Discussion: Education and Sociology  Essay

Discussion: Education and Sociology  Essay

Discussion: Education and Sociology  Essay

Choose one of the following topics and answer the following questions in the format provided below. Your final paper should be a minimum of 3-4 pages in length, using a 12-point font, and double-spaced. Failure to adhere to formatting standards may result in a deduction of points from the final grade. You are required to use material from the textbook and one additional academic source. When citing your sources, you must use MLA or APA format, and you must include a “Works Cited” or “References” page. This assignment is worth 40 points.

TOPICS LIST:

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
EDUCATION
MASS MEDIA
FAMILY
INTRODUCTORY SECTION:

Identify your chosen topic, and discuss your decision.

THEORETICAL SECTION:

STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM: Describe how this topic may be viewed via the structural functionalist perspective. Include an overview of the theory, its key focus, and how it can be applied to your topic. Conclude with a list of basic questions a theorist from that perspective would ask about your chosen topic.

SOCIAL CONFLICT: Describe how this topic may be viewed via the social conflict perspective. Include an overview of the theory, its key focus, and how it can beapplied to your topic. Conclude with a list of basic questions a theorist from that perspective would ask about your chosen topic.

SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONIST: Describe how this topic may be viewed via the symbolic interactionist perspective. Include an overview of the theory, its key focus, and how it can be applied to your topic. Conclude with a list of basic questions a theorist from that perspective would ask about your chosen topic.

CRITICAL THINKING ANALYSIS:

In this section, I am looking for you to explicitly illustrate an ability to select and use information appropriately to investigate a point of view or conclusion.

Conclude your paper by doing one of two things:

A) Make the case for the “best” theory to explain your chosen topic (you will choose and have to be able to justify this choice by using information appropriately)

Or

B) Make the argument that your topic is best understood by using multiple theoretical lenses (again, you have to be able to justify this choice by using information appropriately.

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.