Penn Professors on Writing in Sociology

Dr. David Grazian

About the Professor

The author of two books, Professor Grazian teaches classes on topics such as popular culture, urban sociology, mass media, social interaction, and ethnographic methods. Professor Grazian uses ethnographic research methods, and says as an ethnographer, "you're the eyes through which you see the world," while quantitative sociologists use "survey and data as the eyes onto the world." He regards Erving Goffman as one of his favorite authors in the field in part because he writes with wit and a self-deprecating tone - it's "rare to find sociologists who write with a personality." After a few minutes talking to Professor Grazian, one can already tell he also is not afraid of writing with a personality.

Writing Tips

One writing tip Professor Grazian emphasizes is to clearly introduce one's thesis in the beginning, constantly give supporting details, and sum up in the conclusion. If the conclusion does not echo or repeat the claims in the beginning of the paper, there is a problem. Professor Grazian describes sociological writing as "a puzzle," in which "you give the a sense of where you're going to wind up and then you walk them through it." For students who might be struggling with sociological writing, he suggests reading the book Tales of the Field: On Writing Ethnography, which emphasizes sociology and writing as an art. He also encourages students to utilize the writing center or, if a grad student, engage in peer reviewing.

Important Criteria for Student Writing

David Grazian did not believe it was possible to rank certain things in a student's writing as more important than another because they are all extremely important. However, he particularly felt that reasoning and evidence, style, grammar & mechanics, organization, and following the assignment instructions were vital for a student to receive a good grade. To a lesser extent, he believed that citing was important, but said any legitimate citation practice was fine. In addition, it is necessary to use proper formatting, but only because it kept students from evading the given assignment. He rated original ideas as not necessarily vital for a student writer; rather, students must have the ability to synthesize many different materials together and show mastery of the material.

Personal Writing Process

Professor Grazian's writing process begins in the field taking field notes. After he finishes collecting his evidence, he tends to spend some time thinking about what his paper is going to look like before he begins, but he does not usually write an outline. Once he begins writing, he starts on the middle, or as he says, in the "nitty gritty." From this, his argument develops, but it can be a long process. Professor Grazian says, "I am constantly putting pieces together and when something isn't working, I'll spend a whole day writing and then realize that everything I've written is totally useless, but then I get there eventually." Professor Grazian writes the introduction and conclusion last; he may write an introduction in the beginning as a place holder, but he says a writer "can't be beholden to it." You have to be able to let your introduction go if your writing takes you in a different direction. After a piece is relatively well-polished, Professor Grazian sends it to a lot of different readers, typically within his own field, but sometimes to friends in other fields. After he receives a lot of feedback, he may rework his paper, depending on what people have said. However, he tends not to send around rough drafts because he believes it is important to be able to write a polished draft on your own. His final step before publication is rewriting, polishing, and more rewriting line by line.

Links

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Other professors in sociology: Dr. Lareau