Ruth’s Sociology Resources Blog

I am currently working on the methodology section of my PhD - it needs to be about 10,000 words long and while I have plenty to write it is always a struggle to keep a large chunk of text coherent.  This applies as much to an essay or piece of coursework that is 2,000 words in length as it does to a thesis.

I was thinking about the tips and tricks I have picked up over the years and thought I would pass them on:

1. Plan what you are going to write - even if it is just a set of basic bullet points.  I often draw a mind map of the points I want to make so that I can see how they interrelate and then put them in order.  You can then write to ‘fill in’ the bullet points - it helps to make sure that you have not missed anything out.
2. If possible type straight into a word processor programme - Word, Open Office Writer, Pages rather than writing on paper - this makes editing much easier - you can move things around easily and you don’t have to worry about spelling or missing things out as you can sort that out as you go along.
3. Once you have got all the main points in there have a read over it - if you are like me you will find that you have missed things out or they are not quite in the right order.  If you can see how to fix that then get on and do it, but if you are struggling with how to re-structure something so it makes more sense and reads more fluently then I recommend the paper and scissors solution:
1. print out your writing so far
2. take a pair of scissors and cut it into separate paragraphs (or groups of paragraphs) you can then move things around physically and re-think the structure of the piece
3. once you have laid the piece out in it’s new structure and are happy with it then you can move things around on screen to match what you have on paper and finesse it so it all fits together neatly.

Happy writing.

I know that the AS Methods paper has already been and gone, but the others are looming and I’ve had a few questions about any tips for the big day, so I thought I’d write a quick page on it.

So there is now a page of exam tips under the Revision Hints and Tips main page.

There are now a selection of mindmaps available to download from the site to help you with revision. Just go to the Downloads for Students page and they are available to buy for the bargain price of 79p!

Keep an eye out as I will hopefully be adding more mindmaps over the next few weeks.

Yes it’s coming up to that time of year again! So here are the examination dates for this summer:

OCR

AS
Individual & Society - Wed 23rd May am
Culture & Socialisation - Wed 23rd May am
Research Methods - Tues 15th May am
A2
Power & Control Fri - 15th June pm
Research Methods Wed - 27th June am
Social Inequality & Difference - Wed 27th June am

AQA

AS
Unit 1 - Wed 23rd May am
Unit 2 - Wed 23rd May am
Unit 3 - Research Methods - Tues 15th May am
A2
Unit 4 - Fri 15th June pm
Unit 5 - Research Methods - Fri 15th June pm
Unit 6 - Wed 27th June am

WJEC

AS
Sociology 1 - Wed 23rd May am
Sociology 2 - Tues 15th May am
Sociology 3 - Wed 23rd May am
A2
Sociology 4 - Fri 15th June pm
Sociology 5 - Fri 15th June pm
Sociology 6 - Wed 27th June am

I’ve spent some time over the last couple of days playing around with a mindmapping tool called Freemind. I’m very much a visual learner and for me the easiest way to understand or plan something is to draw a diagram.

So how on earth is this relevant to Sociology? Well, mindmapping is often a very useful way of gathering ideas, constructing essay plans and revising topics. On paper it tends to get a bit messy, but on a computer you end up with something that you can change as much as you like. As a teacher I often get my students to construct mind maps of topics or even whole units so that they can see how the bits fit together - with a subject as complex as Sociology it is often the only way to illustrate the links between ideas.

To illustrate, here is an image of a mind map that I’ve constructed using Freemind to help me plan out the writing I’m currently doing on Home Education:

I have to say I’m very impressed with Freemind - it’s easy to use and best of all it’s free. It is a piece of opensource software so it is free for any individual or organisation to download and use. One tip is that once you’ve got it open, if you select the Modes menu and click on Browse you get a mindmap help guide which is very useful.

Thought you might like to know the exam dates for this summer:

AS Exams

Tues 16th May 2006 (pm) Research Methods Paper

Wed 24th May 2006(am) Individual & Society Paper

Wed 24th May 2006 (am) Culture & Socialisation Paper (Families)

A2 Exams

Fri 16th June 2006 (pm) Power & Control Paper (Education)
Wed 28th June 2006 (am) Inequality & Difference paper