Assignment:
J.N. Desmarais Library or the Brym reader.
1) Go to the J.N. Desmarais Library's website, "Research Guides," then use the drop-down menu to select "Sociology." Next, choose "Get articles" in the left-hand menu and follow the instructions and tips for accessing appropriate articles in sociology.
2) Examine the readings and choose only those that are sociological in nature. You must read the name of the periodical (i.e., the journal name or journal title). If the name includes the words "sociology," "sociological," "social," or "society," you can be quite sure that the sources will be appropriate. Note that you must ensure that the name of the journal meets the requirements; it is not required that the title of the article contain the keywords "sociology," "sociological," "social," or "society."
You must use three articles from journals with appropriate names, e.g., Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, Qualitative International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Canadian Journal of Sociology, and Annual Review of Sociology.
3) Ensure that the articles you select have been published after 2000. It is best to use more recent articles if they are available on your topic.
4) Read the section in the writing guide Fit to Print which describes "The Argumentative Essay." Follow these guidelines in writing your essay assignments.
Selecting Your Topic
As a strategy for selecting your topics, you should first familiarize yourself with the readings by searching the online databases using key words OR by examining the table of contents for the Brym reader. You must choose two different essay topics, each of which allows you to draw on information from at least three readings for each essay. Another option available to you is to use a combination of readings from the Brym reader and the online databases.
Gender inequality is an example of a topic that is addressed in several chapters in the Brym reader. The book contains the following readings related to this topic:
Duffy, A. & Mandell, N. Poverty in Canada
Friendly, M., Ferns, C., Prabhu, N. & Forer, B. The state of early childhood education and childcare in 2009.
Green, A. I.. The changing face of matrimony: Same sex civil marriage in the twenty-first century
Welsh, S. & Baker, J. Sexual harassment in the Canadian workplace
Gender inequality is only one example of an essay topic. There are many other topics that could be chosen. The variety of readings included in the sources (i.e., the Brym reader and online databases) allows you a wide range of choice. You may also refer to the text as a source of information, but do not use it as the main source.
It is expected that your assignments will be based to a large extent on the material fro these readings. This does not mean that you will be merely reproducing what is in the readings, but that you will be synthesizing and commenting on the material in the readings within the context of the question you posed in identifying your topic. Take some time to plan your essay. You must develop a thesis to be examined in the essay.
Read Chapter Devising a Thesis in Fit to Print by Joanna Buckley (2013).
You may have information on some topics based on your personal experiences. Many students find it helpful to relate the theories and concepts they are reading about to important features of their own lives. In writing on such topics, it is important that the account of personal experiences does not become the main feature of the paper. The point of referring to your own life is to illustrate and make concrete the more abstract concepts and theories in the readings, not to provide the reader with a life history as such. If you feel uncomfortable talking about yourself, then you should feel under no obligation to do so-there is plenty of scope for choice within the topics covered by readings in the Brym reader and in the online databases.