social 30 study help anyone?

[MonsieurFish]

so.......i have my big social 30 diploma comin up in the next week, im studying fairly hard, but i really really suck at social... anyone else here have the same diploma coming up? care to help me out? what are some important things i should know. i mean i'll try to know everything but thats definitely not gonna happen..

tbh i dont really know what im asking. i guess just for help with this final exam?

[killer_carlson]

much like Social Science exams once you get to university, the best advice I can give you is to practice as many old exams as you can (for multiple choice/short answer), and then practice your essay choices like this:

1) Set a clock for 7 minutes
2) Read an old essay topic
3) Write out your thesis statement
4) Outline in rough your case study or supporting paragraphs for your thesis

Essentially you want to organize what you want to say, why you think you're right, and what sort of authority you can point at to support your position.

You run the risk of trying to memorize essays if you actually write essay after essay preparing it. It's more important in my opinion to practice setting up what you want to say and organizing it in a short time than it is to actually practice writing sentances. The organization is the difference between a 70% and an 88% essay,

If you're under 70, you're picking poor thesis statements or bad case studies or examples. If you're above 90 then you've picked the right ones, supported it well, and clearly and cleanly communicated your position.

Oh, and your conclusion should be a lot like your introduction in reverse order.

Good luck.

[MonsieurFish]

for essays... should i go like this:

intro-state the question, possible opinion, and my opinion
body-paragraph 1-state one example to back up my opinion and explain it
paragraph 2-state another example to back up my opinion and explain it
paragraph 3- state an example opposing me saying the reasons others could think differently than me

conclusion-reinforce my opinion with the reasons and answer the question again

sound good?

[metallicat]

Social 30 is only six and a half years out for me, and I can't remember a single thing that I learned in that class.

[killer_carlson]

well I'm not a teacher so I don't know what your teachers are telling you. They are the better gauge than am I.

But since you are asking for my $.25 opinion, I would alter your plan as follows:

Introduction: Why state other possible opinions unless you are going to discredit them later on? To bring them up and not talk about them only distracts from what you are trying to say. An essay is about convincing someone of your position.

Para 1: looks good

Para 2: looks good

para 3: Why would you waste the readers time telling him or her about two examples of why you are right (the previous two paragraps) and then tell them about why someone else might be right. To me that reeks of someone who isn't sure about their position and hasn't the confidence to pick a good thesis in the first place.

However...I like the idea of using two, possibly three sentances to set up the opposite position to yours, only to then cut the legs out from underneath and point out how tragically flawed that position is. This is a very important paragraph because if you don't completely cut out the legs then you undermine your previous position. This is also how you start to encroach on 90% as well - if done right. It's also the reason why it is so important to plan your paragraphs well at the beginning.

Conclusion: Start by restating your thesis. It is what ties your whole paper together. State it point blank. Support it with a summary sentance of each of your other three paragraphs and then finish it with a conclusion that answers your question.

Other tip might be to ask your teacher for a list of good transition words or phrases that you can use to tie in to the preceeding paragraph and have your paper flow nicely.

[MonsieurFish]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

well I'm not a teacher so I don't know what your teachers are telling you. They are the better gauge than am I.

But since you are asking for my $.25 opinion, I would alter your plan as follows:

Introduction: Why state other possible opinions unless you are going to discredit them later on? To bring them up and not talk about them only distracts from what you are trying to say. An essay is about convincing someone of your position.

Para 1: looks good

Para 2: looks good

para 3: Why would you waste the readers time telling him or her about two examples of why you are right (the previous two paragraps) and then tell them about why someone else might be right. To me that reeks of someone who isn't sure about their position and hasn't the confidence to pick a good thesis in the first place.

However...I like the idea of using two, possibly three sentances to set up the opposite position to yours, only to then cut the legs out from underneath and point out how tragically flawed that position is. This is a very important paragraph because if you don't completely cut out the legs then you undermine your previous position. This is also how you start to encroach on 90% as well - if done right. It's also the reason why it is so important to plan your paragraphs well at the beginning.

Conclusion: Start by restating your thesis. It is what ties your whole paper together. State it point blank. Support it with a summary sentance of each of your other three paragraphs and then finish it with a conclusion that answers your question.

Other tip might be to ask your teacher for a list of good transition words or phrases that you can use to tie in to the preceeding paragraph and have your paper flow nicely.

thanks man you're helping alot, just kinda confused me about the 3rd paragraph. are you saying i should stick with making that paragraph one that opposes me, but telling me to make sure i write a couple sentences to cut out the legs and show why it's not a good theory?

