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 reader’s 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 city’s most persistent and
pressing problems
The Body Paragraphs
 Within the body of your essay you will present your three arguments that prove your thesis
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This is the portion of your essay that proves your position therefore; it must be wellorganized 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…”