Sample 1:

Assignment 2, Stratification

The implications for sociological analysis are endless when one opens the morning newspaper or flips through a popular magazine. This assignment is meant to get you thinking about how sociological analysis can add insight to everyday situations and our comprehension of current events. It will allow you to better appreciate the day to day applications and potential of sociology and recognize how useful some of the sociological concepts we’ve been learning in class may be to help better understand the world around us.

You will be expected to hand in a short (2-4 page) paper in which you use a sociological theory and applicable information from a chapter in your textbook in order to analyze the way by which an article in the popular media presents an example of social stratification. Because there are multiple ways by which we can be stratified, you should choose one of the following broad topics below:

Choose one of the topics listed above and find a popular media article (newspaper, magazine, pamphlet, etc.) that relates to your corresponding topic.
The article you choose should be way by which we are stratified. It should NOT be a discussion of either stratification or one of the topics above in a general/broad sense. I would be more than happy to take a quick look at the article (before the due date for the assignment) in order to make sure that it is appropriate. News stories or newsmagazine articles that describe an event or are a narrative work best. Please do not choose an opinion piece.
I DO NOT want you to find an article from a peer reviewed (academic) journal. Your article should be something that is easily found and read in our everyday lives. I would prefer that you use print (as opposed to online) sources, but using something online is fine, as long as you would be able to find it on a newsstand. I recommend that you check with me before you begin your assignment if you have found an article from an online source.
After finding your article, you will write a 2-4 page paper in which you analyze it using one of the following theories: symbolic interactionism. conflict theories, or functionalism. You should use either information from the chapter that corresponds to your topic and/or chapter 1 to demonstrate in your paper that you understand the theory and can apply it to help better understand the information in your article. The best papers will use one of the major sociological theories about which we have spent the semester discussing to answer the “why’ or “wha€’ behind your article.
In addition to a theory, you will also choose, describe, and apply one concept from the chapter that corresponds to your topic.
For both the theory and the concept, make sure to bold or underline the terms you are using.
Although you are discouraged from using any source other than your textbook and your article, if you do, you MUST cite.
Your paper should include the following:
an introductory section/paragraph in which you briefly encapsulate what you will be discussing in the paper; you should say very specifically the main idea of your article, what concept and theory you will use, and how you will apply these terms to your article.
a section (approximately 1-3 paragraphs) in which you briefly summarize what is discussed in the article (remember that you MUST cite when you summarize, paraphrase, and quote);
the bulk of the paper should be dedicated to discussing the (symbolic interactionism, conflict theories, OR functionalism) AND concept (from the associated chapter) you will be using and applying those terms to your article in order to reach a deeper level of understanding of the information presented in your popular media source.
In this section, you must show a clear understanding of whatever concept or theory you’re using by very clearly defining/explaining the information from your textbook. You want to be sure to give your article context by laying a clear theoretical or conceptual foundation.

Using information from your chapter, you should be able to say something interesting and insightful about your article that may not necessarily have been apparent at first read of the popular news article. The information in your text should help you to answer “why is this situation so” in a way that goes beyond the information given in your popular article. Spend time really digging into the article through the use of your theoretical or conceptual framework.

Some possible questions to consider while writing the paper include: How can sociological information add insight to the information presented in the article?; Do you have a new or different understanding of the information in the article based on the information provided in your textbook?; Is the presentation of your article consistent with the information provided in your book?
finally, a conclusion in which you summarize if/how sociological knowledge has helped you to better understand the information in the popular news story that you chose. State specifically what insight you think you were able to gain by applying sociological concepts/theories to something you may read in your “everyday” life.

General Requirements:

Make sure Co include the article with your paper@r a readable photocopy of it). Your paper will not be counted as complete unless I have received a copy of the article about which you are writing.
You need to include a references section in which you cite your popular media article and your textbook The “references” section in the back of your text book gives you a good guideline to follow regarding how to cite appropriately. Please ask if you would like some guidance on citation procedures. (You will lose points on your paper if you do not cite the information you use and include a references page!)
The paper should be typed, 12-point font, double spaced. Although I recommend that your paper be between 2-4 pages, I am more interested in quality than quantity.
You must hand in your assignment on the date listed above. Late papers are highly discouraged and will receive points off for each day they are late.
I will also NOT accept papers via e-mail (unless you receive prior written/e-mailed permission from me ahead of time). Do not e-mail me your assignment and expect it to be counted.
The synthesis of the information in your book and the article should be your own. original work. If you use any outside information, including from the text book and the article, you must cite accordingly! I take plagiarism very seriously. If you have plagiarized any portion of your paper it is grounds for failing the course and may lead to further sanctions.
Read, re-read, and re-read. Make sure that you have proofread your paper! Pay particular attention to spelling and grammar. Use this paper as a way to practice getting your writing very clear and concise.

