Introduction to Sociology
–
Final Paper
Objective of Paper:
This is a standard research paper based on secondary and primary sources.
It should address its topic from a sociological perspective. This means that whatever topic you
pick should be discussed
using terminology from the readings and class di
scussions, should be
critically
examined (meaning its construction, labels, and groups sh
ould be discussed and
critiqued),
and should be placed in a larger context based on what we’ve read and the material
w
e’ve discussed.
Format:
The paper
must
be typed
in Times New Roman font, size 12, double
–
spaced. Points will
be deducted for not following these specifications. Do not use color, include images, or provide a
cover page. List your name, the course name, an
d the term at the top of the page, then write
your title, then begin the paper.
Papers must be between 4
–
8 pages (not including the reference
page). Points will be deducted if papers exceed 9 pages.
Although a 4
–
page paper is possible, it is
unlikely that
a 4
–
page paper will be very good. If you think you have written an “A” paper in 4
pages, you might want to reconsider or talk to me before submitting it.
Submission:
The final paper should be submitted
through “Turnitin”
on
Monday, August 24
th
no
later th
an 5:00pm
Citation Style:
All citations (to be discussed later in this document) should be in American
Sociological
Association (ASA) format. See this website:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/583/02/
for information on in
–
text citations as well
as reference page formatting
(you’ll have to click on a link to get to the reference page
specifications)
.
All citations must appear in the text. You cannot si
mply list them all at the end
of the paper. If you take an idea or a quote from an author, you must cite that author in the text
and include her in the reference page as well.
Failure to properly cite will result in point
deductions.
Layout of Paper:
The
paper should be divided into
FIVE
parts:
Introduction
:
You will introduce your topic and briefly describe it
. You must also tell the
reader
:
o
Why this topic should be interesting
to an average reader
(e.g., why should I care
about the history of the “insanity” please in US courts if I am not a lawyer?)
o
Why the topic is sociological
Literature Review
: Since you are probably not the first person to research this topic, you
should do some reading of past
authors’ works.
You should give a summary of their
works and explain why it is important to be aware of their works before doing your own
research on your topic.
You must use a minimum of 4
sources in your literature review.
Also, you may only use academi
c sources. Acceptable sources are: academic books,
journal articles from
peer
–
reviewed journals, and government publications.
Unacceptable sources include (but are not limited to): magazines, newspapers, blogs,
“.com” websites, online news articles, or non
–
academic books.
If you do not know how to
access academic books or academic journal articles, you should speak with a
Drexel
librarian and ask for a tutorial.
There are two major types of literature to look for:
o
Literature which covers your topic
specifically
o
Literature which covers a topic somewhat related to your topic, but which helps
you understand your own topic. For instance, if I’m writing a paper on a specific
“Doomsday Cult” in Texas, I might end up with a
lot of literature that examines
o
ther cults in other places at other times, but not necessarily any literature
that
examines my specific
topic.
Main Section
: Here you will present detailed information on your specific topic. Assume
the reader knows almost
nothing about your topic. In addi
tion to academic sources
,
in
this section
you may use news sources to provide background on your topic, however
these
must be from reputable news sources
, such as major American and foreign news
outlets. This
does not include
blogs, entertainment news sour
ces,
news sources with
serious credibility issues,
or satirical news sources. Be sure to talk about
why
your topic
relates to your literature review, and what about it would be interesting from a
sociological
perspective.
o
Examples of acceptable news source
s:
NBC, ABC, CBS, The BBC
, al
–
Jazeera, Wall Street Journal, New York
Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer.
o
Examples of
unacceptable
news sources:
Any blog, TMZ, The Daily Show, North Korean State News,
Wikipedia,
something you heard from your neighbor.
Theory:
Using at least
TWO
theoretical perspectives from the course, talk about how
sociologists might understand your topic. For example, what might Marx think caused
this particular social problem? What would Comte think we ought to do about it? What
do
you
think? This section is more subjective, and if you have a preference for a
particular theorist, you are free to take that position. But you must include at least
TWO
perspectives
, even if you disagree with one or both.
Conclusion:
Summarize the major p
oints of your topic, what previous researchers have
said about it, and what some of the major theoretical perspectives on it might be. Include
your own opinion, if you have one.
Reference Page
: A proper reference page must be included at the end which cont
ain all
of the sources that you used in your literature review, main section, and theory section.
This
must
be in official ASA format
(
see the link listed above).
Point Breakdown by Section
Introduction (5)
Literature Review (10)
Main Section (5)
Theory (
10)
Conclusion & Reference Page
(5)
Topics (choose one)
The
“
obesity epidemic
”
and
“
fat rights
”
movement in the United States
Female
genital cutting (either in a global setting or within a specific country/region)
joyce
0
