SOC 776/978 WRITING SOCIOLOGY B. Nadya Jaworsky Room 3.59 Consultation Hours: Tuesdays 14.00-15.00 or by appointment Book/Article Review •1st draft: due Sunday, April 10, 12.00 pm in Homework Vault •Comment Sheet: Hard Copy due IN CLASS, Tuesday, April 12; post electronic version in Homework Vault simultaneously •Book/Article Review – min. 600 words; max. 1000 words SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE SOCIAL ISSUE ESSAYS •You needed to re-write and cut – many went over the 1200 words maximum. •Are you reading them aloud? •Eliminating wordiness – remember Becker and making sure each word is doing a job. •Passive tense •References ASA Style • • •1. What is the book’s argument? What is the author saying? •2. Does the book do what it says it is going to do? •3. Is the book a contribution to the field or discipline? •4. Does the book relate to a current debate/trend in the field? How? •5. What is the theoretical lineage or school of thought out of which the book rises? •6. Is the book well-written? •7. What are the book’s terms and are they defined? •8. How accurate is the information (e.g. footnotes, dates, data, etc.)? •9. Are the illustrations helpful? If there are no illustrations, should there have been? •10. Who would benefit from reading this book? •11. How does the book compare to other books in the field? •12. If it is a textbook, what courses can it be used in and how clear is the book’s structure and examples? WRITING A BOOK REVIEW •Summarizing – What is the point? What is the author saying? Tell what the book is about not what you think should be! •Analyzing – looking at relationships between: evidence & conclusion(s), author’s various concepts; author’s concepts and those of others •Evaluation – establish your criteria and assess whether the book has succeeded POTENTIAL Structure of a Book Review •Title including complete bibliographic citation: •Mexican Women and the Other Side of Immigration: Engendering Transnational Ties. By Luz María Gordillo. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2010. Pp. x+211. $55.00 •Paragraph identifying thesis and whether author achieves stated purpose •1-2 paragraphs summarizing •Paragraph on strengths •Paragraph on weaknesses •Paragraph assessing strengths and weaknesses Another Structure of a Book Review • •Enticement •Examination •Elucidation •Evaluation WRITING AN ARTICLE REVIEW •Thesis – What is the main point? Is it clear? Do you have to hunt it down? Does it address a relevant issue in your discipline? •Method(s) – How does the author support the thesis? Appropriate? Applied correctly? What about Methodology/justification? •Evidence – What are the strengths/weaknesses? How well does the evidence support the thesis? •Evaluation – Who will benefit from reading the article? What will the benefit be and how important is it? Suggestions for improvement? • POTENTIAL Structure of an Article Review •Title including complete bibliographic citation: •Brettell, Carolyn B. 2005. “The spatial, social, and political incorporation of Asian Indian immigrants in Dallas, Texas.” Urban Anthropology 34 (2/3): 247-258. •Paragraph identifying thesis and whether author achieves stated purpose •Summary/Evaluation of Method(s) •Summary/Evaluation of Evidence •Your overall Evaluation and Assessment NEXT WEEK’S READINGS •REQUIRED READING: •Turabian, Ch. 1-3, pp. 1-43. (43 pp.) • TQS shorthand: •I am working on the TOPIC of… • •…because I want to find out how or why... (QUESTION) • •…so that I can help others understand how or why.... (Significance/SO WHAT) • • Why do we review literatures? •To map the field or fields relevant to the inquiry (historical development, empirical/theoretical bases, key figures/texts, major debates) •To establish which studies, ideas and/or methods are most pertinent to the specific research being undertaken •To create the warrant for the research (identifying gaps, bringing the separate together, speaking to a particular debate or puzzle) •To identify the particular contribution your research will make • BUT it is not just a review or “laundry list” We are “narrating” the literatures (plural) •How much do we know about the topic? •What is the best available info and why? •What methods have researchers used? Are they effective? •What data are available? •What are the main conclusions? •What is missing? What can you discover? •How will readers benefit from your contribution? • • How to understand working with literatures •Writing as discursive social practice – What is your academic climate? •Writing as dialogic – Is your work lively and pleasurable to read; does it engage the reader in a conversation? •Writing as text/identity work – “The practices of academic writing produce simultaneously a scholar and a text.” Learning to write with authority • Mapping the field of literatures Getting Started •I turn now to what is already known about _________________. •I look first at why, according to the literatures, _________________, and I detail the __________________ that has resulted. •I note the minimal focus on __________________ relative to other research and the limited work which foregrounds ________________________. It is this gap to which I am to contribute. Mapping the field of literatures •I turn now to what is already known about dogs as pets. I look first at why, according to the literatures, some dog breeds are seen as compatible with humans and others are too aggressive, and I detail the data collection practices that have resulted. I note the minimal focus on the role of dogs as companions that are “fun” relative to other research and the limited work which foregrounds the structures of meaning underlying pet selection and ownership. It is this gap to which I am to contribute. Mapping the field of literatures – Part II •The study builds on and contributes to work in ________________ . •Although studies in _____________ have examined ____________ there has not been an __________________. •As such, this study provides additional insight into _____________ . •The analytic focus on ________ enables another contribution. •This study analyses __________________________________ . •Although numerous studies ( ) have identified ____________ , •little analytic attention has been paid to _________________ . •I address this issue by demonstrating __________________ . Mapping the field of literatures- Part II •The study builds on and contributes to work in the study of dogs as pets. Although studies in pet ownership have examined the role of aggressiveness as a measure of suitable companionship and ownership of dogs, there has not been a sustained engagement with why people choose to have dogs as pets. As such, this study provides additional insight into the ways in which “fun” represents an important factor in assessing a particular dog breed’s suitability as a pet. The analytic focus on cultural structures enables another contribution. This study analyses the ways in which pet owners engage in the process of meaning making about their pets. Although numerous studies (Pavlov 1890; Jones 1992; Smith 2007) have identified objective criteria (e.g. aggressiveness), little analytic attention has been paid to how dogs can be “fun” pets. I address this issue by demonstrating that pet ownership is an inherently cultural practice. Tips for Searching •Use Google Scholar - Transnational migration studies: Past developments and future trends [PDF] from peggylevitt.org …, BN Jaworsky - Annu. Rev. Sociol., 2007 - annualreviews.org •Abstract The past two decades have witnessed a sea change in migration scholarship. Most scholars now recognize that many contemporary migrants and their predecessors maintain various kinds of ties to their homelands at the same time that they are incorporated into the ... •Cited by 175 - Related articles - AONE Full Text @ iCONN - BL Direct - All 14 versions •Using Boolean Operators: •http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa66AxTbjxA • SYLLABUS Week 1 - Introduction to course Week 2 - What is sociology and what can we do with it? Week 3 - What is bad writing and how can we recognize it? Week 4 - How do we write a good great expository or opinion essay? Week 5 - How do we help one another constructively? Week 6 - How do we review a book or an article? Week 7 - NO CLASS (Reading Week) Week 8 - How do we begin sociological research? Week 9 - How do we finish sociological research and begin writing? Week 10 - How do we finish writing a research essay? How do we talk about our work to others? Week 11 - NO CLASS (Holiday) Week 12 - NO CLASS (Holiday) Week 13 - How do we get published?