Sociology Research Paper

The purpose of this project is to expose you to social science literature and the research and writing process. The intent is not for you to write superficially about a broad topic, but to explore in detail a more narrow focus with in your topic.

This is not an opinion paper, but a research paper. You are free to share your opinion in your conclusion, but should leave it out of the rest of your paper.

If you choose to write on a controversial topic, keep your paper as impartial as possible. Give each side equal attention in your paper and avoid sources that are overly biased. Ideally, we should not be able to tell which side of the issue you agree with until I read your conclusion.

The audience for this paper should be a peer in your sociology class. You do not have to be overly formal, but remember the it is an academic paper, so it shouldn’t be informal either. Expect that your reader knows a little bit about sociology, but not about your specific topic. I expect your paper to contain information that is not just general knowledge but specifics learned from the articles you reviewed. This paper will be graded on organization and writing as well as contentsee the rubric for details.

Format

Your paper should be 45 pages long.

Be sure to follow APA formatting.

Your paper should have a descriptive title that tells the reader what the paper is about.

You will not need an abstract. However, you will need in text citations and a bibliography.

Your paper should have three sections: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion.

Introduction

Your introduction should draw me into your paper, telling me why your topic is important or why I should be interested. The most important part of your introduction is your thesis. The thesis should be the last sentence of your introduction. It should act almost like a mini outline of your paper. I should be able to read your thesis, independent of the rest of your paper and know exactly what your paper is about. It should tell me each topic that will be discussed in your paper and even the order in which they are discussed.

For example, my thesis could be something along the lines of In this paper, I will discuss the history and current status of charter schools in the United States, and some of the benefits and problems of these schools.

Body

The body is the main section of your paper in which you will present your research. Make sure that the body follows your thesis, talking about the topics mentioned in your thesis in the same order that they were talked about in the thesis. Make sure that the body is well organized and that everything you tell me is supported by your research. This is not a place to share your opinion on the topic.

Using my thesis example above, in the body of my paper, I would first talk about the history and current status of charter schools. I would then discuss the benefits of charter schools. Finally, I would explain the problems associated with charter schools.

Conclusion

The final part of your paper is your conclusion. This is the part of the paper where you will summarize what you have said in your paper. This is also the part of your paper where you are welcome to share your opinion about your topic. It should be short though, no more than one or two paragraphs long.

Sources

You need to have at least six different sources in your paper, at least three of which come from academic peer-reviewed journals. The other three sources can be almost anything, including websites. Follow the source guidelines from the research outline, to make sure you have appropriate sources. The six sources can be sources used in the research outline but could be other sources.

Make sure that you cite your sources appropriately, using APA format. You should use in-text parenthetical citations. Remember that you must cite your source anytime you give any information that did not come out of your own head. Since this is a research paper, most of the information should come from sources and not from your own head. Remember, you need to cite your source even if you are just paraphrasing the information and not using a direct quote.

You also need to have a works cited page at the end of your paper (this does not count towards your page count). This should also be in appropriate APA style.

Plagiarism

In todays academic environment, many students are tempted to plagiarizesteal someone elses work and present it as their own. Do not plagiarize in this paper. I am a stickler when it comes to plagiarism. If I find plagiarism in your paper you will receive a failing grade for the paper and possibly a failing grade for the course. It is not worth the gamble. Heres how you can avoid plagiarism:

• Use quotation marks for anything you do not yourself write or paraphrase.

• Paraphrase others findings or ideas. When you do this you must also cite the source of the paraphrased material in the text and in the bibliography.

Paraphrase means that you put another persons words into your own words. If you are lifting another persons writing, word-for-word (3+ words or more) you must use quotation marks and cite the source, including the page number, if available. There are no exceptions to this rule. When I read your paper it should be safe to assume that everything not in quotation marks was written by you and not by someone else.

Having said this, make sure that your paper is more than a collection of quotes. You should limit the quotes you use and try to paraphrase whenever possible (just make sure you still cite your source.) Use quotes to support your thesis; dont use excessive quotes as a way to avoid the writing process.

Collepals.com Plagiarism Free Papers

Are you looking for custom essay writing service or even dissertation writing services? Just request for our write my paper service, and we'll match you with the best essay writer in your subject! With an exceptional team of professional academic experts in a wide range of subjects, we can guarantee you an unrivaled quality of custom-written papers.

Get ZERO PLAGIARISM, HUMAN WRITTEN ESSAYS

Why Hire Collepals.com writers to do your paper?

Quality- We are experienced and have access to ample research materials.

We write plagiarism Free Content

Confidential- We never share or sell your personal information to third parties.

Support-Chat with us today! We are always waiting to answer all your questions.