Sociology Dept.

SRC Academic Skills: Introductions (content & process 2)

Introductions - ‘Content’ and ‘Process’

There is no precise formula for a strong introduction, but they will typically involve the
following elements:

Some engagement with / reflection on question CONTENT:

1. A level of ‘re-working’ (explanation of / expansion on) the question to indicate that it

is understood (and how it is understood i.e. YOUR own understanding of the question)
2. Brief reference by way of explanation (where necessary) to any key terms or
potentially problematic terms

Some discussion / reflection on PROCESS:

3. An indication as to how you, as author, intend to go about answering the question (the
intended structure of your response)
4. A broad indication (perhaps) of the conclusion/s you intend to reach

Just like essay questions themselves then, introductions engage with both content and
process, and it should be possible to clearly distinguish between sentences that do one or the
other, or both.

In the examples given below, content and process are indicated as follows:

Underlined bold CONTENT1: statement introducing core subject

Underlined CONTENT2: expansion on subject (i.e. the particular aspect/s of the core
subject that the question addresses)
Italicised PROCESS: explanation of how you intend to answer the question

Key content words

Key process words

Discuss the underlying assumptions and methodologies of some of the key attempts to
measure poverty.

Poverty is a key indicator of need and hence, of the success or failure of social policies.
The academic debate about poverty has been largely about definitions. There are a number of
competing definitions of poverty. Definitions range from the limited view which sees poverty
in terms of survival to wider views, which relate poverty to the average standard of living and
 Sociology Dept. SRC Academic Skills: Introductions (content & process 2)

quality of life in society. The main debate surrounds whether poverty should be measured in
absolute or relative terms.

In Britain, the concern created by poverty was most clearly expressed in the establishment of
the Elizabeth Poor Laws, the influence of which has lasted until modern times. However, it was
not until near the end of the nineteenth century, that a major contribution to the definition
and measurement was made by Charles Booth. Since this time, a number of researchers have
developed different methods in their attempts to measure poverty. In the course of my essay,
I will describe the underlying assumptions and methodologies of some of the key attempts to
measure poverty.. I will progress from the Elizabethan poor laws to studies conducted by Booth,
Rowntree, Townsend, Mack and Lansley and Bradshaw and to conclude, I aim to examine the
present situation. This will hopefully enable me to gain an insight into the diversity of methods
so that I will be able to consider the extent to which the underlying assumptions have changed.

What does Durkheim mean by “morality”? Do you agree with his assessment of its
significance in understanding society?

Central to Durkheim’s work is a concern over the issue of the individual in modern
society and the sources and nature of morality and moral authority. Durkheim’s ideas on
morality can be seen as progressive, he developed a gradually deepened view of morality as a
social phenomenon, we can see a move in his work from a concentration on moral rules and
obligation to more complex ideas about desires and moral education. This essay examines the
nature of “morality” for Durkheim, its relationship to society and the individual, religion,
authority and education. It will also be shown that this account of morality was of great
significance to an understanding of Durkheim’s specific contemporary society but is still relevant
to our understanding of society in general today.

How can we account for the changing pattern of gender differences in educational
attainment in post-war Britain?

Discussions of inequalities in education have historically focused on social class.

However, in post-war Britain gender differences in educational attainment have
attracted increasing interest. Initially, sociological research was focused on attempting to
 Sociology Dept. SRC Academic Skills: Introductions (content & process 2)

explain why boys educational performance was much better than girls. However, since the
early 90’s the pattern has changed and female pupils have moved from underachieving in
comparison to males to outperforming them. For example in 1975/76 males were more likely
than females to gain at least one A level but females have caught up with and passed males and
in 1994/95 25% of females gained at least one A level compared to 22% of males. This essay
examines firstly the explanations given for girls’ underachievement, then looks at why and how
the pattern has changed and finally discusses how boys comparatively poor performance is now
considered a social problem. Practices and attitudes within schools, subject choices, attainment
at different stages of education, state educational policy and external culture are among the
factors which will be examined.