Social Issue on Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration

Term Paper Essay Assignment Rubric
Due by Sunday May 10th by 11:59pm via TurnitIn (20% of final grade)
Sociology 3480: Term Paper Rubric
Length: 4 pages, typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point font (excluding
cover page and bibliography)
Sources: In addition to your text and/or readings, provide at least 3 outside sources. At least two outside sources must be a peer reviewed/academic journal article. Wikipedia, personal blogs, and/or .org’s will not be accepted as valid sources.
Note: Electronic copy must be uploaded to Turnitin link to check for citation accuracy
Study – Gather data online (no less than 3 articles). Characterize the social issue you chose for yourself and show how it fits what is given and said about that topic in news/media. How is this different than what we have been reading in our text? Cite comparisons.
Consider the social topic you chose relative to course material and answer the following questions in essay format to summarize your findings.
In general, you should address the following questions in your essay:
What is your social topic?
What are some of the specific areas discussed in your social topic?
What are the different perspectives/opposing viewpoints?
How do most people get their information on your given social topic?
How is it different than you imagined, than what you read about?
What past research has been done on your topic?
Which solutions have worked, what haven’t? (investigate: read articles and refer to your text)
What new or unresolved issues/concerns have developed?
What did you learn by doing this paper?
(Again, use these questions to guide the general direction of your essay. Do not answer these questions individually).
Criteria for Grading:
Incorporation of sociological concepts
References (at least 1 scholarly articles, 2 newspaper/online articles) Correct format of In-text citation, reference page
Proofreading, no typos/grammatical errors
Well-structured and Organized paper
Originality

Research Paper Format and Citation Guide
When you turn in your paper:
1. Be sure to number your pages.
2. Include a separate cover sheet: (1) your name; (2) the social topic that you are
analyzing; (3) your paper title; (4) the current date. You should not include this information in a header for your paper.
3. Provide a bibliography for your paper using the format provided.
Hints and directions:
1. All papers should have an overall argument that is clearly stated in both the introduction and conclusion of the paper and which you develop in the body of your paper. If you can’t answer: “What’s the point of the paper?” in one or two sentences, you still have work to do. In this case, the main point of your paper is your critical evaluation of the author/s arguments. Although you do not need to layout each and every single author’s argument and discuss it, the discussion should relate to and provide the foundation for your evaluation of your analysis. You should not just evaluate the authors in one paragraph or in the conclusion. You must provide reasons for your evaluation of the author and cite evidence; don’t just state your opinion of the author.
2. You should cite all the material you use: Note that you should only cite lecture when it introduced an idea that is not already discussed in the readings.
How to cite in-text a passage that you summarize:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (Author’s last name Year of Publication: page numbers).
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (Blumer 1969: 72-76).
How to use a short quote from the reading: “XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX” (Blumer 1969: 77).
How to use a long quote (three lines or more):
Indent and single-space the quote; quote marks are not necessary:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (Blumer 1969: 77)
Note: After you use a quote, you need to explain what it means.
Recommendation: I strongly recommend writing at least two drafts of this paper. You should “pump out” your first draft, getting a lot of ideas down on paper. Don’t worry about getting it right the first time (no one does). Pick out your best ideas and organize them well in your second draft. It is often very helpful to write an outline of your paper before writing your first or second draft so that your paper is organized and flows well.

Bibliography Page Guide:
Title this page References. List your sources in alphabetical order by author’s
name. Follow these examples for proper citation of sources.
Book Chapter:
Staples, Lee. 1984. “The Boston Model: A Success Story?” Pp. 55-62 in Community Organizers, Second Edition, edited by Joan Ecklein. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Journal Article:
Piven, Frances Fox and Richard Cloward. 1977. “Dilemmas of Organization Building: The Case of Welfare Rights.” Radical America. 11 (5): 39-61.
Book:
Horowitz, Ruth. 1995. Teen Mothers: Citizens or Dependents. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press.
Internet article:
Wu, Michael. 1999. “In the Midst of Reform: Hawaii in 1997.” Assessing the New Federalism Discussion Paper 99-03. Assessing the New Federalism Project, Urban Institute. http://www.urban.org
Newspaper article:
Oliver, Pamela. 2001. “Welfare Warriors celebrate eviction of Goodwill’s Employment Solutions from W-2 gold mines.” The New York Times, April 23, A3.
Magazine article:
Jana, Reena. 2000. “Preventing culture clashes – As the IT workforce grows more diverse, managers must improve awareness without creating inconsistency.” InfoWorld, April 24, pp. 95.
Personal interview:
Smith, Donna. 2009. Personal interview with author. Riverside, CA, February 19.