how to write a social studies essay

The Critical Turkey

Essay Writing Hacks for the Social Sciences

What Should Be in a Social Science Essay? Fundamentals and Essential Techniques

This blogpost is also available as a PDF download , so it can be stored on your desktop and used as a checklist before submitting your essay.

The following is a condensed overview of the most important features of social science essay writing. Its aim is to cut through the noise, and focus on the most essential (and important) elements of essay writing. Read it carefully, and use it as a check-list once you have completed your essay.

Before we get into the details, however, be aware: The purpose of writing essays in the social and political sciences is not so much to just demonstrate your knowledge. Rather, it is about applying this knowledge, using it to make a well-informed, well-reasoned, independently-reflected argument that is based on verified (and verifiable) evidence. What should be in an essay, and how you should write it, is all informed by this purpose.

What’s in an Essay?

The main focus of an academic essay, article or book is to address a research or essay question. Therefore, make sure you have read the essay question carefully, think about what aspects of the topic you need to address, and organize the essay accordingly. Your essay should have three parts:

• Introduction
• Provide context to the question. Be specific (not ‘since the dawn of time, social scientists have been arguing…’, but ‘one of the key debates in the study of revolutions revolves around…’, ideally providing references to the key authors of said debate).
• It is almost always a good idea to formulate an argument – an arguable statement – in relation to the essay question (e.g. if the question is ‘Evaluate Weber and Marx’s accounts of capitalism’, an argument could be ‘I am going to argue that Weber is most insightful on X, but Marx is important for Y’). This builds a nice critical element into your essay, your own take on things, going beyond merely describing what others have written.
• Essay plan: Tell the reader about the points you are going to cover, and the order in which you are going to do this (e.g. ‘First, the essay looks at…, second… third…’ etc.). Think of it as a roadmap to the essay.
• Define key concepts as necessary for understanding. Do not use general dictionaries, as they often contain notions that social scientists try to challenge. Use definitions from the readings, and from sociological dictionaries.
• Length: Intro should be between 5 to 10%, and no more than about 10 per cent of the overall word count.
• Main Part / Body
• The structure of the essay body is informed by the research/essay question: What points do you need to include in order to address the question? What sub-questions are there to the big question? Concentrate on the ‘need-to-knows’ rather than the ‘nice-to-knows’ .
• The order in which you arrange these points depends on what makes the most convincing line of argument. This depends on the essay question, but as a rule of thumb you want to build up your argument, from the basics to the more elaborate points, from the weaker to the stronger, from what contradicts your argument to what supports it.
• The different points should be addressed in appropriate depth. Make sure you explain not just what something is, but also how it works, and use examples and illustration.
• There should be a coherent thread running through the essay and connecting the various points to one another and the overall argument. Indicate these connections in strategic places with appropriate signposting. These signpostings should also help you develop your argument as you proceed.
• Excellent essays often raise counter-arguments to the argument presented, and then provide arguments against those counter-arguments. Think about why and how someone might disagree about what you are saying, and how you would respond to them.
• Use peer-reviewed academic sources and present evidence for the points you make, using references, reliable statistics, examples etc. Any opinion you express should be built on reliable evidence and good reasoning.
• What, finally, is your answer to the question? Bring the various strings of the essay together, summarize them briefly in the context of the essay question, and round off by connecting to the bigger discussion that the essay question is part of. It is usually a good idea to have a differentiated conclusion, in which you e.g. agree with a statement to a certain extent or under specific circumstances (and explain which and why), but disagree with some other aspects of it, rather than making undifferentiated black-or-white statements. You can also contextualise your argument with your ideas from the introduction. It is normally not a good idea to introduce new material in the conclusion. You are wrapping up here, and rounding off, not starting new discussions.
• Conclusion should be about, and no longer than, 10 per cent of the overall word count.

Notes on Writing Style

• Find the right balance between formal and informal. Avoid being too informal and conversational on the one hand. But also don’t use overly convoluted and complicated language, as it makes your writing inaccessible, and can lead to a lack of clarity. You may at times encounter academic writing that seems deliberately obscure or overcomplicated, but those are not examples you should try to emulate.
• Clarity and specificity should indeed be a top priority. Are the words you are using expressing what you want to express? Is it clear who specifically is doing what or saying what? Pay attention to this when proofreading the essay. Could someone understand this differently? Avoid ambiguities.
• Key concepts should be clearly defined and  used throughout the essay in the way you defined them. Choose the definitions that are most useful for your discussion.
• Avoid hyperbole (don’t do ‘shocking statistics’ or ‘dire consequences’ etc.).

Notes on the Writing Process

• Proofreading: When you are first writing, don’t think of it as the final product, but treat it as a first draft. Go through several drafts until you are happy with it. At a minimum, proofread the entire essay once or twice. Don’t be perfectionist when you start out, as you can always come back and improve on whatever you’ve written.
• Small steps: Focussing on the small, concrete steps of your writing process rather than constantly thinking of the big task at hand will help you feel in control.
• Procrastination: Feeling overwhelmed, as well as being too perfectionist, are among the leading causes for procrastination. The two previous points should therefore help you address this issue as well. Don’t be too harsh on yourself when you do procrastinate – almost everyone does it to some extent .
• Over the years, keep addressing areas you want to improve on, and keep looking for information. Search online, for example ‘how to cite a book chapter in Harvard Sage’, ‘developing an argument’, ‘ using quotations ’, ‘memory techniques’, ‘how to read with speed’, ‘understanding procrastination’, or ‘ what does peer-reviewed mean ’. There is plenty of information, and some seriously good advice out there. See what works for you. Read the feedback you get on your writing, and incorporate it into your next essay.

Final Thoughts

Essay Writing skills are good skills to have in any situation (except maybe in a zombie apocalypse). They will make the studying process easier over time, and hopefully also more fun. But in a wider sense, they are general skills of critical engagement with the world around you, and will help you filter and prioritise the overload of information you are confronted with on an everyday basis. In that sense, they might actually even be helpful in a zombie apocalypse.

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Essay writing is the one thing I felt the least prepared to teach when I become a social studies teacher. And by least, I mean not at all. 

Early in my career, I attended the National Social Studies Council conference specifically looking for sessions on teaching writing. I was shocked to find hardly any. 

Is it because we assume students know how to write by high school? Or because it’s regarded as such a fuzzy thing to teach that it’s unknowingly passed over in teacher ed programs and conferences? Or do we still think writing isn’t core to social studies the way it is to ELA? I have no idea. 

That’s when I accepted that I was on my own to figure it out.

And it really should not be like that. 

Over the years, I created and fine-tuned what I call a DBQ classroom, in which daily lessons build towards an overarching inquiry question and our end-of-unit essay answers it. In another blog post, I outline a  broad overview of my DBQ classroom structure so if you’re interested in this approach, check that out before heading back here.

Whether it is  US History , or  Civics , or  Global Issues , if it’s a core subject, I’m using an essay as the culminating assessment to answer the unit-long inquiry. I truly believe writing is  that  central to learning.

This post follows one I wrote on  developing inquiry-based learning units  and picks up where that one left off. That’s because these two core pedagogy elements—inquiry and writing—fundamentally belong together. 

In this post, I will walk you through the step-by-step process of what “Outline Day” looks like in my classroom—when my students turn their general understanding about a topic into a precise, personalized, and well-supported argument. This is the second-to-last day of each unit, prior to “Essay Day.”

However, these same basic steps work for all types of history and social studies writing: end-of-unit essays, on-demand DBQs or LEQs, and formal research papers.

This is my 6-step how-to guide for scaffolding your history and social studies students in outlining an essay:

1. Deconstruct the essay prompt

2. Recap the truths, not just the content

3. Decide a clear position to argue

4. Choose categories to support a position

5. Select the best supporting evidence

6. Write the thesis

1. Deconstruct the Essay Prompt

Don’t underestimated how crucial this step. Whether it is a unit inquiry question you wrote yourself or one provided for your curriculum, you must teach your students how to break it down. 

