This is a guide designed to help all students, regardless of writing experience, write better social science papers.Ê Often, my students are very knowledgeable about a subject, but when it comes time to write an essay exam or short paper, they do not fully communicate the depth of their knowledge.Ê

Writing a social science paper is different than writing a composition for an English class.Ê Essays written for social science classes are generally written to discuss or demonstrate an idea, or to prove to the reader what you (the writer) knows about the subject.Ê This guide is designed to help you write better essays and essay exams in all of your courses.

The following basics of essay outlines and thesis constructing thesis statements are adapted from The Bedford Handbook for Writers (3^rd ed.) by Diana Hacker (1991, Bedford Books of St. Martinâs Press) and the Harbrace College Handbook (11^th ed.) by John C. Hodges, Mary E. Whitten, Winfred B. Horner, Suzanne S. Webb and Robert K. Miller (1990, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers).Ê

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Getting Started with Your Essay

Constructing an Effective Thesis Statement

Making an Outline

Getting Started with Your Essay

• To begin constructing an outline of your essay, write down the question prompt, and underline key phrases.Ê
• State in your own words what the question is asking.Ê If you are not sure about this, stop here and ask your professor.Ê Stop by his/her office hours, email or call, but make sure that you clarify this before you go any further.
• Next, jot down a list of all the information from your class lecture notes that you think applies to the question.
• Then, go through the assigned reading list, and jot down page numbers of your reading which specifically relate to the question prompt.
• At this point, you have a bunch of ideas which relate to the question.Ê You probably also have an idea of how each of these ideas relates to the elements of the essay question. Now you need to congeal the ideas into a cohesive thought which addresses all the elements of the question.

Constructing an Effective Thesis Statement

The thesis statement is possibly the most important element of your written work. An effective thesis statement should summarize the main points of the essay and provide the reader with a Îroadmapâ for the essay.ÊÊÊ In one simple statement it tells the reader what you will be writing about. In other words, the thesis should be a summary of what the essay is going to talk about.ÊÊ The thesis statement should be straightforward and declarative.Ê The rest of the essay should support or expand upon the thesis.

While English papers and term papers often have a thesis statement at the end of an introductory paragraph, short essays and exams for social sciences classes should start out with the thesis.Ê This way you don't waste any valuable time or space warming up to the topic.Ê The shorter the written work is supposed to be, the more quickly you should give the reader your thesis.Ê The following are examples of common errors students make when constructing thesis statements:

A thesis prepares readers for facts and details.Ê It therefore cannot be a fact itself.Ê The thesis must always be a generalization demanding proof or further development. In the example below, the author originally gave us a straight fact for a thesis, not leaving room for further development of the idea.Ê

Too FactualÊÊÊ The border between India and Pakistan has been contested since 1947.

RevisedÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ India and Pakistanâs border conflicts in the provinces ofÊ Jammu and Kashmir began shortly after the withdrawal of British colonial power, and has at various times escalated into major wars.Ê

Although a thesis is a generalization, it must not be too general.Ê You will need to narrow the focus of a statement that you cannot adequately develop in the space allowed.Ê In the example below, the original statement left the door open for any and all reasons (there are many!) for the migration from the rust belt to the sun belt, rather than narrowing the focus to those applicable to class discussions.

Too BroadÊÊÊÊÊ There are many reasons that people are migrating from the Îrust beltâ to the Îsun beltâ of the United States.

RevisedÊ ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ The migration from the Îrust beltâ to the Îsun beltâ of the United States can be attributed to economic, environmental and political push-pull factors.Ê

A thesis should be sharply focused.Ê Often authors feel strongly about a topic, and while using descriptive words helps to communicate a feeling, the descriptions in a thesis should still provide the reader with a roadmap of how the author will justify his/her argument.

Too VagueÊÊÊÊÊ Edge cities are a disgusting blight on our landscape.

RevisedÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ The Îurban sprawlâ that is embodied in Garreauâs concept of the Edge City is a disgusting blight on our landscape because of its inefficient use of space, unimaginative architecture and tendency to create social isolation.

Making an Outline

After you have a thesis written, your next step in preparing a paper should be to congeal all of the ideas that you brainstormed earlier into a logical outline.Ê Double check your question prompt to make sure that you are addressing all of the elements of the question.Ê Also check for key words in the question prompt, such as evaluate, discuss, compare and contrast. With these words, your professor is asking you to address the question in a particular manner.Ê

Now you are ready to fill in your outline.Ê Start out by writing down your thesis.Ê Next, fill in the most important major idea, followed by supporting ideas and specific examples. Do this for the rest of the major ideas.Ê

Thesis

ÊÊÊÊÊ I.Ê Major Idea 1

A.     Supporting idea

1.      Example or illustration for supporting idea

2.      Example or illustration for supporting idea

B.Ê Supporting idea

1. Example or illustration for supporting idea

2. Example or illustration for supporting idea

II.Ê Major Idea 2

A.     Supporting idea

1.      Example or illustration for supporting idea

2.      Example or illustration for supporting idea

B.Ê Supporting idea

1. Example or illustration for supporting idea

2. Example or illustration for supporting idea

III.Ê Major Idea 3

A. Supporting idea

1. Example or illustration for supporting idea

2. Example or illustration for supporting idea

B.Ê Supporting idea

1. Example or illustration for supporting idea

2. Example or illustration for supporting idea

Once your outline is filled in, you should be well on your way to writing an excellent essay!

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