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Sociology 322: Minorities in the |
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This course requires that you write two 6-9 page papers on course-relevant topics of your choice (I will
provide a list of topics for you to select from). You also have an option to replace either
or both of the papers with a project which must be approved by me in
advance. The papers will comprise 20 percent of your grade. I am asking for a proposal in advance of
each paper. Each of them will be no
longer than two paragraphs that describe what you intend to do. The proposals will also provide five
citations of source material that your paper will use. The purpose of each proposal is to get you
thinking about your papers in advance.
Here are some guidelines to
follow when you write your papers: 1. What
do I mean by an original paper?
It's simple: BE SURE THAT THE WORK IS YOUR OWN! DO NOT FAIL TO
GIVE CREDIT WHERE IT IS DUE! IF YOU
QUOTE SOMETHING OR SOMEONE, GIVE THE FULL CITATION! IF YOU PARAPHRASE
SOMETHING, AGAIN, BE SURE TO CITE THE SOURCE! I am very serious about this. Your paper might be
entirely comprised of different quotations citing what various
"authorities" have to say about the topic you select. Such a
paper's grade will be low because it lacks your own informed commentary, but
I'll give you credit for doing all the library research. If I find evidence of plagiarism, I will consider it an
honor violation, and act accordingly.
An honor violation will result in an “F” in this course. I want you to consult sources when you write
your papers but most importantly, you must give credit where it is
due. I am available via the internet to answer any questions that you may
have about citing sources when you are writing your paper.
Consider your paper to be pledged work-- You may certainly consult
with others in writing the paper and you may incorporate their ideas in it
but remember, you must specify exactly what outside assistance you received. 2. What format are the
papers to be written in? You will
be submitting your papers through Blackboard.
Use MS Word. If it is
impossible for you to do this, be sure to save a copy of your paper in rich
text format (.rtf) and then submit that copy to me. A detailed set of instructions on how to
cite sources is posted on Blackboard. 3. How should you organize
your papers? Most of your
professors probably read at least a hundred papers each semester. Therefore its
important to write as clearly and concisely as you can, without typos or
grammatical errors. a.
It helps tremendously if you do the following in the first paragraph
of your paper: i. Begin by stating your paper’s topic as
clearly as you can: e.g. "This paper will attempt to answer the question.
‘Was race a factor in the effectiveness and promptness of disaster response
by federal and state agencies after Hurricane Katrina struck ii. Tell the reader why the topic is important. Why should s/he spend her/his time reading about it? iii. Tell how the paper is organized: What will it do, point-by-point? What does it hope to conclude about the subject that has been selected? b. Once you've done this, continue your paper. I suggest that you use section headings frequently in the body of the paper. This helps the reader by focusing attention on what is to be discussed. c. At the end of your paper, state your conclusion clearly and briefly review for the reader what you've done. Also, this is the time to discuss the implications of what you've learned from writing the paper, (if such discussion is pertinent). 4. What topics should you select for your
papers? I will provide a list,
but you do have some leeway to create a topic of your own. But you must provide a brief description of
it in a proposal. I'll be glad to help
you develop your ideas. 5. When
are these assignments due? The
syllabus lists due dates for the proposals and papers. |
