You are encouraged to talk about this topic with your classmates outside of class or on the study hall forum. You can even read each other’s papers. However, simply copying and editing another person’s paper is considered plagiarism and you will, at a minimum, get a zero on this assignment. Canvas is very good at catching plagiarizers. Please do not attempt.
The day of the first exam
Turn in a copy to Canvas on the day we take exam 1. The instructions for logging on to Canvas can be found here. YOU MUST TURN IN YOUR ASSIGNMENT THROUGH CANVAS, NOT TURNITIN.COM.
This activity is worth 5 percent of your grade.
Any paper that receives a score of 17 or less (out of 20) can be revised and resubmitted. However, the resubmit option can only be used once. And the maximum score possible for a paper that is resubmitted is 18. There is a section on Canvas where you can turn in a resubmission. You will have until the next exam to resubmit. No late resubmissions will be accepted.
Discuss the following:
What is the sociological imagination?
What are personal causes and social causes?
Write a brief story of your life using the sociological imagination. Discuss both personal as well as social causes, focusing on social causes.
Here are some things you might touch on in your essay. You don’t have to cover every point mentioned below. They are prompts to help you think about the social forces that shape your life.
Think about personal causes and social causes of the life that you have now. Think about everyday things like how you sleep, eat, get around, communicate with others. Think about the clothes you wear and the things that you have. Think about how you spend your time: going to school, working, hanging out, and so on. Think about your values, beliefs, and attitudes. Think about your successes and failures. Think about your dreams and goals.
Think about how your life would be different if you were born in a very poor country. (However, your essay should focus on your life, not your hypothetical life if you were born in a very poor country.)
Think about how your life would be different if you were born 100 years ago. (However, your essay should focus on your life, not your hypothetical life if you were born 100 years ago.)
Think about how your life would be different if you were born to parents from a very different social class? If you were born the other gender? If you were born a different race or ethnicity? (Again, your essay should focus on your life, not your hypothetical life.)
In what aspects of your life are personal causes more significant?
In what aspects of your life are social causes more significant?
Here are two examples from previous classes: Example 1, Example 2
20 -- Excellent use of the sociological imagination. Excellent analysis of historical, societal, and cultural features of American society that affected your life. Excellent reference to statistics and research. Includes a works cited page of references (not just links to articles). Is at least two pages double-spaced (at least 600 words, usually substantially more). Is unusually insightful.
19 -- Excellent use of the sociological imagination. Excellent analysis of historical, societal, and cultural features of American society that affected your life. Excellent reference to statistics and research. Includes links to statistics and research. Is at least two pages double-spaced (at least 600 words, usually substantially more).
18 -- Excellent use of the sociological imagination. Excellent analysis of historical, societal, and cultural features of American society that affected your life. Is at least two pages double-spaced (at least 600 words, usually substantially more).
17 -- Very good use of the sociological imagination. Very good analysis of historical, societal, and cultural features of American society that affected your life. Is at least two pages double-spaced (at least 600 words).
16 -- Good use of the sociological imagination. Good analysis of historical, societal, and cultural features of American society that affected your life. Is at least two pages double-spaced (at least 600 words).
15 and below -- Average or inadequate use of the sociological imagination. Average or inadequate analysis of historical, societal, and cultural features of American society that affected your life. Focuses too much or solely on personal or family causes. Is two pages double-spaced or less.
You could have more clearly tied your biography to historical, societal, and cultural features of American society.
Do not just focus on immediate context such as community, friends, and family. Tie your life to historical trends and societal and cultural features of society. Think of our discussion on divorce and poverty as examples.
I would have liked for you to focus more on how your life has been shaped by social and cultural forces.
You needed to apply the sociological imagination to your life. Do not apply the sociological imagination to someone else's life or in abstraction.
How to read my comments after your paper has been graded
Here are instructions on how to see my comments provided by a student:
The best way to view it is to return to the page where the assignment was submitted through TurnItIn, NOT through the Grades link.
So from the main left sidebar I clicked: Assignments -> [name of assignment] -> at bottom of page click box that says 'Load [name of assignment] in new window' , which then opens the TurnItIn submission page. From TurnItIn you can click on the document submitted and the blue boxes will appear. Once you click on the blue box it expands and shows all of the professor's comments.
My comments: If you do not see the blue boxes, click on the blue quickmarks checkbox on the right side at the top. The blue box or boxes embedded in your paper are usually right at the top.
DO NOT COPY AND PASTE OR UPLOAD YOUR ASSIGNMENT INTO THE COMMENTS BOX.