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

~ (Author), Pamela Richards (Contributor)
Key Phrases: One Right Way, Final Word, Pamela Richards (more...)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

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Frequently Bought Together

Writing for Social Scientists: How to Start and Finish Your Thesis, Book, or Article: Second Edition (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing) + Tricks of the Trade: How to Think about Your Research While You're Doing It (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing) + Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)
Price For All Three: $30.05

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Humane, wry, reflective, gentle, wise....A primer in the sense that it teaches the elements of good writing [and] a shrewd and subtle essay on the social organization of scholarship." - Kai Erikson, Contemporary Sociology "This little book is must reading for any would-be writer, social scientist or not, who has sat in front of a blank piece of paper...and wondered whether the plants have been watered lately." - Jane Delano Brown, Journalism Quarterly"

Product Description

Students and researchers all write under pressure, and those pressures—most lamentably, the desire to impress your audience rather than to communicate with them—often lead to pretentious prose, academic posturing, and, not infrequently, writer’s block.  

Sociologist Howard S. Becker has written the classic book on how to conquer these pressures and simply write. First published nearly twenty years ago, Writing for Social Scientists has become a lifesaver for writers in all fields, from beginning students to published authors. Becker’s message is clear: in order to learn how to write, take a deep breath and then begin writing. Revise. Repeat.

It is not always an easy process, as Becker wryly relates. Decades of teaching, researching, and writing have given him plenty of material, and Becker neatly exposes the foibles of academia and its “publish or perish” atmosphere. Wordiness, the passive voice, inserting a “the way in which” when a simple “how” will do—all these mechanisms are a part of the social structure of academic writing. By shrugging off such impediments—or at the very least, putting them aside for a few hours—we can reform our work habits and start writing lucidly without worrying about grades, peer approval, or the “literature.”

In this new edition, Becker takes account of major changes in the computer tools available to writers today, and also substantially expands his analysis of how academic institutions create problems for them. As competition in academia grows increasingly heated, Writing for Social Scientists will provide solace to a new generation of frazzled, would-be writers.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 208 pages
  • Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 2 edition (December 15, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0226041328
  • ISBN-13: 978-0226041322
  • Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #25,193 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #6 in  Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Reference
    #32 in  Books > Professional & Technical > Medical > Research
    #45 in  Books > Science > Medicine > Research

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Howard S. Becker
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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Becker gets you going, January 22, 2002
By L. Ralston (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
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!

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29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Becker is a master, December 8, 1998
By A Customer
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.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The book is helpful, August 21, 2003
By Katarina Visnar (Ljubljana, Slovenia) - See all my reviews
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!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Writing for All Scientists
Howard S. Becker, the author of "Writing for Social Scientists: How to Start and Finish Your Thesis, Book, or Article", is a social scientist. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Antonio Dias de Figueiredo

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Author, Great Work
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... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Daniel Douglas

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Dears

I am grateful buy book in Amazon. My order arrive in the predict day , in state perfect. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Othon F. Pereira

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but the second edition has few changes
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. Read more
Published on January 21, 2008 by Hal Jordan

5.0 out of 5 stars Becker on Writing
This was the best $10 I've ever invested. The book is wonderful; clear and concise. It's made a big difference with my papers through understanding that writing is a process... Read more
Published on November 3, 2006 by Leo Russo

3.0 out of 5 stars a quick yet comprehensive read
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. Read more
Published on March 22, 2006 by T. Lang

4.0 out of 5 stars To the Point, Easy Language
The author provided a guide to assist the social scientist in writing clear, concise articles, books, etc. Read more
Published on October 25, 2005 by EdD Candidate Barbara

4.0 out of 5 stars Valuable
Writing for Social Scientists is written primarily for individuals who wants to hone their writing skills. Read more
Published on September 13, 2004 by H. Bach

2.0 out of 5 stars From a clinical psychologist who coaches academics:
In the final chapter of his book, Becker writes that "(r)eading this book will not solve all your writing problems. It will hardly solve any of them." I agree.
Published on April 27, 2003 by Mary McKinney

5.0 out of 5 stars what is like living as scholar
Several others reviewed this book already. but I want to mention a point on this book. You could peep into what is the life of scholar throughout reading this book. Read more
Published on October 5, 2001 by Suckwoo Lee

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