In this assignment, you will summarize a contemporary issue from the perspective of the popular press and from sociology. Your assignment will provide a summary of the important details related to the issue and will compare and contrast the issue as presented in the two articles. The issue should chosen from the list of contemporary education issues below.
Your tasks are, first, to summarize each piece. To do this, you must demonstrate to the reader (an academic reader) that you can succinctly give an overview of the main argument(s), purpose, and evidence. Second, you must compare and contrast the two readings. This will involve discussing the similarities and differences between the two pieces and, importantly, indicating to the reader that you understand a sociological interpretation of the contemporary issue. In other words: what is the sociology contained in the scholarly article?
Remember: you are choosing one topic (see below); reading only those two readings associated with the topic you’ve chosen; using only those readings and no other material in your assignment, with the exception of course content (only as you see fit).
I strongly encourage you to make use of the rubric associated with this assignment. It is available on Quercus. It is another indicator—in addition to this document—of what you should be writing about.
Format:
• You do not need to write an introduction or conclusion for this assignment.
• Times New Roman, 12 pt font, 1 inch margins all around, double-spaced
• 700-800 words
• Suggested organization: use sub-headings to organize your work by article
• Do not provide a cover page; in the top left corner of your first page, indicate your name, student number, and word count
• The title of your paper should include the name of your contemporary issue
• In order to address the sociological perspective, please be clear and specific. For example: “The sociological perspective of this article is ….”
• You are required to include a References page and include in-text citations for quotes and paraphrasing. For help, click on “Lib guide for SOC224” under Pages on Quercus, and follow the link to the “ASA Style Guide.”
