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A Guide in Writing in the Social Sciences

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For many students, writing an essay, a research paper, a discussion or an article can be a real challenge especially if they have to answer questions and explore concepts and do it in an academic manner while following particular rules of scientific writing. It can be daunting especially if they have not done it before. This solution provides advise and guidance in getting the task of writing done, seeking to imbue the student with fundamental knowledge from where and how to begin, writing an outline and dealing with word count, how to incorporate scientific theories and concepts, how to do basic analysis and discussions, how to cite and the rules for citing and writing following either APA or Harvard style and lastly, tips in reviewing and drafting work to arrive at a working essay/paper that one can submit before a deadline. Helpful resources are listed in the body of the paper. A word version of the solution is included.

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Solution Summary

The solution provides guidance that will help students, especially those who are new to academic writing, in writing essays, research papers and discussion papers in the field of the social sciences. Resources, basic outlines, incorporating theories, measures against plagiarism and citing strategies are included.

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Dear Student,
Hi and thank you for using Brainmass. The solution below should get you started in helping you write an essay/paper/discussion in the field of social sciences. This is guide assumes you are starting at the fundamentals and just beginning your studies in the field. If this is not the case, then take this solution as a refresher of the basics. This solution is divided into 3 simple sections:
1. Structure/outline
2. What is expected in a social science discussion - presenting concepts and theories
3. How to use your resources and web
4. Reviewing your paper
You can use the listed resources to further explore the topic. Just let me know via the feedback section. All the best wit your studies.

Sincerely,
AE 105878/Xenia Jones

Writing an Essay/Research Paper/Discussion/Articles in the Social Sciences
If you are new to writing papers and putting together essays in the social sciences, it is okay to feel a little intimidated. The social sciences is a vast field with specialised paradigms and specialization from sociology, political science, cultural and gender studies, human geography, criminology, psychology, anthropology, ethnography, economics and those specializations that are trans-discipline where the natural and the social sciences intersect (i.e. forensic psychology, environmental social science, etc.).

Structure
If you are tasked to write a paper, then you will likely have the following on hand:
1. A question - the one your paper will answer
2. A topic - the one that your paper/essay/discussion will explore
3. A hypothesis to prove or disprove - this is the case when writing up a scientific paper, one that follows the scientific process of inquiry
In any case, the 3 items above is your point from which to begin as from there, you can ascertain a structure that is to be the backbone of your paper. Essentially, it is an outline that lets you plan out the parts of your paper which is usually as follows:
1. Introduction - what is the essay/paper/research about?
2. Main questions ...

Solution provided by:
Xenia Rochelle Jones, MA, PhD (IP)
Education
  • MPhil/PhD (IP), Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
  • MA, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
  • Certificate, Geva Ulpan (via Universita Tel Aviv)
  • BA, University of the Philippines
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