Successful Writing
for the Social Studies
A Student’s Guide to Better Writing Skills
Developed by
Gloria E. Vital-Valdés
For
World History Honors
A Student’s Guide to Better Writing Skills Page 33
G. E. Vital-Valdes
Taking Notes
Taking complete, well-organized notes helps you remember what you hear in class and what you read. Effective note-taking involves locating and grouping related ideas. Use a graphic organizer such as a chart, Venn diagram, or time line to organize your notes. Look for key words, such as names, important ideas, and main points. To save time and space, use abbreviations and symbols.
Summarizing
What Is Summarizing?
Summarizing is how we take larger selections of text and reduce them to their bare essentials: the gist, the key ideas, the main points that are worth noting and remembering. Webster's calls a summary the "general idea in brief form"; it's the distillation, condensation, or reduction of a larger work into its primary notions.
What Are We Doing When We Summarize?
We strip away the extra verbiage and extraneous examples. We focus on the heart of the matter. We try to find the key words and phrases that, when uttered later, still manage to capture the gist of what we've read. We are trying to capture the main ideas and the crucial details necessary for supporting them.
When I Ask My Students to Summarize, What Usually Happens? / What do I Want them to do?· They write down everything
· They write down next to nothing
· They give me complete sentences
· They write way too much
· They don't write enough
· They copy word for word / · pull out main ideas
· focus on key details
· use keywords and phrases
· break down the larger ideas
· write only enough to convey the gist
· take succinct but complete notes
Summarizing Techniques:
· Selective Underlining
· Newspaper Mantra: have them use the keywords or phrases to identify only Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.
Sentence and Paragraph Writing
There are typically two types of questions in Social Studies — scaffolding questions and essay questions. Scaffolding questions can usually be answered in one or two sentences. Occasionally, you might want to write three or four sentences to answer a scaffolding question completely. Essay questions require longer answers. You may need to write four to five paragraphs to answer an essay question. In this lesson, you will learn how to write good sentences and the paragraphs that make up essays. In the following lesson you will learn about the parts of a good essay.
Writing Sentences
A sentence is a group of words that expresses a single complete idea. A sentence must contain at least one subject (what the sentence is about) and one verb (an action word that tells what the subject is doing or a state-of-being word such as am, are, is, was, were, or be).
The following chart explains some important rules to keep in mind when writing sentences:
Guidelines for Writing Sentences1. Every sentence must contain a subject and a verb.
2. Every sentence must begin with a capital letter.
3. Every sentence must end with an end mark – a period, a question mark, or an exclamation mark.
4. Keep your sentences interesting by starting them in different ways and by writing sentences of different lengths.
DULL: Jane Addams was a quiet, kind woman. She wanted to help newly arrived immigrants in Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods. She opened Hull House to provide a refuge for them. She started a kindergarten. She opened a boy’s club. She took care of old people.
MORE INTERESTING: Jane Addams was a kind, gentle woman who showed great sympathy for the plight of immigrants in Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods. She was particularly concerned with helping the young and the very old. She founded Hull House, a settlement house that was used as a school, club, and refuge for newly arrived immigrants from all over Europe.
5. Writing in the social studies contains lots of proper nouns – names of people, places and events. Such writing also often contains proper adjectives – descriptive words made from proper nouns. Make sure that you capitalize proper nouns and adjectives when writing your sentences.
INCORRECT: european immigrants arriving in the united states in the late nineteenth century faced many new challenges.
CORRECT: European immigrants arriving in the United States in the late nineteenth century faced many new challenges.
6. Avoid sentence fragments – groups of words that do not contain a subject and a verb or that do not express a complete idea.
FRAGMENT: Settled in Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods. (The group of words is missing a subject.)
COMPLETE SENTENCE: Many European immigrants settled in Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods.
7. Avoid run-on sentences – ones in which two sentences are run together without an end mark to separate them.
RUN-ON: Life was difficult for newly arrived immigrants they had to make many adjustments.
CORRECTED: Life was difficult for newly arrived immigrants. They had to make many adjustments.
8. Use quotation marks around words quoted directly from a source.
EXAMPLE: Jane Addams wanted to provide opportunities for all newly arrived immigrants. In her book, Twenty Yeats at Hull-House, she noted, “[We} were very insistent that the Settlement should not be primarily for the children, and that it was absurd to supposed that grown people would not respond to opportunities for education and social life.”
