Paper suggestions

Some people asked me how to write their next paper. The best thing everyone can do is to focus on a main point. State that main point at the begining of the paper in the first paragraph and throughout the entire paper in each paragraph, support that point by using the readings. The textbook will give precision to your language by helping you to name concepts in a sociological way. So instead of speaking the way laymen do about who people are in society and their social experiences, you will be and sound sophisticated! Finally, conclude your paper with a paragraph telling me what you have discussed throughout the body and reiterate the main point from the first paragraph.

Always cite throughout the paper with the author's last name and page number. After your final paragraph you will include References: to be cited in ASA style. Here's a link. http://www.calstatela.edu/library/bi/rsalina/asa.styleguide.html

Most of the papers I got were pretty good rough drafts. I say that becuase the main point/argument was somewhere lodged in the paper, sometimes at the end, sometimes in the middle. A good final copy will drag that main point/argument up into the first paragraph, and you will use the readings to support your main point/ argument. For example, if your main point/ argument is that most people lack the sociological imagination, I expect you to provide evidence from at least 4-5 readings for that point/ argument. You could use the "Teenage Suicide" reading to say that the people in the community lacked a soc imag and therefore mislabeled the teens and their deaths; that some minorities with eating disorders fail to understand their problem with bulimia and anorexia is shared by other women who suffered from sexism, racism, poverty, etc, and that even scientists have failed to make the connection between eating disorders of individual women and those larger social problems and thus lack a sociological imagination . I'm just giving you examples.

A word about improving the answers to the questions papers. Take the same approach as above, except first, answer the question correctly and succinctly in a sentence or two. Then, in the same paragraph, support your reply with information from the reading. You may directly quote if its a really wonderful passage. Otherwise, just explain to me in your own words how the reading argues the point being asked, and cite the page number that that particular evidence came from. Some people's answers contain only very short replies that don't explain anything. Pretend that I've never read the reading. Some answers don't contain the exact right answer, or only part of it. Some answers are only quotes, which on their own don't tell me if you understood either the question or the quote. Let's raise our standards.

I'm a littl behind on returning your papers, but you will have them back shortly and certainly before the midterm.