Introduction
The introduction of a research paper is the most crucial part, as it will lay out the foundation for your entire project. It’s important to make sure that you use this section to introduce the topic, mention your thesis statement, and give an overview of what is going to be discussed in your paper.
In general, don’t spend too much time on this section; after all, there are still three other sections left! However, if you have a lot of experience with writing papers or are just really interested in what sociology has to say about certain topics, then feel free to delve deeper into them here!
Thesis statement
Your thesis statement is the most important part of your research paper. It should be concise and specific, not general or vague. It should tell the reader what the topic of your paper is about and what position you take on it. In other words, it should spell out clearly to readers what they can expect from your paper.
Major ideas you want to discuss
- Organize your ideas around a central theme.
- Break down the topic into sub-topics.
- Create a detailed outline.
- Have a clear structure with the introduction, body, and conclusion clearly identified. Building a good structure helps you to organize your paper effectively and allows you to support your thesis with strong arguments throughout the essay.
In order to write an effective sociology paper outline, it is important that you include:
- A thesis statement in the introductory paragraph that clearly states what you plan to discuss in your essay and how it relates to other related issues or debates within this field of study (if relevant). This statement should be specific enough so that readers can easily grasp its meaning without any confusion or ambiguity; however, it should also be broad enough so that there is room for interpretation based on their own experiences/background knowledge about the subject matter at hand (i.e., potential conflicts between arguments made by different parties involved in said debate). For example: In my opinion…we must consider how our actions affect others’ lives before making decisions which could potentially damage them beyond repair.” Or: “I believe…our society needs better laws regarding gun control because…” etc., etc., etc…
Mention any research or studies, facts, numbers, or statistics about the topic.
- Mention any research or studies, facts, numbers, or statistics about the topic.
- Discuss how this information is important to your thesis.
Body of the paper
Your body paragraphs should be between three and five sentences long. The first two sentences should focus on the topic sentence, which will serve as a summary of what you will discuss in this paragraph. Then, in order to support your main idea, you want to include several examples that show how the topic sentence is true. Use specific details from your research and remember to cite them properly using footnotes or parenthetical citations throughout the paper (see page 6). For example:
- A good topic sentence may be: “The social hierarchy within any society is based on wealth.”
- In this paragraph: “The social hierarchy within any society is based on wealth.”
- In this paragraph: “The social hierarchy within any society is based on wealth.”
It’s important that your thesis statement not only summarize but also guide the rest of your essay. It will help keep everything organized for both yourself and for other readers who may be reading through it for review purposes later on down the road!
Topic sentence for each paragraph that is supporting your thesis.
- Write a topic sentence that captures the essence of your paragraph.
- The topic sentence will be your guidepost in writing the rest of the paragraph.
Conclusion
You should include a conclusion in your paper. Here are some tips to keep in mind when writing your conclusion:
- Restate your thesis as the first line of this section. You should also summarize your evidence and explain its significance, concluding with a call to action or a challenge to further research.
- Refer back to the introduction of your paper, so the reader understands how you’ve reached these conclusions. Finally, you can refer back to any important points from earlier sections (especially if they relate directly to your conclusions).
- Avoid introducing new ideas here—you want this section focused on tying together everything that has come before it; don’t let anything distract from that goal!
This is what you need in your outline.
- Have a title, which will be the name of your research paper.
- You need a subtitle, which will be about how you’re going to structure your paper and what kind of examples you’ll use.
- You also need an introduction, where you’ll explain why this is important and what the problem is that needs to be addressed by your paper (this should include at least one paragraph).
- Then there’s the body section, which has three parts: background information, data analysis and interpretation; summary and conclusion; and bibliography/works cited page
