Writing a Social Science Essay

Introduction
This includes an overview of what your essay is about or the problem
to be examined in your paper
The introduction has a dual purpose: it indicates your topic and your
approach to it
An introduction of an essay can be roughly divided into 3 parts:
o A lead
o A plan of development
o A thesis
Generally, an introduction starts with a very general opening sentence
relating to your topic and gradually becomes more specific
This is referred to as the funnel approach
Your thesis will always be your last sentence in your introduction
LEAD
This is the first part of the introduction and it may consist of two or three
general statements related to your topic
The purpose of these sentences is to capture the readers interest and
gently lead him/her to your opinion.
Steps for writing your lead:
1. Write out your thesis statement.
2. Underline all of the nouns (person, place, thing, character or concept)
in the thesis statement.
3. Compose general statements about one or more of those nouns.
PLAN OF DEVELOPMENT
A plan of development consists of three sentences. Each sentence will
briefly explain the proofs you will use to prove your thesis. If you are using
terms that you think may be unfamiliar to your reader, they should be
defined.
Steps for writing your Plan of Development:
1. Decide on and list the proofs that you will be using to support your
thesis.
2. Condense these proofs into short phrases which give concise
information.
3. Write out a parallel sentence which includes these phrases.
DO NOTS IN CREATING A PLAN OF DEVELOPMENT
Do not explain too much. This is what the body paragraphs are for and if
you give too much information about your proofs in the introduction, you
will run out of things to say in the body and will ultimately become
repetitious.
THESIS
A thesis is the most important part of the introduction
It is your opinion boiled down into one arguable statement. A thesis is that
which you are going to prove in the body of your essay.

To write the thesis, read the essay question carefully and clarify what it is
you are being asked to prove. Usually the thesis is inherent in the question.
Your thesis has two parts:
The first part states the topic. E.g. Public Transportation
The second part states the point of the essay. E.g. Can solve some of our
citys most persistent and pressing problems
The Body Paragraphs
Within the body of your essay you will present your three arguments
that prove your thesis
This is the portion of your essay that proves your position therefore; it
must be well-organized and persuasive
In the body of your essay you will present your arguments and the
evidence that supports your thesis
Each argument should be separated into their own paragraphs, this
does not mean that your essay will consist of only three paragraphs.
Some of your points may require the use of four or five paragraphs.
This is expected.
You start a new paragraph when you start a new thought.
The easiest approach is to make the topic sentence of a paragraph one
of your arguments
TOPIC SENTENCE
A topic sentence is the first sentence in each body paragraph
It introduces what you will be discussing in that paragraph
A topic sentence should not be too broad or too specific
EXPLANATION AND PROOF
The sentences, paragraphs and/or quotations which follow the topic
sentence are called the explanations and proofs
They prove that your thesis is true and correct
Direct and indirect quotations may be used
A sentence or two must lead into or introduce your quotation
The quotation must be properly footnoted or cited
SUMMARY STATEMENT
A sentence or two which concludes the point you are making in the
paragraph is the final part of each body paragraph.
Use a transitional device to smoothly move from one body paragraph to the
next
DO NOTS In Creating Body Paragraphs:
1. Do not begin or end a paragraph with a quotation.
2. Do not use an excessive number of quotations
3. Do not write a quotation introducing it with an explanatory
sentence.
The Conclusion
Sometimes writing the conclusion is harder than writing the body!

If you have convincingly developed your thesis throughout the paper,

the reader is aware of your intentions and will remember what you
were arguing
A conclusion often assesses what you have discussed in your body to
prove your thesis
The conclusion also consists of 3 distinct parts:
o The thesis is creatively restated
o The proofs are summarized
o General closing statement

THESIS RESTATED
One sentence, the first in the conclusion, imaginatively states again what
your thesis is.
PROOFS SUMMARIZED
Three sentences restate very briefly the proofs used in the body of the
essay. A general rule would be one sentence for each proof.

GENERAL STATEMENT
The last part of the conclusion, made up of one or more statements related
to the topic, is called the general statement.
SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO CREATE A CONCLUSION:
1. Do not use any quotations in a conclusion.
2. Do not repeat the explanation of your proofs- merely mention them.
3. Do not introduce new information or give your personal opinion of the
book in general closing statements.
4. Do not use phrases such as, This essay proves or In the
preceding paragraphs, it was shown