Some questions to pose to students as you work through analyzing the prompt:

• What topics or content must I cover? What must I exclude?
• What’s considered true and not what I’m arguing?
• What skill must I demonstrate? How do I do that?
• What evaluation must I make? 

If you want to go deeper on these 4 questions, check out my blog post on  deconstructing social studies essay prompts step-by-step .

If this is a unit-long inquiry, then this deconstructing work happens early on and is also revisited throughout your unit. Personally, I never assign essays unless the question is known and understood all unit long, but sometimes you don’t have that ability. 

If you’re preparing students for on-demand essays, like the AP Exam, develop a cheat sheet of your deconstructing system for students to follow. Then practice it with every essay. 

One of the easiest and most heartbreaking traps I see AP students, even strong ones, fall into is arguing what the prompt already implies is true, missing the nuances of what the prompt was  really  asking, because they rushed this step.

2. Recap the Truths, Not Just the Content 

After it’s understood what the question is asking, now it’s time to review what it covers. If you created an  inquiry unit with a central graphic organizer of at-a-glance notes  and students have already loaded it up with what they’ve learned, you won’t need to spend too much time here. 

Instead, focus this brief review time on the “truths” about the topic—the broad understandings about which historians, political scientists, and other experts generally agree. The first two deconstructing questions identified these things, so now it’s time to recap the details.

Keep it to 2-3 truths. Basically, you want to show that both or multiple sides of the question have support.

Continuing with our sample Gilded Age question from the  last post on building an inquiry unit ,  “Was late 1800s America a land of opportunity?,”  the core truths are that two things—unbelievable wealth as well as abject poverty—existed simultaneously. That is inarguable.

So review with students the most salient examples of both, one then the other. This scaffolds students in two ways. First, it prevents them from getting derailed by arguing that both existed equally, which honestly is just summarizing, because you have reminded students that this is already true and known.

Second, it reinforces everything they’ve learned in the visual of the graphic organizer. In our Gilded Age example we used a T-chart, but it could be a Venn diagram or a cause/effect flow chart depending on the question. 

3. Decide a Clear Position to Argue 

Pose the prompt once more. In big text on your screen.

And with their at-a-glance graphic organizer in their hands, students should now have a gut reaction answer. If not, they have their sheet to help them decide. Even if a lower-level student has just a few items listed, they can still decide one side or the other. 

With our Gilded Age question, a student must either argue “yes” or “no” that late 1800s America was the land of opportunity. They can’t answer “both.” This crucial, fork-in-the-road decision prevents them from summarizing and sets them in a firm direction. 

Next, students fine tune their decision into a more precise position. For most essay prompts, this is the  argument qualifier —a single “how much so?” word that up-levels their writing significantly. 

This  continuum line of qualifier words  on my classroom wall is my strongest tool to strengthen students’ writing and I have a  whole blog post dedicated to how I use it   daily, not only while essay outlining. 

I have students write their two-word position on the top of their outline form—phrases like “somewhat yes” or “decidedly not.” This keeps them laser-focused and on-track, and from a quick across-the-table glance, I know so much about the argument they are forming.

I am a firm believer that good inquiry questions have unlimited right answers and that I’ve done my job well when distinctly different arguments are forming around the room. 

4. Choose Categories to Support Position

After those couple of words are committed to their outline form, students now select their body paragraph categories. 

The options of possible categories change with the question. Sometimes there’re only three options so everyone has the same three (though argued differently); sometimes there can be up to a dozen options. 

To best support students, I suggest sharing a list of possible categories from which to pick. Of course, if students think of something not on the list, invite them to talk it out with you.

For our Gilded Age question, the categories could be groups of people, specific events, or even various popular ideas of the time. Lots of options depending on what you covered.

If you want students to include a counterclaim (and I  highly  recommend you do so!) in their essays, the clearest way to support them is by teaching it as its own paragraph. Meaning, if a student is arguing the late 1800s  was  a time of opportunity, their counterclaim paragraph might be on the plight of farmers. 

After students label each body paragraph spot on their outline form with its category, I have them next write their topic sentences. Their thinking for choosing those topics is fresh in their mind and this clarity makes the next step even easier. 

To recap, by this stage students have very little written in their outline form. Two words of position at the top and three body paragraph topic sentences. But the heavy thinking is done, and a clear path has been laid.

If a student is stuck or needs to talk out their thinking, it’s incredibly easy for me to glance at this uncluttered framework and immediately offer tailored support. 

5. Select the Best Supporting Evidence

With precise topic sentences written, students now can much more easily select their evidence for each body paragraph. Provide space on your outline form for however many examples you want them to use.

With our Gilded Age prompt, if a student picked groups of people as their categories and choose the word “hopeful” in their paragraph topic sentence about the late 1800s “New” immigrants, then it’s easy for them to select pieces of evidence that best support that description.

This is another reason why having a  unit-long graphic organizer  is extremely important. Students already have the best evidence pulled aside and sorted into a T-chart, Venn diagram, or flowchart that directly supports the skill at the center of the question. Now it’s just a matter of curating the pieces that are relevant to the argument they are making.

If a student gets stuck finding examples, you can quickly glance at their topic sentence and point them to something that could work. This keeps them in control of their argument, making a kind of student-teacher synergy that’s almost magical. You’ll also see students use evidence in ways you never thought of.

6. Write the Thesis

Ideally, you’ll have noticed that students are building their essay from the inside out. This order provides so much more accessibility to students at every level.  

Since writing in social studies  is  the process of thinking, the thesis is much more the finale than the beginning. Strong and emerging writers alike benefit from this reversed approach, which also allows for better scaffolding through multiple micro decisions.

However, in the actual essay, yes, the thesis still goes at the beginning.  

For years, I’ve used the  Even though X, A and B, therefore Y  formula with great success. X is the counterclaim paragraph, A and B are the two supporting body paragraphs, and Y includes the argument qualifier. I’ve never met a prompt this didn’t work beautifully to answer. 

In my materials I pose a tailored version for students to build from. In our Gilded Age example, it would say,  “Even though X was occurring during the late 1800s, A and B were more…, therefore America was/wasn’t <argument qualifier> the land of opportunity which…”

As much as we think formulaic writing isn’t what we want to teach students, we can’t ignore the fact that no formula at all is far more harmful. Strong and middle-leveled students naturally know how to build off of it and lower-level students know they can use every bit of the formula at no penalty. Trust that very few ever do.

After working through these 6 steps, students should have little issue writing a well-organized and well-supported essay.

Check out my  US History ,  Civics , or  Global Issues  courses if you’re interested in making inquiry and essay writing central to your teaching. Both individual unit and full course options are available. Each unit includes all the essay writing supports you’ll need to scaffold writing like a pro—graphic organizers, outline forms, and how-to guides.

Feature image credit: via Pixabay  

How to Create Inquiry-Based Learning in Social Studies

Deconstructing essay questions in 4 simple steps.

Related Posts

19 Ideas for Setting Up Your Social Studies Classroom

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The essay is an important part of the social studies exam, allowing you to earn as many as six primary points. The task of the pupil is to choose one of five statements (on philosophy, economics, sociology, political science or law), to reveal the problem raised using arguments. To get the maximum score it is necessary not only to learn the theoretical foundations of the subject, but also to be well-read and aware of events happening in the world. In addition, the ability to express your thoughts is important.  Disclosure of the problem The first paragraph of the essay is the disclosure of the idea of the statement. You need to understand what problem the author has raised, explain what it consists in. To make it easier for you, put yourself in the place of the thinker. Imagine that the statement belongs to you. Why did you have such an idea? From what considerations? What is your motivation? To get the maximum score for the section, you need to formulate a thesis statement. 

