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

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.


Valuable   September 14, 2004
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

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)



a quick yet comprehensive read   March 22, 2006
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

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.


what is like living as scholar   October 5, 2001
 5 out of 13 found this review helpful

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. this book is not merely writing guide. there are many other books on writing. but the place where this book should be put is not there, I think. the author, he himself has some name in Sociology, show you what is the life of scholar by the topic of writing. he persuasively illustrate the fear to write of not only graduate students but also professional scholars. I recommend to read Randall Collins The Sociology of Philosophies, if you want to peep into more details on the life of scholar. I think Collinss book is better, volumetric and systematic on that matter. But the merit of this book is that you can capture what is like living as scholar in more private sight.


To the Point, Easy Language   October 25, 2005
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

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.