I. Introductory Comments

II. Career Goals/Future Education Plans

A. Your career plans (or "what you want to be when you grow up...") and why you've chosen that profession

B. How you understand the requirements of that career - job description, skills needed for job, emotional requirements of the job

III. Review of past courses

A. Brief discussion of classes you've taken so far - you don't have to include a full list, but you should mention the classes you've taken

B. How those classes have prepared you to meet the job description, given you skill sets for the profession

IV. Plans for future courses/education plans (including education abroad, internships, co-ops, etc.)

A. What courses or other educational opportunities you plan on taking

B. How you believe those courses/opportunities will add to the preparation you've already had (new skills, thought processes, analytic abilities, etc.)

V. Closing remarks

 

Remember:

-- Your essay should be about two full and complete pages in length. Don't just write two pages on this stuff; really think about what it is you've done here, what it is you want to do with your life, and how you're going to achieve that as a Sociology major. And make sure that your essay is complete - write until you're done.

-- The key with regard to sections III and IV of the essay is to think big. Don't just say "I've taken criminology courses, so I'm qualified to be a parole officer." Think about the other things you've gained - academic training, analytic tools or methods, the ability to write good quality papers, to think critically... When thinking about how your courses have prepared you for a career for the review, you should look up a couple of job descriptions for what you want to go into and think about how your coursework has prepared you to meet these requirements. Some links to job search sites (with job qualifications, position requirements, etc.) are on the Sociology/Anthropology department web site or the MU Career Services site; you can also look through monster.com and other search engines. As we find more, they'll be posted to the SOC/ANTH web site.

-- Your essay needs to reflect your commitment to doing well in the major, so it needs to be professionally presented. That means proofreading it, spell- and grammar-checking it, and making sure that you've written a complete essay. Poorly edited submissions will be returned for editing before we have the official review.

-- This essay will serve as the basis of the discussion we'll have about your career plans, future courses, etc., so you want it to be well-thought and have a sense of the direction you want to head in. If you have multiple options, that's great - just make sure that you discuss these options in your essay.