Entering my first Writing for Social Sciences course, I had no idea what to expect. I’ve always thought about writing as a pretty straightforward thing—just getting words down on paper to convey thoughts. But even within those initial minutes of the class, it was clear that social science writing is a different animal, with its own structure, set of expectations, and challenges. In contrast to other more personal forms of writing, where voice is the overriding goal, social science writing makes clarity, evidence, and organization take precedence. Our professor reinforced how social science writing is not about having opinions but about building arguments from research, facts, and expert sources. That made sense because it brought back to mind that academic writing isn’t about being clever but about making ideas clear and interesting.
Generally speaking, my first thought about the Writing for Social Sciences lecture is that it will challenge me to approach writing differently. Instead of just something to be done for the sake of being done as an assignment, I can see it as a skill that actually matters beyond the classroom. Whether in future research studies or even work, having the ability to write clearly, persuasively, and evidentially is something that will never be outdated. I was intimidated but excited after the lecture, knowing that I’ll be mastering how to take my writing to the next level.
Due to my work, I often have to use observation and/or reflection to understand a group or behavior. I work full-time in a public school in the Bronx, where I am hands-on with kids of multiple ages, communities, and cultures. I have learned that what one kid needs, another may not need. Working in a school, we get to see and experience many different cultures. When I was in school, I never really cared or looked into why we had certain days off; it was a day off, who was I to question that? Now working in a public school, I am aware that these days off are because of the different cultures of the students in NYC DOE Schools.
Hi Marlene! I work with kids too, though not on the same level. I agree that children have many needs and that observation is extremely important in providing them with what they need. I’m not used to writing in different contexts either but I know we’ll all learn and improve our writing together !!
Hello Marlene,
I admire your hard work and the dedication you put into your job, and your mind growth after this job. Your ideas are very clever and true, I also consider that besides learning how to write, we will add more skills into our lives. And, just as you mentioned, these assignments will shape our perspectives of the world and each identity, making us be more mindful and aware of our environment.