The opening paragraph consists of 3-5 sentences. When writing it is recommended to use social science terms, give their definitions. In the case of sociology, the examiners will look for the concepts of "socialization", "society", "personality", "needs", “ all assignment help reviews ”. If the choice fell on the economic sphere, it is necessary to use the terms "market", "competition", "demand", "supply". Let's analyze the paragraph on the example of V.M. Sukhomlinsky's statement - "The family is the primary environment where a person must learn to do good" (it refers to sociology): 

"The problem raised by the author - the role of the family in the formation of personality. It has always been relevant and continues to be important today. The idea of the statement is that the family is an agent of primary socialization, it affects what kind of child will become in the future. Interests, values, worldview are formed under the influence of the family."  Formulating a problem on a social studies essay Theoretical Argumentation After making a thesis statement, you need to justify it. The second and third paragraphs of the social studies essay from the USE are devoted to the proof. First, the opinion needs to be argued theoretically. Use definitions of terms, as well as various rules, laws, and functions. In addition, it is allowed to quote social scientists. The main thing is to attract theoretical material and prove that it relates to the problem raised. Let's examine on the already known example: 

"The social studies course says that the family is a social system. It is based on marriage or kinship, and its members are bound by household and mutual moral responsibility. The family performs many functions. The main ones are reproductive (the family provides reproduction of the population), economic (family members have a common household), psychological (a person gets care and support among close people). Sukhomlinsky's statement concerns the spiritual, moral and educational spheres. Basic values are formed in the family: parents explain norms, teach goodness, tell how to behave properly. Thanks to the elders, the child receives primary socialization, learns to interact with other people."  

You need to prove your point with an example. Use the following sources: 

•    Public life, real events from the media; •    Situation models ("Citizen N. decided to open his own cosmetics store. He has saved up some start-up capital, but has not made a detailed business plan. As a result..."); •    personal experience: situations from his own life and the lives of his relatives; •    books, movies; any historical events (including cultural and scientific history). When writing an essay, 2 or more illustrations should be used. Their sources must be different: for example, one is taken from personal experience and the other from the media. It is recommended to put each example in a separate paragraph: this will help to form a logical structure, making it easier to check. In addition, at the beginning of the paragraph be sure to specify the thesis (more narrowly focused than the main one), which you will prove.  Conclusion The conclusion is the logical conclusion of the essay. You need to briefly summarize your reasoning. Think about the role of the problem in today's world, talk about its relevance, explain what will happen if it is ignored. One of the options for completion is a call to action for the reader ("Don't forget to help those who find themselves in a difficult situation, because good deeds are sure to be rewarded").

​Related resources: How to Write an Essay How to write an essay in German: structure, expressions, simple techniques How to Write an Essay in English - Examples of English Essays What is an essay and how to write one  

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How to Promote Strong Writing Skills in Social Studies

Learning how to write well is essential for effective communication, and students benefit from getting a lot of practice in classes beyond English.

The content of our curricula can be seductive. There are so many fascinating ideas to convey, so many unanswered questions to ask, so many lifelong lessons to learn. Which is one reason why, paradoxically, it can be hard to find the time to teach critical skills like speaking, reading, and writing. Yet this is exactly what we all must do: teach skills through content.

This is true of all disciplines, and in particular social studies. If writing is in the very DNA of English and more foreign to subjects like math, social studies occupies something of a middle ground. The potential for writing is as great as its instruction is inconsistent. What follows are a few simple tips and ideas for teaching social studies students how to write.

But first, why do it? The answer is because those who can write are better able to think critically and communicate effectively. Better able to embrace ambiguity in a complex world, practice empathy, and marshal evidence in support of an argument. In short, because writing makes us smarter.

The Framework

Perhaps the first, most important takeaway is that we should provide as many opportunities as possible for students to write—every week if not every day. The assignments can range from summary paragraphs to entire analytical essays. (Grading is certainly a consideration, but remember, not every assignment merits a copy edit or a score.)

Also consider your students’ yearlong skills progression. Much as you map out the content you’d like to cover, think about doing the same for skills. A partial writing list should include annotations, summaries, analytical paragraphs, source evaluations, analytical essays, and research papers.

When teaching any of the above, and for that matter any other skill, be it playing a C chord, making salsa verde, or shooting a jump hook, the same template applies—explain, model, practice, give feedback, practice. So, for example, describe the elements of an ideally annotated excerpt, show several models, and allow students to practice. Then give them feedback along the way via formative and summative assessments, as formally or informally as you like. Just remember, there’s no way to become a better writer other than to write. Although reading voraciously certainly helps, too.

Foundational and Academic Writing

Foundational writing includes summary, source evaluation, and analytical paragraphs. It’s difficult if not impossible to graduate to more advanced modes of writing without first gaining proficiency in the foundational three.

To summarize is to shorten and paraphrase another’s content, including the main idea and requisite essential details, and excluding one’s own opinion. Set a word limit or percentage of the original, or simply follow the Goldilocks rule, providing not too little information nor too much.

When evaluating a piece of art, document, or film, students should be able to determine both its veracity and whether it’s a primary or secondary source. They should be sensitive to bias and perspective and understand the goal of the work. Look no further than students’ social media swipes and scrolls for the primacy of source evaluation.

The analytical paragraph is much like an analytical essay but in synthesized—or summarized—form. Its essential elements are argument, evidence, and analysis. Exactly the same as its more mature cousin, the analytical essay, which is simply a piece of writing with a beginning, middle, and end, or an idea that is proven over a multiple number of paragraphs.

After ample practice writing analytical paragraphs, students should find the transition to analytical essays, and therefore traditional academic writing, less strenuous and perhaps even not something to hate. And just when they’ve conquered that, you can contemplate teaching them how to write document-based question essays (DBQs) and research papers. The architecture of both remains consistent in terms of supporting an argument with evidence and analysis. They differ simply with regard to the type of evidence presented, namely teacher-provided documents or independent research. The larger point is that once a student is familiar with analytical writing, even in the hypercompacted paragraph, other, more intricate forms of analysis will be much easier to master.

Real-World Writing

And finally, the fun stuff. Think about the writing we encounter in our lives outside of school. Nearly everything you can imagine is fertile ground. The examples are legion: op-eds, book reviews, historical novels, family histories, memoirs, magazine features, white papers, speeches, even visual essays and comics. Authentic real-world writing is almost by definition more engaging, allowing students to find their own voices and their sense of self.

Show students how people in the real world write every day, some for a paycheck and others just for fun. Tell them that their ideas matter and their words hold more power than they may ever know. Try to get students to glimpse the joys of writing. To understand how it sharpens the mind, softens the heart, and feeds the soul. To realize that in addition to being a pleasurable pursuit, writing just might help them change the world.

And if all this is true, my fellow teachers, you might consider writing, too.

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• Unit 10.0: Global 2 Introduction
• Unit 10.1: The World in 1750 C.E.
• Unit 10.2: Enlightenment, Revolution, and Nationalism
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• Unit 10.8: Cultural Traditions and Modernization
• Unit 10.9: Globalization and the Changing Environment
• Unit 10.10: Human Rights Violations
• Unit 11.0: US History Introduction
• Unit 11.1: Colonial Foundations
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• Unit 11.3A: Building a Nation
• Unit 11.03B: Sectionalism & the Civil War
• Unit 11.4: Reconstruction
• Unit 11.5: Gilded Age and Progressive Era
• Unit 11.6: Rise of American Power
• Unit 11.7: Prosperity and Depression
• Unit 11.8: World War II
• Unit 11.9: Cold War
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How to Write an Enduring Issues Essay Thesis

A lesson on writing a thesis that includes the enduring issue, a claim about it, and a list of examples to be discussed in the essay.

