Writing Guide
Professors do not just assign
writing assignments to make students miserable.
Being able to express yourself in writing is a vital skill that you will
need in ANY future career. Therefore,
one of the biggest goals I have in any class is to help you become better
writers. This guide takes you through
some of the best suggestions, hints, and things to avoid that I have discovered
over the years[1]. DO READ THIS all the way through and keep
referring back to it over the course of the semester.
Why do I have to write anyway?
Writing
is first and foremost a way of making sense of what you are experiencing. You are constantly putting together pieces of
information from classes, readings, and your own life. Writing is a way of making you aware of how
these pieces fit together. Therefore,
writing is not something that you do once you understand everything, but
instead is a way of helping you make sense of ideas and one of the best ways of
actively learning. The process of
writing actually helps you see connections and makes possible the “light bulb”
moments when everything clicks into place.
If you do not believe me, try this simple task as suggested in Johnson
et al (2006).
Pick one day’s lecture notes in any class. Rewrite these notes. Do not just copy out exactly what you wrote
within the time constraints of class, but add in ideas and connections. For example, insert connecting phrases such
as “because of” or “leads to” and provide your own examples of the ideas
discussed. Use the required readings for
that day to add to any spots that might seem a little thin or unclear. Also use the readings to provide specific
numbers or findings from research. Note
any remaining questions you still have about the material (you should then
bring these up in the next class or ask your professor over email or in office
hours). Finally, write out one sentence
about what the main point of the day was.
This may sound like too much time to take since you already have the
notes. However, this exercise requires
you to think about the material again, and to make it clear for yourself. You will be surprised to find how much more
you understand the material simply by rewriting your notes in this manner. In order to see if you really are reading
this, here is an extra credit opportunity.
If you rewrite your notes for a day in this class and turn it in by
October 10th, you can earn up to four points.
Beyond the fact that the act of writing helps you to
learn, it is also crucial that you be able to communicate what you know. However, this does not mean that you simply
need to provide the basic information or facts.
That is not communication. The
point is to engage your reader in what you are writing so that they are pulled
along through your arguments and conclusions and left with a new understanding
of your topic. Do not think that just
because you are student that you can not teach your reader / professor
something new. Professors are constantly
learning by seeing the world through your eyes and your understanding of the
material. You do have something to
communicate, you just need practice in doing it in order to become better
writers.
Key Steps in Writing
This is obviously not a
complete list of steps to writing but they are basic suggestions that apply to
all kinds of writings and should help you in any class.
1. START EVERY
ASSIGNMENT AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE
One of the biggest mistakes made by students in writing
is that they leave everything to the last minute. Inevitably, when you do this unexpected
problems come up, your computer crashes, you get sick, or you find you need to
spend three days collecting data. You
also leave yourself no time for several other key steps in the writing
process. So, here is the first thing you
should do at the start of every semester.
Take a few minutes to go through every syllabus and write down in one
calendar every due date for the semester.
Next, carefully read through the assignments so you understand what type
of time commitments each require.
REALIZE that most things take more time than you expect and there is no
way to get the full assignment done overnight.
You then should start your first assignment immediately.
2. Always have
a clear introduction and conclusion.
These are really the most important parts of the paper
and often neglected by students. Your
introduction should draw the reader into your argument or topic. Grab the attention of the reader with
something interesting but at the same time avoid overly dramatic or opinion
based statements (i.e. Rape is the most horrific crime in the
Your
conclusion should provide a sense of closure for the reader. There should be a clear connection between
what you have written through the paper and the statements you make in your
conclusion. In other words, this is not
the time to introduce totally new ideas or expand on a tangent from an earlier
section of the paper. You may want to
summarize the main points you have made in your paper, provide a clear answer
to any question you posed in the introduction, or make a concise statement that
demonstrates how your paper has achieved the stated purpose. The conclusion is also where you may make
recommendations for further research or point out unanswered questions.
3. Organize your writing so that it flows
In order to make an effective argument in a paper, you
need to clearly move from one point to the next in a way that holds your
readers attention and that makes logical connections between ideas. Therefore, a vital step in writing is to keep
your ideas organized. One way to help
organize your ideas and your writing is to develop an outline. You can either develop a very simple outline,
with just one phrase that provides the main idea for each paragraph, or have a
highly detailed outline with specific supporting details or quotes
included. How you use outlines is a personal
choice but any type of outline is very useful in developing a paper with clear
organization. The goal of organizing
your paper is to make sure you include all the pieces needed to support your
thesis and to write a paper that flows well.
As you are writing, you need to ask how well the pieces of your paper
connect with each other. Sometimes
making connections is as simple as using statements such as “the next example”
or “contrary to the earlier argument”.
However, you need to make sure that you are writing in a way that keeps
all your ideas closely connected and moving logically and effortlessly from one
idea to the next.
Things
you can ask yourself to check for organization as you read a draft are as
follows. Does each paragraph make one
clear point that is clearly related to the paragraph both before and after
it? Are there good transitions (ideas to
move you between ideas)? Do you cover
all the key ideas you wanted to cover in a logical order that a reader could
follow? Does each idea relate back to
your thesis?
