Guidelines for Writing Social Science Essays in Julio's Classes

• Use University of Chicago Style for citations an bibliographies.  If you are unsure about Chicago style--ask Julio he would be happy to tell you.   If you use a different style (APA, MLA, AMA, AP, etc.) in your academic major and would rather use it, ask Julio--he is likely to approve it (but you have to ask).  

• Here is a site that covers almost any error known to humankind:  http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/errors.html#errors 

• Avoid wordy qualifications. Chicago style allows you to avoid things that make your papers clunky.   Here is an example:
  
  Weak example:
  Dr. John Smith, a distinguished professor of Geography at the University of the Southern Midwest wrote in his article "Sky Colors" in the 16th volume, number 4 of the Journal of Gazing Upward in 1999, said the sky was blue.
  
  Strong example:
  The sky was blue (Smith, 1999).
  
  In your bibliography it would look like:
  Smith, J.  1999.  Sky Colors.  Journal of Gazing Upward.  16:4, 22-35.

• If you use something I've said in lecture that is not in the text, you need to cite your class notes.  The citation is as follows:
  Rivera, J. C.  2002.  Introduction to Geography, Carthage College.  September 24.

• Avoid writing in 1st and 2nd Person.  Good professional writing is in the 3rd person.  It is unlikely any paper will receive an "A" if not written in the 3rd person.

• Start with your thesis and not with the evidence

• Start your paper with an interesting opening--no one wants to read a paper that begins by saying:  I'm going to write about x, y, and z because that is my topic.

• Don't begin your essay with a definition or a question.  Begin with the thesis statement that explains what I will know after I have read your work.  Your essay shouldn't be a mystery.  Any essay that begins with a question or a definition cannot receive an "A" level grade.  Both of the examples that follow would have done much better by beginning their essay talking about what they thought about models and modeling and talking about what their essay would explain.  These are both weak beginnings:

  • In the Merriam Webster Collegiate dictionary, a model is defined as a system of postulates, data, and inferences presented as a mathematical description of an entity or state of affairs.

  • Are models worth the time and effort that people put into them?  What types of things do models tell us?

• Don't hide your point of view in your writing--otherwise you are just too dull to read (But remember--don't use the word I)

• Refer to authors you cite by their last name.  Don't use their first name or refer to them as "the author."

• In professional writing you think and believe--you do not feel

• Avoid the phrase: "the author brings up good points. . ."  This is a weak phrase

• Avoid the phrase:  "the book (or article) I read was. . ."  This is a weak phrase.

• Avoid the phrase:  "the question I chose to answer was. . ."  This is ineffective

• Avoid the word "like" when you mean similar.

• Never use the word boring unless it refers to drilling a large hole through something.  An article or work may be boring, but there are more creative ways to explain it.  "C" level students use the term "boring."  "A" level students use phrases and descriptions that indicate that same idea in a way that indicates that they have engaged in the material.

• Avoid the phrase:  "For me, reading this book was pretty difficult.  It is very long."  It makes me think you are not going to work hard enough to succeed in college.

• Avoid the statement:  "It uses a lot of big words, and things that took me a while to understand, or did not understand at all.  For me, individually,  this book is a little too much for me and other people like me."  This is akin to saying.  "I really don't belong in college and I should go home"  Part of your job in college is to take time to understand things you didn't understand before--if you only looked at things that are simple, why should we give you a degree.

• If you are writing a book review for my class, you are reading non-fiction.  Thus it is not a novel, and should not be referred to as such.

• No formal paper, book review, or take-home exam can earn a grade higher than a C- (72/100) if it lacks a bibliography and appropriate internal citations.

• Make certain that all sentences have both a subject and a verb. Sentence fragments are sentences that are missing either a subject or a verb. "A man who had traveled all over the country and lived in many states" is not a sentence, as it has no verb. The man is not doing anything, since there is no verb in this sentence. Careful editing will pick up mistakes like this one. (Roberg 1999)

• Pronouns need antecedents. Never start a paragraph with a sentence like, "They created a Congress consisting of a Senate and a House of Commons." I have no idea of who 'they' are. If you use any definite pronoun (he, she, it or they) or indefinite pronouns (this, that, these or those), be certain that you have these pronouns refer back to some concrete noun. (Roberg 1999)

• Word processors have Spell Check for a reason. In this day and age every word processing program has some sort of spell checking system. USE IT. Remember to proofread your final copy, because Spell Check can not pick up mistakes like 'tot he' instead of 'to the'.  (Roberg 1999)

• Use the right form of the word. English is loaded with dozens of spelling land mines, words that sound the same but are spelled three or four different ways. These homonyms still cause people problems. The worst offenders that teachers find are:

  • there - an adverb denoting place.

  • their - a possessive adjective for the pronoun 'they'

  • they're - a contraction for 'they are/' which you should not use anyway

  • its - a possessive adjective for the pronoun 'it'

  • it's - a contraction for 'it is,' which you should not use anyway

  •  Note: its' is not a word in the English language.(Roberg 1999)

• Punctuation is not for decoration. Commas are not thrown into sentences at random. The English language has rules for the use of commas. Learn these rules and use them. The same holds true for semi-colons, colons and other forms of punctuation. Any large dictionary and most pocket dictionaries have brief reference sections on the proper use of punctuation. (Roberg 1999)

• Have someone else read your paper. When you have spent thirty hours working on a paper, the last thing you want to do is look at it one last time to see if everything is spelled correctly. Have someone else look at your paper to pick out any mistakes you may have missed.  (Roberg 1999)

• If you fail to put your name (or any identifying mark) on your paper--I will fail to grade it.

• Common Problems with book reviews follow below:
  
  

  Problem	Julio's Response
  The author doesn’t provide many of her personal views on the crises; rather she provides many facts.	Authors choose facts to support their point of view.  Books are written because the author has point of view they want to bring to the reader--otherwise why write the book?
  The author makes a many valid and interesting points throughout this book	This is a weak and obvious statement along the same lines as:  The sun came up this morning. There are two sexes, male and female. Dogs have 4 legs except for those with different numbers of legs.
  This is a novel about . . .	NO, a novel is a piece of fiction—something which is created in the mind of the author.  You are reading something that is non-fiction.  It is based on facts and reality.  These facts are interpreted by the author(s).  Fiction is not an activity in science.
  Students tend to hide their viewpoint until the end of the paper	Often students write an excellent conclusion and a lousy opening paragraph.  After writing your conclusion--read it and see if it would be better as an opening paragraph.
  What happens if you start your essay with a question?  Is it really effective?	Hardly ever--Starting your essay with a question makes you sound like the local TV news--not like a strong minded essayist.  If you are tempted to use a question, don't, but rather try writing the statement that answers the question you want to write.
  In the first chapter-- In the second chapter-- In the third chapter--	Don't list out the chapters--in your writing.  It is like reading the mile markers on the highway.  Your reader cares little if it is the first or fifth chapter--what is important are the ideas and their sequence.

Do I really have to be a good writer?  Yes--and here is why!

Citation Examples in Chicago Style