Sociology 211
Social Problems
Presession 2002
Dr. Scott SchafferSecond Paper Assignment - Evaluating Solutions to Sociological Problems
Due Date: Tues May 28/2002 at the start of class. No late papers will be accepted without a compelling reason and convincing documentation. Should you be unable to make it to class on this day, you must email your paper to me as a Microsoft Word attachment prior to the start of class.
The Rules of the Game: This paper must be a minimum of three (3) full and complete pages in length. There is no maximum length for this paper, so you should write until you've completely answered the question. Your paper must be typewritten, double-spaced, on 8 1/2" by 11" paper. Your paper must have a cover page, on which a creative title ("Second Paper Assignment" is simply not creative enough), your name, and any other pertinent information should appear; your name should not appear anywhere else in the paper.
Your paper must be spell- and grammar-checked; papers that have copious errors will automatically lose one full letter grade. Receiving two "spelling and grammar" deductions during the course will translate into a zero (0) on the second assignment and any further assignments after that. You should follow all guidelines in the "How to Write a Schaffer Paper" handout; these guidelines will serve as the basis for my evaluation of your work. And finally, no direct quotations are permitted in this paper; any materials you use to support your argument must be paraphrased and cited following to guidelines in the paper-writing handout.
The Assignment: You should write a well-argued paper that answers the following question:
To what extent do you think that we should work to learn lessons from other societies in the handling of their sociological problems, and why?
In order to successfully and completely respond to this question, be sure to do the following:
Outline the solutions that American society has developed to two sociological problems, making sure to detail exactly what sociological problem is being solved by an American social practice;
Outline the ways in which these solutions to sociological problems have created particular social problems, making sure to utilize a total of at least three articles from the Heiner book in support of your analysis;
Show how other societies have developed their own solutions to these sociological problems or how the use of American solutions have created social problems in other societies;
Compare the American and non-American solutions to these sociological problems, making sure to show which ones you think are better as well as the criteria by which you're making this evaluation;
Then, utilize all of this to develop a clear and direct response to the question posed above.
An outline for this paper appears on the back; it's there solely for your guidance and to simplify the structure of the paper so that you can focus on the analyses and argumentation.
Happy writing.
Outline
I. Introductory paragraph (written after the paper's been completed)
A. Attention-grabbing statement
B. Thesis statement: "In this paper, I will argue that I think/do not think we should work to learn solutions from other societies in solving our sociological problems, because ..."
C. Path statement: "In order to do this, I will first... then ... then... ."
II. Solutions to sociological problem 1
A. Statement of sociological problem
B. How US solves this sociological problem through a particular social practice
C. How this solution to sociological problem creates a particular social problem (using evidence from Heiner reader)
D. How another society has solved this sociological problem or how another society has dealt with using our solution to this sociological problem
E. Mobilization of evidence
III. Solutions to sociological problem 2 (repeat of section II)
IV. Comparison of solutions to sociological problems
A. Statement as to which solution to sociological problem (American/non-American) is better
B. Criteria by which you're making this evaluation - how it is that you're recognizing that one solution is better than the other
C. Evidence supporting your claim that one is better than another based on your criteria
V. Closure paragraph
A. Clear/direct response to The Big Question
B. Summation of evidence discussed in the paper that supports your response to TBQ
C. "Extension" statement - what knowing this helps us to do, why we should care about this, etc.