Writing in the Social Sciences

Jake Muller is Professor Emeritus at Northwest Community College, where he taught introductory sociology courses and social work courses for over thirty years. He has edited two books, Community Organization and the Canadian State and Education for Work: Education as Work (both with Garamond Press), and has published a number of articles in textbooks and in The Community Development Journal, published by Oxford University Press.

Acknowledgements ; Introduction: Preparing for Your Social Science Term Paper and Book Review ; Objectives ; 1. How Will This Book Help Me Write a Term Paper or Book Review? ; 2. How Is This Book Organized? ; 3. What Do I Need to Know about Reading and Writing? ; 4. Can I Recognize the Building Blocks of Research and Writing? ; 5. What Will My Instructor Expect from Me in My Research and Writing Role? ; 6. What Specific Requirements Must I Follow in My Term Paper? ; Chapter Summary ; Checklist for Term Paper Requirements ; Recommended Websites ; Recommended Readings ; 1. Learn the Basic Social Science Argumentative Format and Process ; Objectives ; 1.1 What Is the Basic Social Science Argumentative Format and Process? ; 1.2 What Are the Argumentative Roots of the Basic Social Science Argumentative Format and Process? ; 1.3 How Do I Choose One of the Three Kinds of Term Papers? ; 1.4 How Do I Use a Standard Social Science Outline for My Research Priorities and to Write My Term Paper? ; 1.5 How Can I Visualize the Basic Social Science Research and Writing Process? ; Chapter Summary ; Checklist for Term Paper Research and Writing ; Recommended Websites ; Recommended Readings ; 2. Research to Create an Aim, Arguments, and Headings/Themes ; Objectives ; 2.1 How Do I Choose a Topic, Subject Area, or Question? ; 2.2 How Do I Create an Aim? ; 2.3 How Do I Research to Create Arguments? ; 2.4 How Do I Develop My Aim from My Arguments? ; Chapter Summary ; Checklist for Term Paper Research ; Recommended Websites ; Recommended Readings ; 3. Reference Your Sources ; Objectives ; 3.1 What General Referencing Information Do I Need to Know and Use? ; 3.2 How Do I Cite Sources According to APA Style? ; 3.3 How Do I Cite Sources According to Chicago Style (Author-Date)? ; 3.4 How Do I Cite Sources According to ASA Style? ; Chapter Summary ; Checklist for Referencing Sources ; Recommended Websites ; Recommended Readings ; 4. Research to Define Concepts in the Aim, Organize Arguments, and Draft a Conclusion ; Objectives ; 4.1 How Do I Define the Concepts in the Aim Sentence? ; 4.2 How Do I Organize the Arguments? ; 4.3 How Do I Draft a Conclusion? ; Chapter Summary ; Checklist for Term Paper Research ; Recommended Websites ; Recommended Readings ; 5. Writing the First Social Science Term Paper ; Objectives ; 5.1 How Do I Write a Term Paper Draft? ; 5.2 How Do I Revise My Draft? ; 5.3 How Do I Format My Term Paper? ; 5.4 How Do I Write an Abstract? ; 5.5 What Should the Title Page Look Like? ; 5.6 What Do I Need to Do to Produce My Final Copy? ; Chapter Summary ; Checklist for Writing Term Paper ; Recommended Websites ; Recommended Readings ; 6. Writing the First Social Science Book Review or Article Critique ; Objectives ; 6.1 What Are the Requirements for My Book Review (or Article Critique)? ; 6.2 How Do I Work on My Book Review Outline? ; 6.3 How Do I Write My First Social Science Book Review? ; 6.4 How Do I Format My Book Review? ; 6.5 How Do I Create the Title Page for a Book Review (and Article Critique)? ; 6.6 What Do I Need to Do to Produce My Final Copy? ; 6.7 How Do I Write an Article Critique? ; Chapter Summary ; Checklist for Writing Book Review and Article Critique ; Recommended Websites ; Recommended Readings ; Appendix A: Answer Key to "What Do I Need to Know About Reading and Writing?" ; Appendix B: A Brief Grammar Reference ; Appendix C: Answer Key to Writing Samples from the Introduction (NEW) ; Appendix D: Tips on Selecting Appropriate Academic Sources for a Research Paper (NEW) ; Appendix E: The First Social Science Outline ; Appendix F: The Second Social Science Outline ; References ; Index