Some folks have asked me about how to perform clear writing;-) My favorite book is Howard Becker's Writing for Social Scientists. (Howard is a famous qualitative sociologist.) He also has a fine, broader book, Tricks of the Trade. My shorter guide, "How to Write a Paper" is on the Publications list of my website -- near the bottom. So is my humorous "Lifecycle of Authorhoods" and "Bum Raps: Notes of a Weary Conference Goer" (written pre-AOIR conferences). I gave the "How to Write" stuff yesterday as a 3-hour workshop for Toronto sociology doctoral students, and it seemed to go well. I am going to turn "How to Write" from its current semi-outline form into a fully-paragraphed guide. I would appreciate any suggestions from list readers about what to keep in, expand -- or leave out. PS: Thanks to all the MacGwyver fans. You have given me heart. Barry _____________________________________________________________________ Barry Wellman Professor of Sociology NetLab Director wellman at chass.utoronto.ca http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman Centre for Urban & Community Studies University of Toronto 455 Spadina Avenue Toronto Canada M5S 2G8 fax:+1-416-978-7162 To network is to live; to live is to network _____________________________________________________________________