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Enduring Issues Check-In: How to Write an Enduring Issues Essay Thesis

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• 26 Writing in Social Studies

Start-Up Activity

When your students arrive, have them spend five minutes writing about what they learned in class the day before. This exercise will not only reinforce their learning but will also introduce today's topic.

Have volunteers share their observations. No two will be alike. Some will be more in-depth and accurate, others more general and inaccurate. Some will emphasize one point, and others another. Students may nod and smile when someone recalls something they had forgotten. Point out that yesterday's class lies somewhere in all of those accounts—multiple reports from eye-witnesses of the events of the previous day.

Writing in social studies involves exactly this process, synthesizing the perspectives of many to discover what happened and why.

Think About It

“History never really says good-bye. History says, 'See you later.'”

—Eduardo Galeano

State Standards Covered in This Chapter

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.2
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.8
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.9
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.10
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.4
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.5
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.7
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.1
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.1.A
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.1.B
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.1.C
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.1.D
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.1.E
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.2.A
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.2.B
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.2.C
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.2.D
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.2.E
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.6
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.1
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.2
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.6
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.7
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.8
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.9

LAFS Covered in This Chapter

Lafs.1112.whst.1.2, lafs.1112.whst.3.8, lafs.1112.whst.3.9, lafs.1112.whst.4.10, lafs.1112.whst.2.4, lafs.1112.whst.2.5, lafs.1112.whst.3.7, lafs.1112.whst.1.1, lafs.1112.whst.2.6, lafs.1112.rst.1.1, lafs.1112.rst.1.2, lafs.1112.rst.2.6, lafs.1112.rst.3.7, lafs.1112.rst.3.8, lafs.1112.rst.3.9, teks covered in this chapter, page 366 from write for college, taking notes in social studies.

Use this page to provide students tips for improving their note-taking. Each bolded direction at the top of the page can help students more efficiently and accurately record information from lectures and readings, as well as access it later to prepare for tests. The model notes page at the bottom shows these tips in action, including using graphics to visualize information.

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Page 367 from Write for College

Keeping a social studies log.

Encourage students to keep a learning log for their social studies class, reflecting on the ideas they are discovering. Provide the tips at the top of the page to help them get the most out of their logs. Present the example entry at the bottom of the page, noting how the writer thinks about the topic and connects it to other learning.

Have students get a start by reflecting for ten minutes on what they most recently learned in class.

Page 368 from Write for College

Guidelines: summarizing a social studies argument.

Summarizing helps students reflect on new learning, capture it in their own words, understand it, and synthesize it with other learning. Use this page to guide students through the process of summary writing.

Before they write their own summaries, have students read and discuss the sample article and summary on page 369.

Then have students use SQ3R to closely read a current-events article or part of a social studies textbook. Have students identify the focus of the reading and the main supporting points.

Present the suggestions for writing the beginning, middle, and ending of the summary.

Then help students improve their work by quipping them with the Checklist for Revising and Editing Social Studies Summaries .

Page 369 from Write for College

Article and summary.

Have students read the social studies article, "The Great Chain of the Hudson." Then have them read the summary. Point out that the topic sentence names the article and author and provides the focus. Then the body sentences capture the main points of the article. Also, note that the summary is less than a third the length of the original and is rendered in the writer's own words (paraphrased).

Page 370 from Write for College

Guidelines: writing an editorial.

Use this page to help students write editorials expressing opinions about current events, historical periods, or social concerns.

Before students write their own editorials, have them review the editorial on page 371.

Then have students choose a topic that relates to their current studies, research it, and form an opinion.

Once they are ready to draft their editorials, lead students through the suggestions for creating opening, middle, and closing parts.

Afterward, provide them the Checklist for Revising and Editing Editorials .  

Page 371 from Write for College

Have students read this editorial to themselves. Afterward, ask them their opinions about immigration. What ideas in the editorial swayed them, and what ideas did they find unconvincing? How did the writer express and support the opinion? What social studies topic would they like to express an opinion about?

Page 372 from Write for College

Guidelines: responding to document-based questions.

Document-based questions (DBQs) ask about ideas presented in a series of articles and graphics. Students need to analyze the documents and draw evidence from them to answer the DBQ. Use this page to help students learn best practices for responding to these kinds of questions.

Before they answer their own DBQ, have students review the documents and response on pages 373–375.

When students are ready, provide then a DBQ and ask them to analyze it using the PAST strategy. Then have them use the SQ3R strategy to closely read the documents. After they have done so, they should jot down a thesis statement and a quick list of main details.

Lead students through the instructions for creating an effective opening, middle, and closing.

Then provide them the Checklist for Revising and Editing DBQ Responses , noting that they will not have this checklist in real test environments. However, these are the kinds of questions they should ask themselves as they revise and edit.

Page 373 from Write for College

Documents 1 and 2.

Before students engage these documents, have them analyze the prompt on page 375:

We live in the Anthropocene—when humans affect all life on earth. How should we interact with nature? Write an essay expressing your opinion and use evidence from the documents to persuade your generation.

Keeping that prompt in mind, students should closely read these two documents. Ask them to think about the main point and supporting details of each, as well as how they relate to the question.

Page 374 from Write for College

Documents 3 and 4.

Have students closely read these documents, thinking about the document-based question on page 375. Ask them to note the focus and main points of each document.

Page 375 from Write for College

Document-based question.

Ask students to reread the DBQ at the top of the page, and then closely read one student's response. Afterward, lead a discussion of the student's thesis statement and main supporting points. Also, ask how the writer uses and credits evidence drawn from the documents.

Encourage students to use a similar approach when they answer DBQs.

Page 376 from Write for College

Using graphic organizers.

Graphic organizers help students visualize information in social studies. They capture ideas in notes, gather details during research, organize information before drafting, and allow students to think critically about issues. You can direct students to the minilessons for even more help with these graphic organizers.

Sequencing with a Time Line

Use time lines for critical thinking.

Evaluating with a Pro-Con Chart

Analyze good and bad with a pro-con chart.

Analyzing with a Cause-Effect Chart

Analyze causes and effects of any topic.

• 01 One Writer's Process
• 02 Traits of Writing
• 03 Prewriting
• 05 Revising
• 07 Publishing
• 08 Improving Sentences
• 09 Building Paragraphs
• 10 Mastering Essays
• 11 Writing with Style
• 12 Writing Terms and Techniques
• 13 Personal Writing
• 14 Narrative Writing
• 15 Explanatory Writing
• 16 Argument Writing
• 17 Literary Response Writing
• 18 Creative Writing
• 19 Conducting Research
• 20 Summaries, Paraphrases, and Abstracts
• 21 Report Writing
• 22 Writing the Research Paper
• 23 MLA Research Paper
• 24 APA Research Paper
• 25 Writing in Science
• 27 Writing in Math
• 28 Writing in the Workplace
• 29 Reading Nonfiction
• 30 Reading Literature
• 31 Reading Graphics
• 32 Listening and Note Taking
• 33 Speaking Effectively
• 34 Building Vocabulary
• 35 Writing on Demand
• 36 Answering Document-Based Questions
• 37 Taking Exit and Entrance Exams
• 38 Taking Advanced Placement* Exams
• 39 Marking Punctuation
• 40 Checking Mechanics
• 41 Understanding Idioms
• 42 Using the Right Word
• 43 Parts of Speech
• 44 Using the Language
• 45 Student Almanac

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Assignments

• Annotated Bibliography
• Analyzing a Scholarly Journal Article
• Group Presentations
• Dealing with Nervousness
• Using Visual Aids
• Grading Someone Else's Paper
• Types of Structured Group Activities
• Group Project Survival Skills
• Leading a Class Discussion
• Multiple Book Review Essay
• Reviewing Collected Works
• Writing a Case Analysis Paper
• Writing a Case Study
• About Informed Consent
• Writing Field Notes
• Writing a Policy Memo
• Writing a Reflective Paper
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Generative AI and Writing
• Acknowledgments

A case study research paper examines a person, place, event, condition, phenomenon, or other type of subject of analysis in order to extrapolate  key themes and results that help predict future trends, illuminate previously hidden issues that can be applied to practice, and/or provide a means for understanding an important research problem with greater clarity. A case study research paper usually examines a single subject of analysis, but case study papers can also be designed as a comparative investigation that shows relationships between two or more subjects. The methods used to study a case can rest within a quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-method investigative paradigm.

