Introduction Paragraph: This will include basic demographic information about me. a “lead-in” for the reader about the paper assignment and what you will be discussing. The last sentence in the introduction paragraph should specifically state the FIVE topic-focused paragraphs that will be discussed in the next five sections of the paper, for example: socialization, culture, stratification by income/wealth/poverty, stratification by race/ethnicity, and marriage/family. The five themes should be bold or underlined.
2) FIVE Topic-Focused Paragraphs: These are the main topics/themes you can choose from as most relevant to you, for the five topic-focused paragraphs: culture, social interaction, socialization, deviance/crime, stratification by income/wealth/poverty, race/ethnicity, sex/gender, marriage/family, and education.
An example for one body paragraph could be socialization. Within this topic paragraph, you must include 5 relevant terms and concepts (i.e. significant others, gender socialization, peer groups, agents of socialization, social learning theory) to connect to your life. The 5 terms/concepts you use in one paragraph cannot be reused to count for credit in another paragraph in your paper.
You must also incorporate each of the 3 main sociological theories at least once somewhere within your 5 topic paragraphs (these 3 applications of sociological theory do not count toward the 5 required terms/concepts within each of your topic paragraphs; these count as separate points in the grading rubric). Underline or bold all terms or theories. Describe, explain, and predict the cause and effect relationships of the situations/ideas you include. How do these past events affect your future? Make sure that you are demonstrating your skills of analysis, application, and synthesis for each topic. Some theories and concepts may be interwoven in other sections, but make sure you are utilizing specific terms that were discussed from that section.
3) Conclusion Paragraph: Sum up my paper with the topics/themes you chose to analyze; show your knowledge of the materials through synthesis/connection and the cause and effect relationships of a few major events and themes you described throughout the paper; how does all of this affect me now and my future; what are my future plans?