Please come to see me with any questions that you may have about the assignment including appropriate articles, synthesis of the information in the text with the information in the article, writing issues, or anything else about which you may need help or clarification. I will absolutely welcome the opportunity to get to know you better and help you to make the most out of this writing exercise.

Hopefully, this assignment will give you the chance to see how Sociology is relevant in our everyday lives. Be as creative as possible in choosing your articles; the more interesting the article, the easier it will be for you to engage the material. Enjoy!

APPENDIX 1 (Section 5a): SAMPLE SIGNATURE ASSIGNMENTS (cont):

Sample 2:

Assignment 1, Culture Shock Analysis

SOCY 100: Introduction to Sociology

Due: Sundap, June 12, (by 11:59 p.m.)

In just about any circumstance in life, one has the potential to experience culture shock, either on a small or large scale. Think about a culture shock scenario that you had at any point in your life. Examples of culture shock that are appropriate for this assignment can include migrating to a new country, going on vacation, trying a new cuisine, converting to a new religion, or going to college, just to name a few. Sociologically analyze your culture shock experience by incorporating several sociological concepts/theories from Chapters 1, 3, and/or 4. Write a 2-4 page paper by following the outline below.

Background:

Briefly explain one culture shock experience you had. Include the setting, people involved, and main event(s). Include enough details so the reader can vividly imagine what is happening.

Il. Analysis: In this section you will be applying sociological concepts in order to reach a deeper level of understanding of your experience(s). Make sure this section is very welldeveloped, well-organized, and well-written since your grade depends mainly on your sociological analysis of the culture shock experience.

Analyze your culture shock experience by using at least four sociological concepts/ theories learned from Chapters 1, 3, and/or 4. For each concept/theory, you will need to demonstrate that you understand the concept/theory and provide appropriate examples of your culture shock in order to illustrate that you can use the course material to reach a greater depth of understanding. Concepts/theories

must be bolded or underlined in your paper, or they will not be counted in the quota.

The best papers will be those that choose concepts about which you can say something interesting and insightful about your experience with culture shock by looking at it through that particular conceptual/theoretical/sociological lens.

In addition, examine the outcomes of your culture shock. What was your reaction to this experience? Were you ethnocentric or culturally relativistic, and how? Also, why you were ethnocentric or culturally relativistic? Be sure to apply your sociological imagination when responding to these questions. Include specific examples or illustrations.
Concepts/theories MUST be from Chapters 1, 3, and/or 4 from your textbook.
Include an engaging and stimulating conclusion paragraph that summarizes your paper. Demonstrate evidence that you can make connections between all of the main ideas.

A few notes about the assignment:

You should only be using your Textbook for your source. There is no need tQ use other material to complete this assignment. If, however, you do use outside/additional sources, you MUST BE SURE TO CITE. Using the ideas of others without giving the proper credit (citing) is a form of plagiarism which, according to Montgomery College policy, will result in an F for the assignment and perhaps an F for the course.

Remember — every time you use auuinformationfrom another source including your textbook, whetheryou are directly quoting your book, paraphrasing something, or summarizing, you MUST cite both in the text ofyour paper as well as include a references/citation page at the end of your paper!

APA Style is preferred, however if you are more accustomed to MLA, you are welcome to use MLA instead of APA. For help with citation procedures, please check out some of these websites: http://libguides.montgomerycollege.edu/apa http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/. http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pub/integrity/pages/cite/.

Your assignment should be typed, double-spaced, 12-point font. Although the paper should be about 2-4 pages, I care much more about quality than the number of pages.
Please remember to include your last name in the title of your word document, and your full name on the first page of your paper.
You must submit your paper via our Blackboard page by Sunday, June 12, 1 1 p.m. (Attaching your paper as a word document is preferable.) Late papers are highly discouraged; points will be deducted for late papers.
Read, re-read, and re-read. Make sure that you have proofread your paper! Pay particular attention to spelling and grammar. Use this paper as a way to practice getting your writing very clear and concise.