Case Studies. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Mills, Albert J. , Gabrielle Durepos, and Eiden Wiebe, editors. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010 ; “What is a Case Study?” In Swanborn, Peter G. Case Study Research: What, Why and How? London: SAGE, 2010.

How to Approach Writing a Case Study Research Paper

General information about how to choose a topic to investigate can be found under the " Choosing a Research Problem " tab in the Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper writing guide. Review this page because it may help you identify a subject of analysis that can be investigated using a case study design.

However, identifying a case to investigate involves more than choosing the research problem . A case study encompasses a problem contextualized around the application of in-depth analysis, interpretation, and discussion, often resulting in specific recommendations for action or for improving existing conditions. As Seawright and Gerring note, practical considerations such as time and access to information can influence case selection, but these issues should not be the sole factors used in describing the methodological justification for identifying a particular case to study. Given this, selecting a case includes considering the following:

• The case represents an unusual or atypical example of a research problem that requires more in-depth analysis? Cases often represent a topic that rests on the fringes of prior investigations because the case may provide new ways of understanding the research problem. For example, if the research problem is to identify strategies to improve policies that support girl's access to secondary education in predominantly Muslim nations, you could consider using Azerbaijan as a case study rather than selecting a more obvious nation in the Middle East. Doing so may reveal important new insights into recommending how governments in other predominantly Muslim nations can formulate policies that support improved access to education for girls.
• The case provides important insight or illuminate a previously hidden problem? In-depth analysis of a case can be based on the hypothesis that the case study will reveal trends or issues that have not been exposed in prior research or will reveal new and important implications for practice. For example, anecdotal evidence may suggest drug use among homeless veterans is related to their patterns of travel throughout the day. Assuming prior studies have not looked at individual travel choices as a way to study access to illicit drug use, a case study that observes a homeless veteran could reveal how issues of personal mobility choices facilitate regular access to illicit drugs. Note that it is important to conduct a thorough literature review to ensure that your assumption about the need to reveal new insights or previously hidden problems is valid and evidence-based.
• The case challenges and offers a counter-point to prevailing assumptions? Over time, research on any given topic can fall into a trap of developing assumptions based on outdated studies that are still applied to new or changing conditions or the idea that something should simply be accepted as "common sense," even though the issue has not been thoroughly tested in current practice. A case study analysis may offer an opportunity to gather evidence that challenges prevailing assumptions about a research problem and provide a new set of recommendations applied to practice that have not been tested previously. For example, perhaps there has been a long practice among scholars to apply a particular theory in explaining the relationship between two subjects of analysis. Your case could challenge this assumption by applying an innovative theoretical framework [perhaps borrowed from another discipline] to explore whether this approach offers new ways of understanding the research problem. Taking a contrarian stance is one of the most important ways that new knowledge and understanding develops from existing literature.
• The case provides an opportunity to pursue action leading to the resolution of a problem? Another way to think about choosing a case to study is to consider how the results from investigating a particular case may result in findings that reveal ways in which to resolve an existing or emerging problem. For example, studying the case of an unforeseen incident, such as a fatal accident at a railroad crossing, can reveal hidden issues that could be applied to preventative measures that contribute to reducing the chance of accidents in the future. In this example, a case study investigating the accident could lead to a better understanding of where to strategically locate additional signals at other railroad crossings so as to better warn drivers of an approaching train, particularly when visibility is hindered by heavy rain, fog, or at night.
• The case offers a new direction in future research? A case study can be used as a tool for an exploratory investigation that highlights the need for further research about the problem. A case can be used when there are few studies that help predict an outcome or that establish a clear understanding about how best to proceed in addressing a problem. For example, after conducting a thorough literature review [very important!], you discover that little research exists showing the ways in which women contribute to promoting water conservation in rural communities of east central Africa. A case study of how women contribute to saving water in a rural village of Uganda can lay the foundation for understanding the need for more thorough research that documents how women in their roles as cooks and family caregivers think about water as a valuable resource within their community. This example of a case study could also point to the need for scholars to build new theoretical frameworks around the topic [e.g., applying feminist theories of work and family to the issue of water conservation].

Eisenhardt, Kathleen M. “Building Theories from Case Study Research.” Academy of Management Review 14 (October 1989): 532-550; Emmel, Nick. Sampling and Choosing Cases in Qualitative Research: A Realist Approach . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2013; Gerring, John. “What Is a Case Study and What Is It Good for?” American Political Science Review 98 (May 2004): 341-354; Mills, Albert J. , Gabrielle Durepos, and Eiden Wiebe, editors. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010; Seawright, Jason and John Gerring. "Case Selection Techniques in Case Study Research." Political Research Quarterly 61 (June 2008): 294-308.

Structure and Writing Style

The purpose of a paper in the social sciences designed around a case study is to thoroughly investigate a subject of analysis in order to reveal a new understanding about the research problem and, in so doing, contributing new knowledge to what is already known from previous studies. In applied social sciences disciplines [e.g., education, social work, public administration, etc.], case studies may also be used to reveal best practices, highlight key programs, or investigate interesting aspects of professional work.

In general, the structure of a case study research paper is not all that different from a standard college-level research paper. However, there are subtle differences you should be aware of. Here are the key elements to organizing and writing a case study research paper.

I.  Introduction

As with any research paper, your introduction should serve as a roadmap for your readers to ascertain the scope and purpose of your study . The introduction to a case study research paper, however, should not only describe the research problem and its significance, but you should also succinctly describe why the case is being used and how it relates to addressing the problem. The two elements should be linked. With this in mind, a good introduction answers these four questions:

• What is being studied? Describe the research problem and describe the subject of analysis [the case] you have chosen to address the problem. Explain how they are linked and what elements of the case will help to expand knowledge and understanding about the problem.
• Why is this topic important to investigate? Describe the significance of the research problem and state why a case study design and the subject of analysis that the paper is designed around is appropriate in addressing the problem.
• What did we know about this topic before I did this study? Provide background that helps lead the reader into the more in-depth literature review to follow. If applicable, summarize prior case study research applied to the research problem and why it fails to adequately address the problem. Describe why your case will be useful. If no prior case studies have been used to address the research problem, explain why you have selected this subject of analysis.
• How will this study advance new knowledge or new ways of understanding? Explain why your case study will be suitable in helping to expand knowledge and understanding about the research problem.

Each of these questions should be addressed in no more than a few paragraphs. Exceptions to this can be when you are addressing a complex research problem or subject of analysis that requires more in-depth background information.

