Women, Race and Class

Writing Project:

Papers are to be submitted on-line in Canvas on or before the due date; How do I submit an online assignment? (Links to an external site.).  Papers are to be a minimum of four pages in length.

General writing assignment guidelines for typed essays:

1. Always identify by your full name, course number, and date at the upper left hand corner of the front page.
2. Use double spacing, title and label each section of your paper.
3. Do not include a cover sheet or any form of binder for type-written papers.
4. Proofread your document thoroughly. Make sure to read through your document prior to submitting it. Ask yourself for each sentence, “Does this sentence make sense?”
5. If you paraphrase you must include an in-text citation, even if you do not directly quote (include author(s), page #; use APA, ASA, or MLA style for citations.). Students can be accused of plagiarism if they do not cite the authors and/or if they try to pass other peoples’ ideas off as their own. Try to get used to using citations and references in your writing as this is a crucial skill for success in college writing (note: Use the authors of our textbook unless you go to the original source).

Points will be deducted from assignments for failing to follow these guidelines.

You are to critically and sociologically analyze your book based upon the following guidelines:

1. State the main issue or problem the author is focusing on in this book.
2. What is the main purpose of the book?  Why did the author write the book?
3. State clearly the information being used by the author and its relationship to the main issue.
4. What are the conclusion(s) being drawn by the author?  Utilize the three sociological perspectives:  functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism as a basis for drawing your conclusions.  Give at least one example of each perspective.
5. What are the implications of the conclusion(s)?  Do they make sense?
6. What are the main concepts being used in the book which relate to the main issue?
7. What is the point of view of the author?
8. What are the author’s assumptions?
9. Once you have clearly established the author’s logic as detailed in one through eight above, add the following to your paper:
10. Discuss the significance of the issue that is the focus of the book. Why is it important? On what do you base your assertions regarding its significance?
11. What potential problems do you see in the author’s reasoning? What potential problems are there with the author’s use of information? Does the information used appear relevant, significant, valid, and sufficient for the conclusions being drawn? Do you have enough information to determine whether the information is relevant, significant, valid?
12. What point of view is ignored by this author, or has not been considered in dealing with the issue?
13. Point out at least two fallacies used by the author.  Refer to the list of fallacies under Pages in Canvas.
14. Point out an example of deductive and inductive reasoning by the author.

Remember this is not a book report but rather a critical and sociological analysis of your book utilizing the guidelines outlined above.

Grading:  your paper will be graded using the following guidelines:  Stating clearly the theme of the book as outlined in 1 and 2 above (10 points); following guidelines # 3 and #4 (5 points for each sociological theory for a total of 15 points); answering the questions as outlined in #5 thru 8 (20 points); answering the questions posed in # 10 (10 points); and following the critical analysis of your book as detailed in #s 11 thru 14 (40 points); and 5 points for your summary and overall appearance (length, grammar, spelling, and organization). Total =100 points.

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