docsity! Writing a Social Science Essay: do’s and don’ts UNIVERSITY OF DUBLIN TRINITY COLLEGE Department of Sociology SLD: Write Right Prof Daniel Faas 19 February 2020 27.02.2020 Writing a social science essay: do‘s and don‘ts Prof. Daniel Faas 2 10 tips for writing essays 1. Keep your points relevant 2. Unpack and decode the questions 3. Always write a plan/outline 4. Don’t just state or describe – you need to argue, analyse, evaluate 5. Write in paragraphs using topic sentences 6. Write a short introduction starting with the aim (250 words) 7. Write a short conclusion (250 words) 8. Write clear and concise English 9. Always proof-read your work for typos 10. Practise the above and refer to essay guidelines 27.02.2020 Writing a social science essay: do‘s and don‘ts Prof. Daniel Faas 5 Action verbs you should look out for 1. Knowledge: The recall of information Examples: define, describe, list, name, relate, state, underline 2. Comprehension: The translation, interpretation of knowledge Examples: explain, classify, discuss, express, identify, interpret, report 3. Application: The application of knowledge to a new situation Examples: illustrate, use, solve, demonstrate, apply, choose, prepare 27.02.2020 Writing a social science essay: do‘s and don‘ts Prof. Daniel Faas 6 Action verbs you should look for 4. Analysis: Break down knowledge into parts and show relationships Examples: analyse, contrast, criticise, examine, question, compare 5. Synthesis: bring together parts (elements, components) of knowledge to form a whole and build relationships of new situations Examples: design, organise, manage, synthesise, write, conduct, compose 6. Evaluation: Judgements about the value of material and methods for given purposes Examples: value, argue, assess, compare, evaluate, rate, defend, support 27.02.2020 Writing a social science essay: do‘s and don‘ts Prof. Daniel Faas 7 Different types of social science essays 1. Advocacy questions: outline or explain and illustrate a single issue, topic or argument; ‘make a case’ for a particular idea, build a ‘case’ in a logical and convincing manner. 2. Compare and contrast questions: outline points of common ground between competing positions; explore ways in which they differ; and/or compare the particular positions to other positions. 3. Evaluation questions: examine arguments for and against a particular position or issue and assess their relative strengths and weaknesses Source: Redman and Maples (2011) Good Essay Writing: A Social Sciences Guide, London: Sage.