Choose your question. The best way to do this is to choose something that excites and interests you and break this down into a specific question. If necessary, speak to your tutor or professor and get some advice on designing a question. If your question has already been assigned, make sure you fully understand what is required of you.
Conduct your research. You will need to have a good overview of the topic, including any current debates, theories and important academics in this area. As most sociology essays focus on a particular issues or debate, you will need to find evidence to support and refute both sides. Use books, journals and the Internet to conduct your research.
Make an outline. Now that you have an overview of your area, break down the essay into an outline. Sketch an outline of your introduction, main body and conclusion along with your argument. This will make the task seem less daunting.
Support your claims. You should stick to the rule of making one point per paragraph and always support this with evidence. This evidence could be from a survey, interview or study. Your argument will not convince the reader without evidence.
Write your first draft. Once completed, reread it thoroughly and look for inconsistencies, mistakes and confusion. If possible, give it to someone else to read and ask for their feedback. Use this as a learning curve for completing the final draft.
Complete the final draft. Ensure you have adequately answered the question and met the minimum word count. Also make sure you have properly cited and referenced your consulted sources, in accordance with your departmental guidelines.