[Mr. Mojave]

Intro- State the question, and both sides the the arguement
Paragraph 1- Show one side of the arguement with 3 examples/ reasons
Paragraph 2- Show other side of the arguement with 3 examples/ reasons
Paragraph 3- Choose one of the sides
Paragraph 4- State your first reason/example of side you took and back it up with facts
Paragraph 5- State your second reason/example of side you took and back it up with facts
Paragraph 6- State your third reason/example of side you took and back it up with facts
Paragraph 7- Conclusion, repeating your thesis and essentially repeating paragragh 3

Sounds long, but it should work out to about 1500 words. I got 95% using this outline for my social 30 exam. Good luck

[Cerebral]

Use your introduction to establish a broad context for the subject of your paper. You want to touch on both potential sides of the argument in your introductory paragraph (don't let yourself be burdened by the word paragraph though - your intro could very well end up being 2 or 3 paragraphs) and then eventually choose one. After making the selection, the most important part of your paper is stating WHY you're choosing that side. Follow that up with three main examples for why you believe in that particular side of the argument and a conclusion which essentially just restates your thesis statement.

[killer_carlson]

I'm saying that if you talk about one of the other positions, spend only a short time talking about why it might be right and then spend a lot longer time why it is wrong and that the evidence actually supports your position.

The outline by Mr. Mojave also looks good, but I'd suggest that is something for a fairly advanced student to use.

[Jayems]

Don't forget to make your paragraphs run together. Nothing worse than a bunch of ideas thrown about in an essay and they never relate to each other. Learnt that the hard way...

[Winsor_Pilates]

Agree with Carlson.

The main goal is to argue YOUR point as well as you can. IMO showing other theories is a big NO NO, unless you're using them to illustrate their flaws.
Exp: If my subject was global warming, and I had a theory about ways to stop it, I might talk about Kyoto to show where my theory improves on Kyotos flaws. You want to make your thoery look superior to any alternative you show.

Overall structure I use:
-The first few sentences of your paper should objectively introduce the subject. Explain what's going on and why it's important. From that people can think of all the alternate theories they want. You don't need to do it for them and there's usually too many to sumarize anyway.

-Then state what you're argueing and your thesis statement.
-Then about 3 paragraphs backing up you arguement(s) with theory, examples and just good arguements in general.
Give opinions confidently and back them up with facts/examples. Don't be a pansy and write to soft. A good paper has a bit of arrogance to it.
Think of yourself as a salesman who needs to convince the reader of your theory, not just explain the subject.
-Conclusion should recap each arguement and again demonstrate how they relate to your thesis and the subject.

[Addick]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

Agree with Carlson.

The main goal is to argue YOUR point as well as you can. IMO showing other theories is a big NO NO , unless you're using them to illustrate their flaws.

Showing the other side of the argument is actually very important. Only stating the side that you have chosen makes one's paper look one sided, and/or weak; the reader might conclude that you are bias, or do not have a strong enough argument to defend. Bringing up the other side is like a test, if your argument is strong enough it will convince your audience that what you are saying is correct. Compare and contrast style essay are very good when you have to defend your thesis and can basically go like this,

Introduction: Introduce your audience to the topic matter. State your thesis. Bring up the topic matter of the individual paragraphs. Fade into your first paragraph. (In this paragraph you should either hint, or outright state, in a matter of words, the side you are choosing to defend).

Paragraph One: Bring up the first example and state why it is correct. Bring up a counter example that tries to disprove the conclusion of your argument point. Say why this counter example is false and defend your argument. Fade into the next paragraph. (Make sure you can discredit/disprove the counter example).

Paragraph Two: Bring up the second example and state why it is correct. Bring up a counter example that tries to disprove the conclusion of your argument point. Say why this counter example is false and defend your argument. Fade into the next paragraph. (Again, make sure you can discredit/disprove the counter example).

Paragraph Three: If you have another example and enough time follow the style of the previous paragraphs. If not this is the paragraph where you might have to do what I do best, bs your way through it. If you can, get creative and try to show why your argument is correct and why the counter argument is false, it's a place to tie up any loose ends if you made the mistake and have them. Fade into the next paragraph.

Conclusion: This is not the place to wrap up all loose ends and defend your argument. That should be done it the paragraphs themselves, or an extra bs paragraph. In the conclusion you restate what you said in your introduction in different words. The conclusion is a reminder of what you have said, if you have said everything correctly re-enforcement of it will convince your audience.