II.  Literature Review

The literature review for a case study research paper is generally structured the same as it is for any college-level research paper. The difference, however, is that the literature review is focused on providing background information and  enabling historical interpretation of the subject of analysis in relation to the research problem the case is intended to address . This includes synthesizing studies that help to:

• Place relevant works in the context of their contribution to understanding the case study being investigated . This would involve summarizing studies that have used a similar subject of analysis to investigate the research problem. If there is literature using the same or a very similar case to study, you need to explain why duplicating past research is important [e.g., conditions have changed; prior studies were conducted long ago, etc.].
• Describe the relationship each work has to the others under consideration that informs the reader why this case is applicable . Your literature review should include a description of any works that support using the case to investigate the research problem and the underlying research questions.
• Identify new ways to interpret prior research using the case study . If applicable, review any research that has examined the research problem using a different research design. Explain how your use of a case study design may reveal new knowledge or a new perspective or that can redirect research in an important new direction.
• Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies . This refers to synthesizing any literature that points to unresolved issues of concern about the research problem and describing how the subject of analysis that forms the case study can help resolve these existing contradictions.
• Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research . Your review should examine any literature that lays a foundation for understanding why your case study design and the subject of analysis around which you have designed your study may reveal a new way of approaching the research problem or offer a perspective that points to the need for additional research.
• Expose any gaps that exist in the literature that the case study could help to fill . Summarize any literature that not only shows how your subject of analysis contributes to understanding the research problem, but how your case contributes to a new way of understanding the problem that prior research has failed to do.
• Locate your own research within the context of existing literature [very important!] . Collectively, your literature review should always place your case study within the larger domain of prior research about the problem. The overarching purpose of reviewing pertinent literature in a case study paper is to demonstrate that you have thoroughly identified and synthesized prior studies in relation to explaining the relevance of the case in addressing the research problem.

III.  Method

In this section, you explain why you selected a particular case [i.e., subject of analysis] and the strategy you used to identify and ultimately decide that your case was appropriate in addressing the research problem. The way you describe the methods used varies depending on the type of subject of analysis that constitutes your case study.

If your subject of analysis is an incident or event . In the social and behavioral sciences, the event or incident that represents the case to be studied is usually bounded by time and place, with a clear beginning and end and with an identifiable location or position relative to its surroundings. The subject of analysis can be a rare or critical event or it can focus on a typical or regular event. The purpose of studying a rare event is to illuminate new ways of thinking about the broader research problem or to test a hypothesis. Critical incident case studies must describe the method by which you identified the event and explain the process by which you determined the validity of this case to inform broader perspectives about the research problem or to reveal new findings. However, the event does not have to be a rare or uniquely significant to support new thinking about the research problem or to challenge an existing hypothesis. For example, Walo, Bull, and Breen conducted a case study to identify and evaluate the direct and indirect economic benefits and costs of a local sports event in the City of Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. The purpose of their study was to provide new insights from measuring the impact of a typical local sports event that prior studies could not measure well because they focused on large "mega-events." Whether the event is rare or not, the methods section should include an explanation of the following characteristics of the event: a) when did it take place; b) what were the underlying circumstances leading to the event; and, c) what were the consequences of the event in relation to the research problem.

If your subject of analysis is a person. Explain why you selected this particular individual to be studied and describe what experiences they have had that provide an opportunity to advance new understandings about the research problem. Mention any background about this person which might help the reader understand the significance of their experiences that make them worthy of study. This includes describing the relationships this person has had with other people, institutions, and/or events that support using them as the subject for a case study research paper. It is particularly important to differentiate the person as the subject of analysis from others and to succinctly explain how the person relates to examining the research problem [e.g., why is one politician in a particular local election used to show an increase in voter turnout from any other candidate running in the election]. Note that these issues apply to a specific group of people used as a case study unit of analysis [e.g., a classroom of students].

If your subject of analysis is a place. In general, a case study that investigates a place suggests a subject of analysis that is unique or special in some way and that this uniqueness can be used to build new understanding or knowledge about the research problem. A case study of a place must not only describe its various attributes relevant to the research problem [e.g., physical, social, historical, cultural, economic, political], but you must state the method by which you determined that this place will illuminate new understandings about the research problem. It is also important to articulate why a particular place as the case for study is being used if similar places also exist [i.e., if you are studying patterns of homeless encampments of veterans in open spaces, explain why you are studying Echo Park in Los Angeles rather than Griffith Park?]. If applicable, describe what type of human activity involving this place makes it a good choice to study [e.g., prior research suggests Echo Park has more homeless veterans].

If your subject of analysis is a phenomenon. A phenomenon refers to a fact, occurrence, or circumstance that can be studied or observed but with the cause or explanation to be in question. In this sense, a phenomenon that forms your subject of analysis can encompass anything that can be observed or presumed to exist but is not fully understood. In the social and behavioral sciences, the case usually focuses on human interaction within a complex physical, social, economic, cultural, or political system. For example, the phenomenon could be the observation that many vehicles used by ISIS fighters are small trucks with English language advertisements on them. The research problem could be that ISIS fighters are difficult to combat because they are highly mobile. The research questions could be how and by what means are these vehicles used by ISIS being supplied to the militants and how might supply lines to these vehicles be cut off? How might knowing the suppliers of these trucks reveal larger networks of collaborators and financial support? A case study of a phenomenon most often encompasses an in-depth analysis of a cause and effect that is grounded in an interactive relationship between people and their environment in some way.

NOTE:   The choice of the case or set of cases to study cannot appear random. Evidence that supports the method by which you identified and chose your subject of analysis should clearly support investigation of the research problem and linked to key findings from your literature review. Be sure to cite any studies that helped you determine that the case you chose was appropriate for examining the problem.

IV.  Discussion

The main elements of your discussion section are generally the same as any research paper, but centered around interpreting and drawing conclusions about the key findings from your analysis of the case study. Note that a general social sciences research paper may contain a separate section to report findings. However, in a paper designed around a case study, it is common to combine a description of the results with the discussion about their implications. The objectives of your discussion section should include the following:

Reiterate the Research Problem/State the Major Findings Briefly reiterate the research problem you are investigating and explain why the subject of analysis around which you designed the case study were used. You should then describe the findings revealed from your study of the case using direct, declarative, and succinct proclamation of the study results. Highlight any findings that were unexpected or especially profound.

Explain the Meaning of the Findings and Why They are Important Systematically explain the meaning of your case study findings and why you believe they are important. Begin this part of the section by repeating what you consider to be your most important or surprising finding first, then systematically review each finding. Be sure to thoroughly extrapolate what your analysis of the case can tell the reader about situations or conditions beyond the actual case that was studied while, at the same time, being careful not to misconstrue or conflate a finding that undermines the external validity of your conclusions.

Relate the Findings to Similar Studies No study in the social sciences is so novel or possesses such a restricted focus that it has absolutely no relation to previously published research. The discussion section should relate your case study results to those found in other studies, particularly if questions raised from prior studies served as the motivation for choosing your subject of analysis. This is important because comparing and contrasting the findings of other studies helps support the overall importance of your results and it highlights how and in what ways your case study design and the subject of analysis differs from prior research about the topic.

Consider Alternative Explanations of the Findings Remember that the purpose of social science research is to discover and not to prove. When writing the discussion section, you should carefully consider all possible explanations revealed by the case study results, rather than just those that fit your hypothesis or prior assumptions and biases. Be alert to what the in-depth analysis of the case may reveal about the research problem, including offering a contrarian perspective to what scholars have stated in prior research if that is how the findings can be interpreted from your case.

Acknowledge the Study's Limitations You can state the study's limitations in the conclusion section of your paper but describing the limitations of your subject of analysis in the discussion section provides an opportunity to identify the limitations and explain why they are not significant. This part of the discussion section should also note any unanswered questions or issues your case study could not address. More detailed information about how to document any limitations to your research can be found here .

Suggest Areas for Further Research Although your case study may offer important insights about the research problem, there are likely additional questions related to the problem that remain unanswered or findings that unexpectedly revealed themselves as a result of your in-depth analysis of the case. Be sure that the recommendations for further research are linked to the research problem and that you explain why your recommendations are valid in other contexts and based on the original assumptions of your study.

V.  Conclusion

As with any research paper, you should summarize your conclusion in clear, simple language; emphasize how the findings from your case study differs from or supports prior research and why. Do not simply reiterate the discussion section. Provide a synthesis of key findings presented in the paper to show how these converge to address the research problem. If you haven't already done so in the discussion section, be sure to document the limitations of your case study and any need for further research.