Writing Paragraphs
An essay will be made up of several paragraphs (usually four or five). Therefore, it is a good idea for you to learn about proper paragraph form.
What is a paragraph?
A paragraph is a group of sentences about a single main idea. Read the following example:
Topic SentenceBody Sentences
Clincher Sentence / [There are several reasons why Spain controlled large amounts of territory in the Americas by 1700.] Spain had skilled sailors and experienced soldiers, who came to the Americas to conquer land for Spain. The weapons used by the Spanish soldiers were more sophisticated than those of native peoples, and the horses and ships of the Spanish enabled them to move their troops quickly. The Spanish, along with other European explorers, often carried diseases that wiped out millions of Native Americans, who had no immunities to these illnesses. The Spanish also forged alliances with some native peoples in order to conquer others. [Thus it was not surprising that by the end of the 18th century, Spain had conquered territory ranging from southern North America to the northern part of South America.]
A well-written paragraph contains several parts, as follows:
Parts of a Paragraph
• The topic sentence gives the main idea of the paragraph.
• The body sentences provide details that support the main idea of the paragraph.
• The clincher sentence sums up the paragraph.
Writing a Paragraph, Step by Step
Step 1: Create a rough outline of your paragraph on scrap paper. Jot down the main idea that will be your topic sentence. Then, beneath the main idea, use dashes to introduce your supporting details.
Reasons why Spain controlled large amounts of territory in the Americas by 1700 —skilled sailors
—experienced soldiers
—carried diseases
—sophisticated weapons
—fast horses and ships
—Native Americans had no immunities
—forged alliances pitting native peoples against one another
This paragraph happens to contain a lot of supporting details. Often, however, three or four supporting details will be enough.
Step 2: Look over your rough outline. Make sure that your supporting details are in a sensible order, such as time order or order of importance. If necessary, rearrange your details.
Step 3: Write the body sentences, following your outline. Try to vary the beginnings and the lengths of your sentences, and make sure that every sentence begins with a capital letter. If you wish to do so, quote directly from one or more of your source documents. Make sure to put any such quotations in quotation marks.
Step 4: Write a clincher sentence that restates the main idea of the paragraph in other words.
Step 5: Proofread the paragraph for errors. Reread it carefully. Make sure that you have
• indented the first line of the paragraph
• used complete sentences
• spelled each word correctly
• used a capital letter at the beginning of each sentence
• used a capital letter at the beginning of each proper noun or adjective
• used an end mark, such as a period, question mark, or exclamation mark, at the
end of each sentence.
Essay Writing
What Is an Essay?
An essay is a group of paragraphs that together support a single main idea, or thesis. A good essay contains the following parts:
The Parts of an EssayAn essay contains three parts, as follows:
1. The introduction is the first paragraph and contains a thesis statement, or a concise, general answer to the essay question. This paragraph is also used to catch the reader's attention.
2. The body, which can be one or more paragraphs long, presents ideas and details that support the thesis. Most essays contain at least two or three body paragraphs.
3. The conclusion is the final paragraph of the essay. Its purpose is to sum up the ideas presented in the body.
You can think of an essay as being like a building. The topic is what the essay is about. The thesis statement is the main idea of the essay. Together, the topic and the thesis statement are like the roof of the building. The body paragraphs in the essay are like the pillars or walls that hold up the roof. The conclusion is like the base or foundation of the building.
Use the following graphic organizer to plan an essay.
Understanding Essays: Purpose
An essay should accomplish a specific purpose, or goal. The chart below gives some examples of purposes that an essay can accomplish. Some essays have more than one of these purposes:
The Purpose of an Essay
An essay can accomplish any of these purposes:
· To inform. An essay written to inform provides facts about the topic of the essay.
· To persuade. An essay written to persuade presents an opinion and supports it.
· To entertain. An essay written to entertain creates an enjoyable experience for the reader.
· To narrate. An essay written to narrate is one that tells a true story.
The essays that you write for Social Studies will almost always be informative essays, ones that present facts about a topic.
