Good Essay Writing: A Social Sciences Guide

This book sets out proven approaches and techniques which can help everyone write good essays. Extensively revised and updated in this fourth edition, Good Essay Writing now includes new material such as:

• A chapter on essay planning, focusing on literature searching (using online materials), note-taking and formulating an argument
• A comparison of essay writing to exam writing
• The use of academic language, vocabulary and register, and its ′accuracy and appropriateness′
• more exemplar material used throughout the chapters

The authors focus on answering key questions students face when preparing essays – What do tutors look for when marking my essay? What kind of skills do I need as I progress through my course? How can I avoid inadvertent plagiarism? What are the protocols for referencing?

Encapsulated in easy to digest summaries, this new edition shows you how to approach different types of essay questions, addresses common worries, and provides extensive use of worked examples including complete essays which are fully analyzed and discussed. Each chapter also includes suggested further reading and an extensive glossary.

Good Essay Writing is highly recommended for anyone studying social sciences who wants to brush up on their essay writing skills and achieve excellent grades.

Peter Redman has been teaching social science at The Open University for the last 25 years. During this time he has worked closely with numerous students helping them reflect on and improve their writing skills. He is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology.

Wendy Maples has been teaching in the Social Sciences for over 25 years. She has worked on a number of interdisciplinary courses for the Open University, writing course texts in Social Science research methods and Environment, as well as learning development materials for students and teaching development materials for lecturers. Dr Maples is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.