Religion
Writing Assignment
In this module, you will work on your writing assignment. The paper should be logically organized in well-constructed paragraphs/sentences, have relevant content, and be easily understood. There should be few or no errors in format, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. However, these errors should not hinder comprehension of your writing.
Details are below. After reading through the instructions, you can click on the arrow to the next page to submit your paper.
Sociological Perspectives
Write a 3–4-page sociological analysis on a topic you presented in class. The case relates to the textbook and should be used as a reference:
• Gun violence (Chapter 7)
• Covid-19 and the digital divide in education (Chapter 8)
• Abortion (Chapter 12)
• Religion (Chapter 15)
• Student debt (Chapter 16)
• Politics in the United States (Chapter 17)
• Work and the Economy ((Chapter 18)
• Aging and the Elderly (Chapter 13)
• The Environment (Chapter 20)
The sociological analysis must start from a newspaper article or magazine online or in print. Find a news article that relates to your topic.
The article must be from a significant source, such as The Washington Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, The Root, NPR, and Al Jazeera, among others.
Read the instructions carefully:
II Background (1/2 page):
• Write a brief introduction to the newspaper’s article. What is it about?
• Discuss who wrote the article? Credentials of the author. Why are you interested in this article?
• Give an overview of why you think this article is related to sociology. Use the textbook as a reference.
• Ensure you include a well-developed topic statement that informs the reader in one sentence about your paper. The topic should be placed at the end of the Background section. Go to this link for assistance:
http://writingcenter.unc.edu/resources/handouts-demos/writing-the-paper/thesis-statements.
III Assessment (2-3 pages):
This is the core of your paper. Make sure this section is very well-developed, well-organized, and well-written since your grade depends mainly on your sociological analysis of the article.
1 The sociological analysis.
Addressed all the following questions (write in 2-3 paragraphs):
• Why is this problem considered a “social problem”?
• When, how, and where did the problem originate?
• What are other social problems related to this problem?
• What groups are affected by it?
• Who benefits (or stands to gain) from the problem?
• Who is hurt by it?
• What can be done about it?
2. Facts on the social problem.
Discuss an article from a sociological journal to support the facts on this topic. It would help if you found an article journal that relates to your case. Search the journal at MC Library.
3. The theoretical perspective.
What theoretical perspective do you think best explains your topic? Give examples from the news article of how the theoretical perspective helps you understand the topic/issue.
4. You are sharing your mini-research of your community.
Discuss your own research/sampling on the topic. You need to conduct an interview (at least 3-5 respondents/subjects) about the issue. Explain your findings. Your questions should be framed by the theoretical perspective that you chose. The questions could be in the form of surveys or in-depth interviews.
Note: Include the interview questions and answers (as attachments) in your paper.
IV Conclusion (1/2 page):
Include an engaging and stimulating conclusion paragraph that summarizes your paper. Demonstrate evidence that you can make connections between all of the main ideas. Give your own opinion about this topic.
Citations
By the Montgomery College Code of Conduct, there is ZERO tolerance for plagiarism, so always cite the source if you are “borrowing” information. If you are citing sources, there must always be in-text citations and a list of “References” in APA style. Sources must be in alphabetical order in the list of “References.” For assistance on APA style, refer to these websites:
http://libguides.montgomerycollege.edu/apa
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/.