The function of your paper's conclusion is to: 1) reiterate the main argument supported by the findings from your case study; 2) state clearly the context, background, and necessity of pursuing the research problem using a case study design in relation to an issue, controversy, or a gap found from reviewing the literature; and, 3) provide a place to persuasively and succinctly restate the significance of your research problem, given that the reader has now been presented with in-depth information about the topic.

Consider the following points to help ensure your conclusion is appropriate:

• If the argument or purpose of your paper is complex, you may need to summarize these points for your reader.
• If prior to your conclusion, you have not yet explained the significance of your findings or if you are proceeding inductively, use the conclusion of your paper to describe your main points and explain their significance.
• Move from a detailed to a general level of consideration of the case study's findings that returns the topic to the context provided by the introduction or within a new context that emerges from your case study findings.

Note that, depending on the discipline you are writing in or the preferences of your professor, the concluding paragraph may contain your final reflections on the evidence presented as it applies to practice or on the essay's central research problem. However, the nature of being introspective about the subject of analysis you have investigated will depend on whether you are explicitly asked to express your observations in this way.

Problems to Avoid

Overgeneralization One of the goals of a case study is to lay a foundation for understanding broader trends and issues applied to similar circumstances. However, be careful when drawing conclusions from your case study. They must be evidence-based and grounded in the results of the study; otherwise, it is merely speculation. Looking at a prior example, it would be incorrect to state that a factor in improving girls access to education in Azerbaijan and the policy implications this may have for improving access in other Muslim nations is due to girls access to social media if there is no documentary evidence from your case study to indicate this. There may be anecdotal evidence that retention rates were better for girls who were engaged with social media, but this observation would only point to the need for further research and would not be a definitive finding if this was not a part of your original research agenda.

Failure to Document Limitations No case is going to reveal all that needs to be understood about a research problem. Therefore, just as you have to clearly state the limitations of a general research study , you must describe the specific limitations inherent in the subject of analysis. For example, the case of studying how women conceptualize the need for water conservation in a village in Uganda could have limited application in other cultural contexts or in areas where fresh water from rivers or lakes is plentiful and, therefore, conservation is understood more in terms of managing access rather than preserving access to a scarce resource.

Failure to Extrapolate All Possible Implications Just as you don't want to over-generalize from your case study findings, you also have to be thorough in the consideration of all possible outcomes or recommendations derived from your findings. If you do not, your reader may question the validity of your analysis, particularly if you failed to document an obvious outcome from your case study research. For example, in the case of studying the accident at the railroad crossing to evaluate where and what types of warning signals should be located, you failed to take into consideration speed limit signage as well as warning signals. When designing your case study, be sure you have thoroughly addressed all aspects of the problem and do not leave gaps in your analysis that leave the reader questioning the results.

Case Studies. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Gerring, John. Case Study Research: Principles and Practices . New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007; Merriam, Sharan B. Qualitative Research and Case Study Applications in Education . Rev. ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1998; Miller, Lisa L. “The Use of Case Studies in Law and Social Science Research.” Annual Review of Law and Social Science 14 (2018): TBD; Mills, Albert J., Gabrielle Durepos, and Eiden Wiebe, editors. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010; Putney, LeAnn Grogan. "Case Study." In Encyclopedia of Research Design , Neil J. Salkind, editor. (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010), pp. 116-120; Simons, Helen. Case Study Research in Practice . London: SAGE Publications, 2009;  Kratochwill,  Thomas R. and Joel R. Levin, editors. Single-Case Research Design and Analysis: New Development for Psychology and Education .  Hilldsale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1992; Swanborn, Peter G. Case Study Research: What, Why and How? London : SAGE, 2010; Yin, Robert K. Case Study Research: Design and Methods . 6th edition. Los Angeles, CA, SAGE Publications, 2014; Walo, Maree, Adrian Bull, and Helen Breen. “Achieving Economic Benefits at Local Events: A Case Study of a Local Sports Event.” Festival Management and Event Tourism 4 (1996): 95-106.

Writing Tip

At Least Five Misconceptions about Case Study Research

Social science case studies are often perceived as limited in their ability to create new knowledge because they are not randomly selected and findings cannot be generalized to larger populations. Flyvbjerg examines five misunderstandings about case study research and systematically "corrects" each one. To quote, these are:

Misunderstanding 1 :  General, theoretical [context-independent] knowledge is more valuable than concrete, practical [context-dependent] knowledge. Misunderstanding 2 :  One cannot generalize on the basis of an individual case; therefore, the case study cannot contribute to scientific development. Misunderstanding 3 :  The case study is most useful for generating hypotheses; that is, in the first stage of a total research process, whereas other methods are more suitable for hypotheses testing and theory building. Misunderstanding 4 :  The case study contains a bias toward verification, that is, a tendency to confirm the researcher’s preconceived notions. Misunderstanding 5 :  It is often difficult to summarize and develop general propositions and theories on the basis of specific case studies [p. 221].

While writing your paper, think introspectively about how you addressed these misconceptions because to do so can help you strengthen the validity and reliability of your research by clarifying issues of case selection, the testing and challenging of existing assumptions, the interpretation of key findings, and the summation of case outcomes. Think of a case study research paper as a complete, in-depth narrative about the specific properties and key characteristics of your subject of analysis applied to the research problem.

Flyvbjerg, Bent. “Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research.” Qualitative Inquiry 12 (April 2006): 219-245.

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5 Fantastic Ways to Integrate Writing with Social Studies

By Kirsten Hammond

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As educators, we’re constantly on the lookout for innovative ways to engage our students and foster their learning.

In this blog post, we’re diving into the world of integrating writing with social studies. By combining these two essential components, we can create a dynamic and enriching learning environment that benefits students on multiple levels.

Why Integrate Writing with Social Studies?

Integrating writing with social studies might seem complex, but the benefits and possibilities are endless! It’s not just about honing writing skills; it’s about enhancing students’ understanding of historical events, cultures, and perspectives.

Here’s why it’s a game-changer:

1. Deeper Engagement

Writing prompts students to engage with historical events and figures on a profound level. It prompts them to analyze and internalize the subject matter.

2. Critical Thinking

When teachers integrate writing, students develop critical thinking skills. They evaluate evidence and form arguments based on historical context.

3. Unique Perspectives

Writing encourages students to explore events from different angles. It nurtures empathy and helps students understand the motivations and emotions of a variety of sides.

4. Communication Skills

Whether written or verbal, writing enhances students’ ability to communicate effectively. They learn to express ideas clearly, persuasively, and coherently.

5. Creative Expression

Writing allows students to explore their creativity and self-expression. They can craft historical narratives, persuasive arguments, and so much more!

Now that we understand the why, let’s dive into five engaging ways to seamlessly integrate writing with social studies.

1. Incorporate Narrative Writing

Narrative writing brings history to life by putting students in the shoes of historical figures. They can craft journal entries, such as imagining that they are settlers in Jamestown or witnesses to the American Revolution.

Alternatively, encourage them to write historical fiction, using real events as inspiration for their imaginative tales.

2. Embrace Persuasive Writing

Persuasive writing encourages students to form arguments supported by historical evidence.

You can organize classroom debates or assign persuasive essays on topics like the American Revolution or Westward Expansion. Have them craft letters to present-day politicians or “interview” historical figures.

3. Explore Research-Based Writing

Research and inquiry skills are crucial in both writing and social studies. Have students write research papers on historical events, figures, or cultural themes.

Analyzing primary sources and developing well-supported arguments enhances their historical understanding and writing skills.

4. Dive into Expository Writing

Expository writing, or informative writing, helps students explain concepts and present facts.

Encourage students to write informative essays on various social studies topics. They can also create “how-to” guides for cultural celebrations, shedding light on different traditions and customs.