APPENDIX 1 (Section 5a): SAMPLE SIGNATURE ASSIGNMENTS (cont):

Sample 3:

Steve Striffler, a social scientist, conducted participant observation research in a chicken factory in Springdale, Arkansas. The reading below uses some passages from his research. Write an essay (3-4 pages) where you refer to at least four specific sociological concepts and at least one sociological theory to analyze Striffleffs participant observation experience. Be specific in your discussion about why and how these concepts and theories can be applied or used to analyze these particular findings. Be certain to bold or underline the concepts and theories that you use; and provide references.

Read the following summary and passages from:

Striffler, Steve. “Undercover In A Chicken Factory.” In Globalization: The Transformation ofSocial

Worlds, D. Stanley Eitzen and Maxine Baca Zinn, ed. Canada, Thomson Wadsworth, 2006: 98-104.

The author applied for a job at Tyson Foods. The receptionist was quite surprised that he wanted a job on the line in the chicken processing factory.

I can understand her confusion. The secretary and I are the only Americans, the only white folk, and the only English speakers in the room. Spanish predominates, but a couple in the corner converses in Lao and a threesome from the Marshall Islands in a micronesian language. the poultry industry has drawn the “workers of the world” to the American South, a region that saw few foreign immigrants during the 20^th century. . . . Today, about three-quarters of the workers in the plant are Latin American, with Southeast Asians and Marshallese accounting for many of the rest.. . . Most line workers are women, many in their 40’s and 50’s. In a plant where almost two-thirds of the workers

are male, this fact is telling. On-line jobs are the worst in the plant -monotonously, even dangerously, repetitive. . I learn quickly that “unskilled” labor requires immense skill. (pp. 98, 100)

I am to be the harinero, the breading operator. Michael [the supervisor]can’t do the job himself and [tells me to do what Roberto does]. With five years on the job, Roberto can do every task on the line. . but he gives me little formal training. . unlike virtually everyone else in the plant, he is unimpressed that I speak Spanish There have always been two harineros, one for each line. However, Michael . recently decided to run both lines with only one harinero. He [does this] with virtually all the on-linejobs. . This downsizing has been going on throughout the plant. About six months earlier, a generation of supervisors who had mostly come up through the production lines were more or less forced from theirjobs by a new set ofplant managers. The new managers ordered the older supervisors to push the workers harder and harder. Knowing how hard work on the line could be, many supervisors refused by simply leaving the plant. The managers were then free to replace them with younger, college-educated supervisors like Michael. . [Though Michael is] as consumed by the plant as the rest of us . . . . [he] is the focus of our anger [as he] oversees the downsizing. (pp. 100, 101)

Michael’s inexperience led to decisions that made our lives intolerable. . . We believed we could run the lines better. by concentrating decision making in his own hands, Michael removed the very thing — control over the labor process – that gave the harinero job its meaning. . almost all the workers took great pride in jobs that likewise had been largely degraded. (p. 102)

Noise, supervision, and the job’s intensity limit communication on the plantfloor. The break room is a different situation. Twice a shift, for 30 minutes, workers watch Spanish-language television, eat and exchange food, complain, and relax. Supervisors almost never enter the room. (p. 103).

It is in the context of the break room that Roberto and another colleague eventually tell Steve that he is almost Mexican and they also refer to all workers, regardless of national origin, as being Mexican. (p. 103)

APPENDIX 1 (Section 5a): SAMPLE SIGNATURE ASSIGNMENTS (cont):

Sample 4:

Intro to Sociology

Analysis Paper 3: An Interview on the Time Bind Points Possible: 20

For this assignment, you will need to interview someone who is a parent employed full-time. This person may be either a mother or a father, but they need to have primary custody of a dependent child under the age of 18. The person you choose to speak with should be currently employed and needs to have been employed full time for at least one year.

Once you have identified the person you wish to interview, you should contact them, explain that you wish to interview them and what you will be doing this for, and ask them if they would be willing to sit down with you for about 20 minutes to discuss this. You should tell them that you will not disclose their identity to anyone and that you will use a pseudonym (fake name) for them in your assignment. You should also ask their permission to write about them and to quote them. Make sure to ask them if they have any questions. If they agree to be interviewed, you should set up a date and time to conduct this interview.

Once the time arrives for your scheduled interview, you should explain the assignment to the interviewee again, reading the introduction provided below. You should read the questions exactly as they appear. If the interviewee does not provide a detailed enough answer for you, you should probe them for more information. After you have asked all of the questions below, you should ask them if they have anything else they would like to add. If they do not, you should thank them for taking the time to speak to you and you should offer to show them a copy of your finished assignment if they would like to see it.

