Customer Reviews

Writing for Social Scientists: How to Start and Finish Your Thesis, Book, or Article (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Starting Chapter 1 of my dissertation proposal scared the living daylights out of me. Where to start? How much do I need to research and read before I actually start writing? And then there is the never-ending "Here's just one more article/book/website I need to read/investigate before I can even start *thinking* about writing" refrain...

Becker, in a very straight-forward and humorous manner, gets you going. He lets you know the absolute fear you are feeling is perfectly normal and that the first draft is just that - a first draft. It doesn't have to be perfect; in fact it *shouldn't* be perfect. After reading this book, I simply sat down and started writing. I didn't worry about punctuation or sentence structure, I just wrote. Some of it ended up in the trash, but much of what I wrote on the first go-around was molded into some very good work.

Thanks to Howard Becker I think I might actual graduate!

Having read a bunch of books on the topic of doing your thesis, I was a bit desperate since none of them seemed to offer really practical advices on how to tackle the problem of starting to write. I got lost in "how to read and write a literature review" and "how to talk to your committee members", and only when I start reading Becker's book I found this seemingly crazy but increadibly fine advice: sit down and write - just about everything that comes into your mind. If you get stuck, put it down. Your first draft will be much of a weird writing, but only through materializing it you will be able to make further steps forward. I've read this book in less than two days and have brightened my view of this huge task in front of me. The only redundant thing is the chapter on using the computer, since it became a usual stuff since this book was published. Everything else is a true confidence booster!

I discovered this book in a methodology class for social scientists when our teacher demanded that we read it. The great thing about Becker is that what he writes is real life in its most intriguing details. This book won't teach you how to write but will teach you how to WORK. I recommend you read it, sociologist, anthropologist, political scientist, psycologist or whatever you are in the social sciences.

Everyone of us, to include social scientists, have flaws. While reading this book, it is common to see yourself in some of Becker's examples - the relief comes when Becker explains how you can work through your faults and get to what is important - finishing your project.

I did not find out about this book until after I started on my Master's Program. I wish this was made required reading when I was an undergrad, it would have helped me out greatly.

This book should be on every college students' bookshelf, no matter what field they are in.

I bought the first edition of this book about 20 years ago and found it very helpful. I long ago misplaced my copy and so was happy to order the new second edition. On reading the book again, I found Becker's advice to be as good as I remembered, but I was disappointed that he had made so few changes in the "second edition." Essentially, the first edition has been reprinted verbatim--even typos weren't corrected--with a relatively few pages of additional material added to the last two chapters. Chapter 9 now contains Becker's general thoughts on recent software that he considers useful to writers. This discussion would have been more helpful if he had been willing to mention specific programs. I guess he decided not to either to avoid giving free advertising or to avoid dating the discussion. The last chapter gives some interesting, if brief, observations on the place of writing in modern academic life.

In short, if you already have the first edition, there's not much point in buying the second edition. If, on the other hand, you haven't encountered this book before and you would like some useful tips on academic writing, it's well worth the price.

Writing for Social Scientists is written primarily for individuals who wants to hone their writing skills.
Howard Becker's primary intent is to desmitify and remove the fear of writing.

Becker explores the fear of the black page and suggests techniques for getting started. He advocates for simple, direct language, avoiding the curse of "one right way", and challenges stodgy academic writing. He offers insights for solving writing problems based on his 35 years of experience as a researcher, writer and teacher.

Becker succeeds in making the reader more comfortable with the writing process. However, he leaves writers with the dilemma of writing for the target audience, writing for the "ear", or standards of taste, or to compromise.

The reader will find his perspective valuable and useful fro the writing process. Lastly, the book is well written and highly readable. (Class PAPA 6014)

I actually purchased the book for the person I share an office with. He is currently working on his dissertation and kind of at a stand still on page 5. After reading the book, within two weeks he was on page 50 and continues to progress ahead. He really liked the book and has recommended it to several other people. The book helped him focus less on making sure everything he was writing was perfect and more on trying to get a first draft done. While the book assisted him with this, it will probably not be helpful once the draft is done.

Becker's pragmatic approach has brought the fear of editing, the risks of perception by others who will read the paper, and the search for the One Right Way of writing into the open. He didn't just stop there. He shows the reader how to overcome these obstacles and get the job done.

The thought I have after reading the book is: "Everything else is useless if you don't get your point across."

I recommend this book to anyone who is serious about scholarly writing.

The author provided a guide to assist the social scientist in writing clear, concise articles, books, etc. Tips for revising/editing were helpful, as were the suggestions for overcoming procrastination, and finding critical colleagues to assist in the process. The tips, I think, were helpful; however, as the author points out, many scientific journals are not interested in articles that are clear and concise.

Howard Becker is indispensable to any student of the social sciences. This book, which provides insight into how to work efficiently as a scholar in the discipline, is an excellent resource. Read it while you're writing so you don't lose sight of the goal of finishing your work.