Understanding Essays: Audience
Regardless of its purpose, an essay should be written with a particular group of readers, or audience, in mind. Write as though your audience were a group of intelligent adults who nonetheless do not have much information about the topic you are writing about.
Understanding Essays: Organization
The body paragraphs in an essay should be well organized. That is, they should be presented in an order that makes sense. The following are some common ways to organize ideas in an essay:
Organizing an Essay
1. Time order. Information about events are presented in the order in which the events occurred. For example, an essay about Abraham Lincoln might begin with information about his childhood and his law practice, then present his rise as a politician, and then deal with his leadership of the United States during the Civil War.
2. Order of importance. The ideas are presented in order of their significance, either from most important to least important or from least important to most important. For example, an essay about the high cost of the Civil War might deal first with the lumber of lives lost, second with the value of the property destroyed, and third with the rift created between Northerners and Southerners.
3. Spatial order. Details are presented according to their location. For example, an essay about America's radar defense might deal first with ground-based radar systems and second with airborne radar systems.
These are not the only acceptable methods of organization, though. Any ordering of ideas that is reasonable—in which the ideas follow one another in a sensible, logical way—is permitted.
Writing the Introduction of an Essay
The introduction, or opening paragraph, of an essay should do two things. It should grab the attention of the reader so that he or she becomes interested in the piece. It should also present the main idea, or thesis statement of the essay.
The thesis statement is probably the most important sentence in the essay because it sets forth what the rest of the essay will be about. After grabbing the attention of your reader, state your main idea, or thesis. This is the idea that you will support in the rest of your essay.
Openers for Introductory Paragraphs
Begin with an interesting question:
· What would life be like if the Allies hadn't prevailed in World War I?
· If you had to choose between your allegiance to your country and your allegiance to your family, what would you do?
Begin with a quotation:
· John F. Kennedy said, "And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." This statement made a lasting impact on those interested in public service.
Begin with a brief story:
· The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 is rumored to have been started when a cow, owned by a woman named Mrs. O'Leary, knocked over a lantern. From there, the fire spread quickly through the city. The actual origins of the fire are still not known, but Mrs. O'Leary's cow has earned a place in Chicago's history.
Begin with a startling or fascinating fact:
· The yo-yo is one of the oldest toys in the world. Everyone from ancient Greeks to French soldiers played with them before they became popular in the United States.
Examples of Introductory Paragraphs:Which of these do you think is the most analytical?
1. Though the War of 1812 was claimed to be fought in defense of national honor,
Americans were only after the acquisition of more land for the country. The War
Hawks true motive for war followed the theory of expansionism as stated by Pratt.
2. War had been brewing between the two great nations of Europe, Britain and
France, on the supremacy of the continent. The troubles of Europe had overflowed
onto America where their maritime and neutrality rights had been disrespected. Trying
to protect their national honor, America tried peaceful coercion but it turned out
unsuccessful. America joined the war because of the urging of the war hawks, with the
reasons of maritime and neutrality rights being ignored. Their underlying reason was
to acquire Canada. America joining the War of 1812 wasn't for national honor or
maritime rights as proposed, but for the capturing of land.
3. The War of 1812 was another war for independence from Great Britain.
America warred with the greatest world power once again to be recognized as a true
country, an honor we never gained in the Revolutionary War. If we could win another
war against the world's superpower, then not only would we be recognized as a great
nation by all other nations, we would gain control of new lands acquired from Britain's
territories.
4. The beginning of the 18th century was a troubled time for America. As much as
the country tried to remain neutral, the rest of the world began to encroach on their
enlightened experiment. In an attempt to unlock their stalemate in Europe, both
France and England began seizing American ships, ships that were laden with
supplies for their enemy. More distressingly Britain had begun impressing American
sailors. By 1812 these actions had continued for more than a decade. It seems
obvious that America embarked on a war for national honor. And yet, the fact
remained that these actions had been continuing for over a decade. Something was
now different in America: something that could push the fragile country into a war. The
new presence was war hawks, a new generation of Patriots eager to prove their
patriotism. Yet these war hawks seemed to be pushing war for a very different reason.
It is the presence of these war hawks that shows that the war of 1812 was not a war for
National Honor, but a war to increase the land holdings of the US
Writing the Body Paragraphs of an Essay