Success in Sociology
Allie Vico is a BSN graduate and a former tutor for SOC 201S: Intro to Sociology. While at ODU, Allie led weekly review sessions and today she is sharing her sociology study skills to help you be successful in your sociology course!
Hi guys,
They key to success in understanding sociology is connection! Often times I find that it’s very easy to get lost in the sophisticated definitions. Sociology is really just looking at the people and the cultures around you. In order to be a sociology expert you have to be able to take the definitions and apply them to the things you already know.
My first tip to do well in sociology is to make flash cards with the term on one side and on the other side put the Text book definition as well as an example from your own life. This way you are reinforcing the definition with your own words.
Here are some examples:
Through my multiple sociology classes I have always done this and found it very effective to help you really understand the meaning of the concepts and how to connect it to the world around you, which is what sociology is all about! When I was a PASS leader for sociology, I found that this method was very effective for the class as well, especially when they worked on their cards as a group. I would recommend making this cards with a partner. This way you can explain how your example related to the concept and your partner will give you another example as well.
One of the hardest things about sociology is thoroughly understanding the three main theories: conflict, interactionist, and functionalist theory. The best way to master these by the end of the class, is too try to sort everything you talk about and read for class into which theory is best fits. Some things may not solidly fit into one theory, but by thinking about where you might put it forces you to think about the characteristics of each theory. Once you feel comfortable doing this you can create a Venn diagram so that Concepts which may have touched of multiple theories can be put in the correct spot. Some books even provide this diagram in the back of each chapter, but it so beneficial to try to come up with it on your own. After each chapter, I would go through the main topics and try to organize them by which main theory they fell under and provide a reason why. This way when you get to a quiz or test you already have the information sorted and it makes it easier to connect topics.
My last tip to succeed in sociology is to start a conversation about it. Because of the nature of 
sociology, it revolves around peoples’ personal lives and many times opinions. This class will be different than other classes where this is a strict wrong and right answer. Many of the topics covered will evoke a personal story, emotions, and opinions. The best thing you can do to study for this class is to discuss the material with other students in your class.
I also wanted to provide a Quizlett link to a class set I made for the students in the SOC 201 course that I was able to be a PASS leader for. Keep in mind that this is tailored to the specific professor’s course that I worked with and may not contain all of the information you’re responsible for in your class, but it is no doubt a valuable resource as it contains the main concepts from any sociology course. Study hard!
Quizlett link: https://quizlet.com/join/5FpAp4e62
Allie is a graduate of the ODU School of Nursing and a former SOC 201S tutor. She is from Virginia Beach and loves spending time with her family. While at ODU, Allie was also a member of our Student Nurses Association.