Here's some advice for you, the basic format for essays, power points, and presentations is as follows: Tell the audience what you are going to tell them, tell them what you have to tell them, tell them what you just told them. I was pretty good in Social Studies and raped the diploma. As such I'm not in the Social Science faculty at the U, if you need any more help with the format, or if you would like a few examples just pm me. Good luck mate, and I hope this helped!

[NSFL]

Originally Posted by MonsieurFish

thanks man you're helping alot, just kinda confused me about the 3rd paragraph. are you saying i should stick with making that paragraph one that opposes me, but telling me to make sure i write a couple sentences to cut out the legs and show why it's not a good theory?

I remember in gr 10 they wanted us to do that. To have a 3rd paragraph stating a second opinion. That's what social kind of wanted. But I find it better to state the oposing points of view in your intro. So you say what points of view there are and then which you support.

[gottabekd]

Keep it simple and organized. Always keep in mind that you are presenting an argument, and keep focused on trying to develop and support your argument. Although there will always be differing views, don't present them unless you can strike them down.

1. Introduction
Start with an impact. A quote if you have one, but really, something that tells the reader what the theme of the paper is. Somewhere in the introduction, write out a detailed and complete thesis statement.

2. Supporting paragraphs (3 would be a minimum, but more than 4 is not necessary).
First sentence should describe what the paragraph will be about. Provide supporting details from your Social 30 class material. Teachers love that. And NEVER, EVER give a "personal" example. End with a sentence reaffirming why this example supports your thesis.

3. Conclusion
Re-state the thesis. Summarize your 3 examples. End with some sort of impactful statement. A forward-thinking statement is always nice. That is why we study history, isn't it?

[MonsieurFish]

awesome thanks for the help guys. i think im just gonna have to brush up on getting my historical events down now and what they were all about so i can use them as examples.

[Torture]

In your three body paragraphs...rather than doing it in the third paragraph we were taught to put a critic's point of view or a counterexample...and then say why they're wrong. It really makes for a strong essay. And all three body paragraphs should have an example from the curriculum that backs up your argument.

(And my entire class did ridiculously well on the social diploma)

We actually had a format to follow...but unfortunately i don't remember it.

[gottabekd]

Originally Posted by Torture

In your three body paragraphs...rather than doing it in the third paragraph we were taught to put a critic's point of view...and then say why they're wrong. It really makes for a strong essay.

Maybe they've changed the format, but my teacher never said anything about dedicating a paragraph to the other side of the argument. Of course, if you can do this, and strike it down, it is a nice touch to the essay. If you present the argument, and can't soundly defeat it, omitting the paragraph completely would be the best choice.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Addick

Showing the other side of the argument is actually very important. Only stating the side that you have chosen makes one's paper look one sided, and/or weak; the reader might conclude that you are bias, or do not have a strong enough argument to defend.

I disagee. All papers are different, but generally I think showing the other side(s) when you can't sufficiently argue against them makes your paper look weak. You don't always have time to explore every aspect of the topic and give a good arguement against all competitive theories. It creates the feeling that you are undecided and not confident if you do that in a half-ass way. A paper SHOULD be one sided IMO because you need to show that you're making an arguement, not just exploring all angles.

I'm not saying you should never show the other side. I'm just saying that it has to be used to support you. If you are showing it just to be fair, then I think it's better to leave it out. Some topics are extremely broad and there can be dozens of "other sides", so throwing them in there just to be fair isn't really possible and distracts from what you really want the reader to get.

I agree that compare/contrasts are really good, but even with those you are using a bias to pick the alternate theory that you can best argue and best illustrates your point.

Another important thing to consider is the length of the paper. Since it's a diploma exam, it's not very long. IMO, your limited time is better spent on solidifying your own arguements, then on illustrating others.
It's better to have a narrow scope with good detail, then a broad scope with no substance.

[wooohooo]

Hey,

I took my Social early last year well probably the same time as you did, I'd offer you my help but I got destroyed in social except I fluked out in my essay. I'll give you a tip though, listen to your teacher... I got marked almost the exact same as my social teacher did. Just make sure you know your dates and facts... and stuff as much of that in your essay. Arts has never been my thing, I have no problem doing well in sciences but when it comes to arts... i'm a failure!!! Anyways, I think the best you can do before the test is to relax, hard to write an essay when you're so tense. It really isn't as bad as everyone says it is!

[Flash Walken]

find some way to blackmail your teacher. way easier than studying.