Students are required to submit a 3-4 page essay (750-1000 words) that contains 10-15 citations from only the course textbook: Citations from the course’s power-point slides will not count as part of the 10-15 required citations. Each citation must have the author’s name, year of publication, and date, for example: (Hobsbawm 1994:43).The essay should have a table of contents indicating page numbers of the major sections. The format and bibliography should be completed via the APA style or the Chicago Manual of Style. Guidelines for both can be found online. But if you use the APA style then you must still insert citations in the text of the essay – as in the reading assignments.
Essay Structure
- Introduction and Overall Thesis (example: “This paper argues that A’s explanation provide us with a better understanding of society, social change, social order, or social problems better than other potential explanations. The essay will provide three arguments and counter-arguments in order to demonstrate the superiority of A over B. The paper will then conclude with recommendations for future research and social policy in light of the arguments provided.”
2. Argument (paragraph), Counter-argument (paragraph), Reply (paragraph)
3. Argument, Counter-argument, Reply
4. Argument, Counter-argument, Reply
5. Conclusion (Restate argument, counter-arguments, and replies and then discuss the social and theoretical implications of the essay. What social policies should be implemented in light of your argument? Following on the essay’s conclusions what future research should be undertaken?)
Essay evaluation
- 1. Does the paper have a clear thesis statement?
- 2. Does the paper have an adequate number of citations (10-15 citations)?
- 3. Does the paper provide at least three thoughtfully argued reasons for the thesis?
- 4. Does the paper confront counter-arguments?
- 5. Is the paper clearly written in terms of grammar, structure, and style?
- 6. Does the conclusion restate the argument, the counter-arguments and the replies?
- 7. Does the conclusion deal with the implications of the thesis, that is, does it propose better social policies and future research?
- 8. Is the argument convincing?
Essay Question-
Write a 1000 word essay explaining which of the ten articles that you summarized for this course best explains society, social problems, social change, or social order. Be sure to compare at least three articles in order to make your argument for one of them. Feel free to use contemporary social problems like the coronavirus pandemic or mental issues as examples to explain why one article’s sociological approach is more persuasive than the others.
Choose from the following articles from our course textbook “Seeing Ourselves”:
Ch.31 p. 184, Mead
Ch.34, p. 201, Dubois
Ch. 41, p. 240, Mills
Ch.37, p.220, Hobbs & Damon
Ch.47, p. 287, Weber
Ch. 54, p. 337, Deber,
Ch. 56, p. 354, Overboe
Ch.62, p. 393, Wright
Ch.68, p. 434, Simons