4. EDIT, EDIT,
EDIT!!!!!
No matter how many times you read through your paper,
you should always be able to find things to improve. I can look at papers I have published and
still find things I would like to change.
I can not state enough times how important it is to leave yourself time
to edit your paper. I will look at
drafts but you also need to take serious time on your own to see how you can
make your writing better. Some of the
things to look for are included in the list of hints and what to avoid
below. The best way to edit something is
to READ IT OUT LOUD! I know this sounds
strange but you often hear mistakes that you would just pass over if reading in
your own head. Better yet, have a friend
read it out loud to you (and of course return the favor).
Spelling,
grammar, punctuation, clarity of writing and organization all will be
considered in determining your grade for each assignment so EDIT CAREFULLY!
Writing Requirements
For all written work in this
class, the following requirements apply.
1. All written assignments must be TYPED, SINGLE
SIDED, DOUBLE SPACED, with no more than 1 INCH MARGINS and standard (12 point)
font.
2. DO NOT include a title page. Just put your name, the course and the date
in the top right corner, skip one line and center a title, skip one more line
and start your text.
3. You MUST cite ANY work that you use
(including the course readings).
Citations must follow American Sociological Association (ASA)
Guidelines. This means you must include
parenthetical references and correctly format the bibliography. A detailed description of the guidelines is
available several places on the web including the course web page and the two
http://www.asanet.org/page.ww?section=Sociology+Depts&name=Quick+Style+Guide
4. I take plagiarism very seriously and do not
hesitate to submit violations. You need
to provide references for both direct quotes and for paraphrased material. Any time you state a fact, it should be
followed by a citation. If you are in
doubt if something needs to be cited, CITE IT!
I do random checks for plagiarism for every assignment and I may ask you
to come discuss your paper with me if I suspect plagiarism.
10 Writing Hints and Problems to
Avoid
Since I realize it might be a
challenge figuring out what each professor expects for papers, here are some
things that I strongly recommend you pay attention to for my class.
1. DO NOT use contractions (don’t, isn’t) – they are not appropriate for
academic writing.
2. Remember you are writing a paper, not
chatting with a friend, so do not use slang or abbreviations, and keep the tone
formal and focused on the topic.
3. You may use personal experience but keep it
to a minimum and make sure it is relevant to your paper.
4. DO NOT start out your paper with “My topic
is…” You need to capture your readers’ interest
so they WANT to read the rest of your paper.
5. Do not refer to “class,” “lecture,” or the
“textbook” in your paper. Write as if
the reader does not know about this class or what the assignment is but is
reading your paper to learn something new.
6. Know the difference between “there” and
“their” as this is a very common mistake that drives me crazy and will negatively
impact your editing points.
7. Do not use “etc.” since this implies that you
have more to say and just can not be bothered to write more. If there is a whole list of things, and you
are only going to mention a couple, it is better to say something like “Many
different variables may affect crime such as poverty, age, and race.” There are clearly more than this but you have
stated a few that are important and hopefully relevant to your paper.
8. Watch out for run-on sentences (two or more
ideas that could be separated), fragments (incomplete ideas), inconsistency in
the tense you are using (past, present, or future), and plural versus singular
words. For example: “The variables in
the table that is important is class.”
In this example, “variables” is plural and then “is” is singular.
9. Pronoun problems. There are two problems to watch for with
pronouns.
First,
you might have a vague pronoun. You
might have already mentioned an author, a variable, or any noun in your writing
and then you replace the noun with a pronoun such as “he” or “it.” You need to always make sure that what the
pronoun is referring to is crystal clear.
For example, a vague pronoun use is in the following sentences. “Two studies, one by Hirschi (1975) and one
by Akers (1976), have found contrasting findings about whether class and crime
are strongly related. This showed that
those in the lower classes were more likely to be involved in crime.” What does “this” refer to in this case? It could be the debate, it could be one of
the findings, it could be something else entirely. This is often a problem with the use of “it”
as well.
The
second pronoun problem is to have both gender and number agreement. Incorrect example: “Each of the male police
officers presented their evidence.” Since
“each” is used, this should be “Each of the male police officers presented his
evidence.” If gender is not specified,
you should use “his or her” or “her or his” but not “their” for the
pronoun.
10. Edit for spelling, punctuation, grammar and
organization!!!!
[1] Some of the material included in this packet
is taken from my own class experience and other ideas are from various books on
this topic. Specifically, material is taken from the following three
Johnson, William A. Jr., Richard P. REttig, Gregory M.
Scott, and Stephen M. Garrison.
1998. The Sociology
Student Writer’s Manual.
Galvan, Jose L.
2006. Writing Literature Reviews, 3rd Edition.
Pyrczak, Fred and Randall R. Bruce. 2005. Writing Empirical Research Reports, 5th
edition.
Pyrczak Publishing.