5. Engage in Collaborative Writing

Collaborative writing promotes teamwork, communication, and creativity.

Have students work in groups to create research papers or storytelling projects. They can research different aspects of a topic or develop scripts for podcasts, videos, or plays that explore historical events or other social studies topics .

Assessing Writing in Social Studies

Assessing student work while also having to integrate writing doesn’t need to be daunting. Try these methods!

Develop Clear Rubrics

Create rubrics outlining expectations for each writing assignment. Include criteria like organization, use of evidence, clarity, and mechanics. This provides students with clear guidelines.

Peer Review

Encourage peer review sessions where students provide constructive feedback on each other’s writing. This fosters collaboration, improves writing skills, and enhances the learning process.

One-on-One Conferencing

Schedule individual conferences to discuss students’ writing progress. Address challenges, provide guidance, and offer personalized feedback to support their writing growth.

Resources for Integrating Writing with Social Studies

Feeling inspired to integrate writing into your social studies lessons? Here are some resources and tools to help you get started:

• Library of Congress and National Archive s websites provide access to primary sources.
• Smithsonian Learning Lab offers primary sources, lesson plans, and writing prompts related to various topics.
• Read Write Think features writing prompts designed specifically for social studies contexts.
• Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) offers a plethora of writing prompts and resources tailored to social studies.
• Digital tools like Padlet , Flipgrid , and Google Slides facilitate collaborative writing projects, peer reviews, and presentations.

Knowing how to integrate writing into your social studies curriculum is a powerful way to enhance learning outcomes. It encourages critical thinking, empathy, communication, and creativity—all while deepening students’ historical understanding.

By incorporating various genres of writing, you create a well-rounded experience that prepares students to become informed and engaged citizens. So, go ahead and weave the art of writing into the rich tapestry of social studies!

kirsten hammond

Kirsten is a former 3rd and 5th grade teacher who loves helping upper elementary teachers by creating resources and sharing ideas that are engaging, research-based, and TEKS-aligned. She is a work-from-home mama of 3 rambunctious little ones and loves running, true crime, and lots of coffee.

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Whether you're writing an essay for a middle or high school social studies assignment or a college-level history course, your conclusion has to do the same job: review your entire argument in a way that is both economical and fresh. It isn't easy, but by focusing on how the parts of your essay add up to a larger idea you can reconnect your reader with the material, and inspire further exploration into your topic.

Synthesis Over Summary

Your readers will read the conclusion after they've read the rest of the essay, so you don't want to bore them by simply repeating the points of your argument. Instead, use the final section of your paper to show how all of your points work together to prove your thesis. For example, if your essay details the significance of the individual events leading up to D-Day in World War II, use your conclusion to show how those events collectively created the major turning point in the war.

Make Them Care

While your thesis might be important to you, your conclusion is your final opportunity to show your readers why the topic should be important to them. Structure your closing remarks in a way that highlights the importance of your topic, and why people should continue to discuss the subject. For example, if your paper discusses the issue of divine right of kings in England and France during the 17th and 18th centuries, you could compare that struggle to the continuing disagreements in today's world about the role of religion in politics.

Your conclusion is also a place where you can briefly address aspects of your topic that reside beyond -- or that oppose -- the focus of your paper. Even though you want to prove your thesis as truth and cover all facets of your argument thoroughly, you will likely have to omit some details. Acknowledging these -- rather than avoiding them -- can add credibility to you as a researcher. Use these types of material to offer a moment of insight into how conversations about your topic can proceed in the future. You've shown that it's important enough to continue; offer your readers a bit of groundwork going forward.

Finish Strong

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Writing expository essays from social studies texts: a self-regulated strategy development study

• Published: 20 April 2021
• Volume 34 , pages 1623–1651, ( 2021 )

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• Alyson A. Collins   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3710-2687 1 ,
• Stephen Ciullo   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6092-8159 1 ,
• Steve Graham 2 , 3 ,
• Lisa L. Sigafoos 4 ,
• Sara Guerra 1 ,
• Marie David 5 &
• Laura Judd 1  

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This study examined the effectiveness of Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) to improve students’ ability to write expository essays after reading social studies text. Third-grade general education teachers ( N  = 14) were randomly assigned by clusters to SRSD or a business as usual control condition. One hundred and eighty consented students participated in the full study. Teachers in the SRSD condition participated in 12 h of practice-based professional development (PBPD) before implementing the SRSD intervention. They also received 30-min biweekly coaching sessions across the 16 weeks of the study. Initially, teachers provided SRSD strategy instruction in TIDE ( Topic Sentence, Important Details, Explain Details, Ending ) for planning and writing expository essays. Then, teachers spent an additional 8 weeks teaching students to use TIDE for close reading, planning, and writing expository essays using social studies text. Multilevel random effects models indicated SRSD students included more genre elements in their expository essays (ES g  = 1.07) and produced essays of higher holistic quality (ES g  = 0.72) than control students when writing an expository essay using a source text. Students in the SRSD condition also included more genre elements when writing an expository essay drawing content from memory (ES g  = 1.09), and outperformed control students on a norm-referenced writing measure (ES g  = 0.79). Findings support implementation of the SRSD intervention in general education classrooms within content-areas and underscore future directions for combining writing, reading, and social studies instruction.

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Collins, A.A., Ciullo, S., Graham, S. et al. Writing expository essays from social studies texts: a self-regulated strategy development study. Read Writ 34 , 1623–1651 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-021-10157-2

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Accepted : 29 March 2021

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-021-10157-2

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Texas Launches AI Grader for Student Essay Tests But Insists It's Not Like ChatGPT

K ids in Texas are taking state-mandated standardized tests this week to measure their proficiency in reading, writing, science, and social studies. But those tests aren’t going to necessarily be graded by human teachers anymore. In fact, the Texas Education Agency will deploy a new “automated scoring engine” for open-ended questions on the tests. And the state hopes to save millions with the new program.

The technology, which has been dubbed an “auto scoring engine” (ASE) by the Texas Education Agency, uses natural language processing to grade student essays, according to the Texas Tribune . After the initial grading by the AI model, roughly 25% of test responses will be sent back to human graders for review, according to the San Antonio Report news outlet.

Texas expects to save somewhere between $15-20 million with the new AI tool, mostly because fewer human graders will need to be hired through a third-party contracting agency. Previously, about 6,000 graders were needed, but that’s being cut down to about 2,000, according to the Texas Tribune.

A presentation published on the Texas Education Agency’s website appears to show that tests of the new system revealed humans and the automated system gave comparable scores to most kids. But a lot of questions remain about how the tech works exactly and what company may have helped the state develop the software. Two education companies, Cambium and Pearson, are mentioned as contractors at the Texas Education Agency’s site but the agency didn’t respond to questions emailed Tuesday.

The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) was first introduced in 2011 but redesigned in 2023 to include more open-ended essay-style questions. Previously, the test contained many more questions in the multiple choice format which, of course, was also graded by computerized tools. The big difference is that scoring a bubble sheet is different from scoring a written response, something computers have more difficulty understanding.

In a sign of potentially just how toxic AI tools have become in mainstream tech discourse, the Texas Education Agency has apparently been quick to shoot down any comparisons to generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT , according to the Texas Tribune. And the PowerPoint presentation on the Texas Education Agency’s site appears to confirm that unease with comparisons to anything like ChatGPT.

“This kind of technology is different from AI in that AI is a computer using progressive learning algorithms to adapt, allowing the data to do the programming and essentially teaching itself,” the presentation explains. “Instead, the automated scoring engine is a closed database with student response data accessible only by TEA and, with strict contractual privacy control, its assessment contractors, Cambium and Pearson.”

Any family who’s upset with their child’s grade can request that a human take another look at the test, according to the San Antonio Report . But it’ll set you back $50.

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