1. Literacy in Sociology Guidance Notes #5
PARAGRAPH STYLE
Issues to consider
It is one thing to know loads of sociology, but it’s another thing knowing how to express this in your answers. There are
ways of presenting ideas that can make all the difference to those reading your work. You need to bear in mind that just
listing knowledge that you can remember will only get you some of the marks available, but this will be fairly ‘low order’
writing (see ‘Bloom’s Taxonomy’ in booklet #3: Evaluation). You need to think about how you communicate your ideas
and plan the way you write to illustrate your skills in; interpretation, application, analysis and evaluation. This guide will
offer some ideas to help you think about skills in sociology and how to display these in your written work.
Useful strategies
1. Structure like a ‘route planner’
I loved it when routeplanners first came online (sadly my Satnav has now won my affections in the realms
of long distance travel support). What was great about the route-planner though is it maps out the stages
of your journey from turning on your ignition to arriving at your final destination. The routeplanner
illustrates the journey, it flags up service stations and how many miles left to go etc..which is great..it
means that you can have a clear sense of your goal and the steps to get there. It gives a structure to the
journey – it takes out the muddles, the confusions, the wrong turns and petrol wastage. You need to map
out a structure for your answers (see Essay Planning clip) and consider what will be needed in each
paragraph.
Do this carefully and ensure that for each paragraph you ask ‘What is the point of this paragraph? What
does this paragraph add to my answer? How does this paragraph develop from the previous paragraph?’.
This will ensure what you are writing is relevant to the given question (interpretation and application).
2.What is the point of this paragraph?
Once mapping out a mindmap plan for your answer, think about each separate paragraph and how it links
to your answer. One way of doing this is to use the following template (which is similar to what many
people now use, known as PEEL).
What is the purpose of this
paragraph?
What linkphrase can you
useto connect this to the
given question?

2. 3.Show understanding of the key focus/point in your paragraph
Here you need to make the main point explicitly clear to your reader. You don’t have a neon sign available so
you need to express this clearly and overtly.
Present your main point(s)
Define and explain your
point(s)
4.Illustrate your argument
Years ago I used the mnemonic DIE to remind students of how to organise a paragraph for effect. This stood
for Define and Explain, Illustrate and Evaluate (okay the E for explain is hidden as DEIE doesn’t scan as well
as die!). But the ‘I’ here is essential. Too often students want to know how to use studies etc and panic about
not remembering names etc. We all know that the Awarding Bodies are more interested in well discussed
points/ideas rather than ‘excessive knowledge regurgitation with no understanding’. However, studies and
examples are useful to show understanding of key ideas – they give breadth to a point….there’s always a
place for good old-fashioned ‘empirical’ evidence. So, try where possible to back up a point with a study or
some evidence (but be concise and watch the clock!).
Illustrate your point with
evidence
5.Evaluate if you can
It’s always good to question an idea and not take anything for granted. A good place to gain recognition for
evaluation is the last sentence before the close of a paragraph..nothing excessive but more a kind of ‘pause
for thought’..just to show that you are on the ball. I call this the ‘Columbo moment’. If you haven’t seen the
1970s detective TV series starring Peter Falk, you are missing a trick. This bedraggled cop finds himself each
episode confronting the murderer/thief early on in the show. He talks with them and they appear to have
conned him with some water-tight alibi. Columbo is then seen approaching the door to leave the room,
apparently accepting this version of events unquestioningly. But then he does his trademark pause…he does
this every episode. He grabs the doorknob, is about to open the door and then turns back to face the
perpetrator. He is scratching his head and utters the phrase, ‘Sir! There’s just one thing that’s puzzling me.’
..and BANG….he challenges the alibi with a critical point which catches the villain off guard. Well, this is what
you should try to do. Allow a point to be presented unchallenged and if you can…do a Columbo in it.
Evaluate if possible

3. 6. Link back to the question
This will depend how well you made a link at the start of the paragraph. However, it is always good to
relate your point back to the set question where possible.
Link back to question
This may involve phrases like; ‘In terms of the issue of ………’, ‘This highlights how……’ etc.
A format for paragraph structure
In it’s entirety, the paragraph structure will look like this:
What is the purpose of this
paragraph?
What linkphrase can I use
to connect this to the given
question?
Present your main point(s)
Define and explain your
point(s)
Illustrate your point with
evidence
Evaluate if possible
Link back to question

4. Paragraph Structure: An example to consider
How does the following paragraph illustrate the format for effective paragraph structure?
Defence of the nuclear family paragraph for ‘nuclear family
is no longer the norm’ essay
Some have argued that the nuclear family is the norm. It is seen as the ideal type of family
as portrayed in the ‘cereal packet image’ of the family. According to Functionalists like
Murdock and Parsons, this type of family is best suited for industrial society. It is small and
geographically mobile, being able to move when needed. It is natural for a man to be with a
woman in a heterosexual relationship, where they may raise children and the woman fulfil
an expressive role as carer, and the man fulfil an instrumental role as breadwinner. Since
the 1960s, this ‘Stage 3 family’ has been a warm, close family unit that does not need to
depend on others, be they wider kin or welfare. The New Right note how this kind of family
is normal and morally sound, being able to raise children effectively with discipline and
positive role models. Other family types are inferior versions of the nuclear model. They are
a source of stability and predictability. They are financially more efficient and are better
psychologically for individuals and have positive benefits for society. As Chester notes, most
people live in a nuclear family at some point in their lives. More people statistically, live in
nuclear households. Despite the rise of divorce and fall in marriage rates, most people still
marry and see it as the best place to raise children. Overall, other forms of families may be a
result of social changes and greater choice, but the nuclear family is by far the natural state
of a ‘household’ meeting the essential needs of individuals and society.
This paragraph is not ideal, but it ties together an argument ‘around the
central theme’ of defending the nuclear family.
Note how the paragraph:
Has a clear focus
How it makes this focus known
How it presents and explains different points
How it uses studies
How it shows relevance to the set question
Chris Deakin 2012