AMERICAN SOCIAL PROBLEMS

PAPER AND PRESENTATION ASSIGNMENT

This assignment will have you engaging in the activities required of professional sociologists. Specifically, you will interpret a social problem from the sociological perspective and suggest policies for managing/reducing the negative consequences of this social problem.

Directions Select a social problem from your textbook (THINK: Carl 2013 Social Problems) that you are interested in writing about. The topic you select can address either a general (e.g., “family violence”) or specific (e.g., “child abuse”) topic… Find 2 articles from the popular press (newspapers, magazines, web pages) and 2 articles from a social science journal. Write a brief review of each of the four articles.  That is, in your own words, summarize each article’s main points.  For the articles in social science journals you will focus primarily on the abstract, introduction, and conclusions/discussion. Select one of the sociological perspectives: functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, or either version of feminist theory. Interpret the social problem from this perspective. Your interpretation should reflect what you have learned from your four readings.   Be specific in your interpretation about what you learned from each reading. Also, be specific about which sociological perspective you are using in your paper (e.g., “I will use conflict theory to explain….”). Suggest a social policy to mitigate the negative consequences of the social problem. You do not need to attach copies of your four articles to your papers. Be certain, however, to provide full citations to them. The paper should be minimum 4-5 pages in length (see: Writing Instructions ). Students are not allowed to share work with one another. Each paper should be unique. Please refer to the Writing Instructions for information about how to write your paper.

Please follow these instructions carefully. Points will be deducted from your written assignment for failure to do so.

Writing Instructions The paper should be minimum 4-5 pages in length, typed, double-spaced. The paper should have 1″ margins all around. The type font should be Times New Roman, size 12.

·       All pages should be numbered. The references should be listed on a separate page from the text. Because this assignment asks for your personal interpretation/opinions, feel free to use the pronouns “I” and “me.”

Grading

Each criterion below is worth 25 points, for a possible total of 100 points:

Quality of Writing                  

Summary of Articles

Sociological Perspective

Suggested Policy

Suggestions for Organizing Your Paper Begin with an introductory paragraph that describes the social problem and why it is important.

Example:  Family violence is a major social problem in the U.S. because … Summarize the information of each article in a few paragraphs.

Example: John Doe found in his study of family violence that …
Example:  Child abuse has long-term effects on children, reported The SunSentinel … Use a few paragraphs to interpret the social problem from a sociological perspective.

Example: I will use conflict theory to explain family violence as … Suggest a social policy to mitigate the negative consequences of your social problem in a couple paragraphs.

Example: The implementation of (blank social policy) can greatly reduce family violence by … End with a conclusion paragraph that summarizes what you wrote.

Example: Although family violence is a problem faced by many Americans, research indicates that implementing (blank social policy) could significantly reduce child abuse by …

Citations and References

Use this style for citations placed within the text: For one or two authors use all names. Doe (2014) found that…. A recent study (Doe 2014) suggests that…

  For more than two authors, use the name of the first author and “et al.” Smith et al. (2014) found that…. A recent study (Smith et al., 2014) suggests that…

Use this style for references on last page of paper : Doe, P. and H. Macy. This Is a Book. Ames, IA: Vanity Press. Smith, I.M., S.G. Sapp, P.F. Korsching, and U.R. Miggs. 2010. This is a research article in a magazine or journal. Name of Journal, 10: 23-46. [The first number is the volume, followed by the page numbers.] Bailey, P., 2009. This is a chapter in a book. Pp. 132-167 in, Smith, I.M., Title of the Book. New York, NY: Free Press. Bailey, P. 2003. This is an article posted on a web site. Title or Name of the Web Site. http://www.webpage.html.

Please be careful to avoid plagiarism . Direct quotations should be placed in quotation marks. All text that paraphrases the work of someone else should list the source as a citation. Students should not share their papers with other students. Each paper should be unique.

*****Your paper is due Thurs June 14th in the beginning of our class period.  Please bring the hard copy to class.  Also, please email me your paper no later than Thurs June 16.

Your class presentation will take place Tuesday June 21.  During your 10 min presentation you will discuss your paper with the class.  Please speak with me and your classmates in a conversational way; points will be deducted if you simply read from your paper.*****