worth 20% of your overall grade in this course. The purpose of this assignment is to have you apply your sociological imagination and to reflect on your own life history by applying concepts and theories that we have learned in the class. The assignment requires you to process and apply the knowledge you have been learning in the course to critically analyze your own life experiences by focusing in on and displaying your personal experiences as they relate to the course content from the topics brought up in Chapters 1: Introduction, Chapters 3: Culture, and Chapters 5: Socialization. Taking a sociological perspective to analyze your life will require you to consider a wide variety of various external social factors that have influenced your life in a profound way. Important points to follow:• First, brainstorm topics or concepts from each of the three chapters above that you would like to discuss in the essay. Then, search for relevant examples from your personal life that highlight these concepts. • You may use one single experience in your life, or one specific story, or select a summary of many experiences or years of your life to highlight different topics; the format is up to you, as long as it highlights your mastery of the course content, is what is important here.• You will be graded on your ability to apply sociological concepts to your own life experiences and explain those connections thoughtfully by using personal examples to explain how the concepts work.• No outside research is permitted for this assignment, it is entirely a personal reflection assignment. You may write about anything within the course materials that interests you, I am not as concerned about the topic, but am grading to see how well you can make critical applications between course content and your own life experiences. • Students will be marked for the overall quality of their writing, clarity, coherence and strength of their content applications, and for the degree to which their essay demonstrates and connects an understanding of the topics they selected from this course. I want to see terms and concepts used in your narrative and explained and broken down in a way that displays your understanding and mastery of these topics.• This is meant to be a fun writing exercise that grounds your academic inquiry in the real world, in our very personal individual life experiences. Please try to have some fun with it and explore sociology in your everyday life! Specific Requirements: • 3 pages • Double Spaced • Size 12 font • Times New Roman font• 1 inch margins all around • Submit in a Word or PDF document • Aim to include around approx. 7-10 sociological concepts, terms or theories from this course in your paper • No title page, just list your name and student number on the top of the first page Grading Rubric: 18-20/20– Response displays exceptional mastery of the course content, applies concepts and terms in an insightful, advanced and thoughtful manner. Essay is well-written in direct and clear language, well-organized and structured, and the response makes exceptional use of examples from their own life and course materials in a thoughtful and analytical manner. 14-17/20– Response displays a solid mastery of subject and strong writing skills. It is organized and incorporates concepts from our course materials, but could be improved with further analytical argumentation and application to ones’ own life. 10-13/20 – Response displays some familiarity with course materials, but significant work is needed in organization, structure, writing style, and overall refinement, content development, clarity of argument and incorporation of course materials. 0-9/20 – Response does not meet the basic guidelines of the assignment. The essay is underdeveloped, written communication needs significant work for clarity, coherence, organization and grammar, and the response fails to incorporate concepts or examples from the course materials into their essay.
