SOC10004: Sociological Foundations
Assignment 1A: Essay plan
Word limit: 150 (+/- 10%)
Weighting: 5%
Due date: 5pm AEST Friday 20 July 2018 (Week 2)
You will need to familiarise yourself with the requirements forAssignment 1B: Academic writing skills exercisewhere you will be providing a response to the question:
How relevant is the sociological imagination for understanding contemporary Australian society?
Your Assignment 1B submission will need to be written in the style of an essay, therefore it will require an introduction, a main body and a conclusion. You are encouraged to think about how you will approach each of these sections as you move through your essay plan in this assignment.
As the total word count for this assignment is minimal, you should keep your responses in the essay plan concise, briefly outlining what you will achieve in Assignment 1B.Note: your references are not included as part of your final word count.
Step 1
Begin by choosing a focus area, or topic, (i.e. a current social issue in Australia) that is of genuine interest to you. Some examples of current social issues you could choose to focus on include:
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Climate change
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Housing affordability
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Homelessness
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Domestic violence
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Drug use
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Bullying
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Bambling
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Asylum seeker policy.
Your focus area should form a 'lens' through which you view the question:
How relevant is the sociological imagination for understanding contemporary Australian society?
Your response should clearly explain a relevant, contemporary Australian social issue.
Step 2
Using theSwinburne Library(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.Site, complete some preliminary research on your topic, ensuring you have also read C. Wright Mills (1978)site. And locate aminimum of three relevant academic sources(not including C. Wright Mills) to use in Assignment 1B.
You should reference your sources using Swinburne Harvard Style.Your references are not included as part of the word count.
Step 3
Use theEssay plan template (DOC 91 KB)to piece together some of the main features of your Assignment 1B submission. This includes developing ideas for the body paragraphs, containing key points that support your argument.Four body paragraphs are suggestedin the template, however you may find you have anywhere between three and six body paragraphs depending on the number of key points you have. Your word count for each section should be adjusted accordingly.
Tips for formulating an argument
In formulating an argument, you will need to considerhowthe sociological imagination allows us to understand the social issue or problem you have selected. In taking the issue of homelessness as an example, the sociological imagination allows us to focus on the social structures surrounding the person and the factors that ‘set the scene’ for individuals to become homeless, rather than simply blaming the individual.
Changing your mind
You are free to change the ideas submitted in Assignment 1A prior to submission of Assignment 1B (i.e. you do not have to follow the essay plan if you change your topic, argument or ideas in any way). This task is intended to assist you in doing some of the ground work for Assignment 1B and provide with you an opportunity to seek early feedback from your eLA to ensure you are on the right track.
Supporting resources
The following resources will assist you with completing this assignment as well as Assignment 1B:
1. You will need to use C. Wright Mills (1978)'The sociological imagination' (PDF 626 KB)(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.As one of your academic resources.
2. Check out the Student Portal's range of usefulStudy Resources(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., specifically in the section Academic Writing and Academic Integrity.
o TheEssay Writing page(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.Outlines how to plan and format an academic essay.
o Read this annotatedSample essay (PDF 330 KB)(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.To see how to respond to an essay question.
3. The video,Building a good argument(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.(CSULA150 2012), gives a breakdown of how to frame your argument for the essay.
4. TheHow to write an argumentative essay: Thesis statements and paragraphs(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.(britishcouncilsg 2015) video expands on what is covered in the Essay page from the Student Portal.
5. Refer to the Swinburne UniversitySwinburneHarvard style guide(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.For referencing.
Search for articles and resources in the Swinburne Universitylibrary catalogue search(Links to an external site.)