Good Essay Writing: A Social Sciences Guide (Published in association with The Open University)

Well presented. I can't say that it is perhaps the best and most logically organized book on the market, however, it does take you step by step through various processes and instills some confidence in you. If you study at the ou, this is a good companion for all your studies.

I dont often write reviews but after recieving a 100% for my last asssignment by using this book, i thought i must write something. (My previous grades had ranged from 70-85%, so this was an incredible jump which i could never have dared hope for. In all of my assignments i knew my subject and was familiar with the various studies, but structuring and knowing how to put it all together is a different ballgame altogether. This is where Redman's book comes in.

This book was recommended to me by my tutor and every time i've gone through it, i'm always taking something new. It was the example of a top level essay that clinched my grade for me. Seeing a practical example on how to pull all the different essay components put together really helped me to pick out the faults in my assignments. I sat there for hours in the library going through that essay and trying to work out how the writer organised the information in each parapragh. It makes the planning and actual essay writing so much simpler when you have something like that to go refer back to.

I'm not going to go on about whats included in each chapter (i think the previous reviwers have already done that) but if you are seriously committed to developing your essay-writing skills, this book is an absolute must. You could just flick through the chapters if you want, but in order to get top marks, my advice would be to set aside some time to really break down the examples provided.

I'm currently studying for an MA - but not now within the Social Sciences as this book is aimed for! My MA started in Social Sciences and moved to another subject area; however this book has helped me with all of my essays.

Although I'm studying with the Open University I would recommend this book for all students - and also at degree level. What Redman has done is tailor for all institutions then added a small section for all OU students at the end of each chapter.

The chapters are easy to follow and I would suggest flicking through it once but then dipping in and out of it as necessary. He covers topics such as:

* What tutors look for when marking essays
* Matching the answer to the question
* Stages of writing
* Writing each part of the essay
* How to reference
* Examples are also included.

These are just a few of the sections covered and the appendices all has in it areas such as what to do when you get your essay back. The layout is very similar to a report; each chapter has sub-sections which are numbered and bulleted.

I'm not particularly academic and essay writing does not come easily to me, yet this book really has changed how I write my essays.

I bought this book and read it before starting an OU Degree in Pychology starting with Social Sciences DD121. Fantastic - I have not formally studied for years and years - this book has rested some fears, made good sense, had good balance, and well presented.

Just 1 BUT! I did not understand a word of essay 1 - I guess I have some work to do!

This book is full of very good advice, and if you have not done any essays for a while, then I would regard this book as essential