You should record the interview and then transcribe it into typed text. Do not alter the language or paraphrase. You should differentiate your words from your interviewee’s words by using boldface, italics, a different font, or by labeling them. You can copy and paste the interview questions into a new document and include the interviewee’s answers below them. Completing the interview and writing out the answers will count for half of your grade (10 points) on this assignment. I would expect that your transcript would be no less than 1.5 pages (single-spaced). While you do not need to submit the audio file, please make it available so that if I have questions, we can refer to it.

The other half of your grade for this assignment (10 points) will require you to reflect on what you have learned in your interview. You will write a 2-page paper (double-spaced) where you:

Describe your interviewee, including a brief description of their family life and their workplace, noting what sort of work/family balance they seem to have. Remember to use fake names for the people and workplaces involved to protect your interviewee.
After thinking about the information presented in the Hochschild reading, “The Emotional Geography of Work and Family Life,” on pages 414-427 of the Massey reader, pick one question from the interview where you were able to see parallels between the interviewee’s answers and the research presented by Hochschild. What did you learn? Does this change any of your perceptions of the work/family time bind?
Given what you learned in your interview, do you think that it is possible to revise work and/or family lives to create a healthier work/family balance? If so, how? If not, why not?

This assignment should be typed, using a 12-point font and 1″ margins. Each page should contain your name and subsequent pages should be numbered. You should submit it to the Blackboard Assignment link under Course Content, Module 3 by 1 1 :59PM on June 17.

INTERVIEW SCHEDULE

INTRODUCTION: Hi, how are you doing today? As you know, I am working on a research project for my Intro to Sociology class on the topic of work and parenting. There is no right or wrong answer to these sorts of questions; but, as a full time parent and employee in our society, your views provide me with valuable information on this topic.

In order to make sure that I don’t miss anything that you say during our time together, I will be recording this conversation. If you feel uncomfortable about having the recorder on at any point or if you feel uncomfortable with any question I might ask you, we can stop the interview.

Do you have any questions for me at this point? At any point, if you do have any questions, please feel free to ask. We will begin the interview now. (turn on recorder)

Tell me about where you work and the kind of work that you do.
Would you describe your workplace as family friendly?
Do you ever take work home with you?
1. If so, when do you work on it and how does your family respond?
2. If not, do you think this has any effect on your family life?
What happens when one of your children is sick? How do you manage childcare and work responsibilities?
How do you manage childcare before and after school when there are conflicts in your work and the school schedule?
How do you manage childcare during extended school holidays and summer vacation?
Do you think that your worWfamily balance has any impact on the development of your children?
1. If so, do you think that it is positive or negative?
2. If not, why do you think this is the case?
Are there any specific changes your workplace could implement that would make it easier for you to balance work and family life?
Those are all of the questions that I have. Is there anything else you would like to add?

(turn offrecorder) Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today!

APPENDIX 2 (Section 5c): GRADING STANDARDS

Sociology

General Grading Guidelines

Fall 2016

A: An “A” paper demonstrates a very thorough understanding of the sociological concepts/perspectives and is thoughtfully engaged with the course substance. Students are able to made creative and insightful connections between the course content and past and/or present social phenomena. These papers are exceptionally written, logically organized, free of grammatical and spelling errors, and clearly articulate the main arguments so they are easily understood.

B: A “B” paper contains a number of the strengths of an “A” paper, but often lack the thoughtfulness, originality, and full development of the superior paper. The student has been able to clearly articulate a good understanding of the sociological concepts/ perspectives and makes reasonable connections between the course content and past and/or present phenomena. B papers are well written with only minor organizational, grammatical, or spelling issues.

C: A “C” paper shows an understanding of the assignment and demonstrates some understanding of the sociological concepts/perspectives. The student may begin to make some connections between the course content and past and/or present phenomena, but may lack a depth of understanding of the concepts in order for those connections to be fully developed. These papers are moderately well written, and able to be understood, but may have some organizational, grammatical, or spelling errors.

D: A “D” paper demonstrates a basic understanding of the assignment requirements but may not have all required elements. The student may show a poor understanding of the sociological concepts/perspectives and although attempts may be made to connect the course material to past and/or present social phenomenon, the connections may be superficial or incorrect because of a lack of a full understanding of the course material. “D” papers may contain a number of organizational, grammatical, and spelling issues and may struggle to articulate a clear argument.

F: An “F” paper may not have included all of the assignment requirements and/or did not follow the instructions for the assignment. “F” papers typically show little understanding of the course material and are unable to make connections between the sociological concepts/perspectives and social phenomena. These papers also typically contain many organizational, grammatical, and spelling issues and may be difficult to be understood by the reader.