The purpose of this essay is to apply C. W. Mills’s
Sociological Imagination concept to explain a personal situation. The essay
will demonstrate the student’s ability to use sociological concepts &
theories learned in the course, to describe a personal situation. The topic is
left to the student’s discretion.
The Essay paper should have the following 5 content areas:
1. Introduction: In this first content area,
write a paragraph introducing C. W. Mills’s concept of sociological
imagination, and give a general overview of how you will be applying it to
the personal situation that you will discuss in your paper. *Note provide
the textbook definition and provide an overview of your understanding of this
concept (refer back to discussion 1). Keep in mind that SI is not a
theory, rather a concept.
2. Personal Explanation: In this second content
area, describe your personal situation/topic. Based on whether the situation is
a current one or a past one, describe how you dealt or are dealing with it. You
can also pick a situation from a person’s life who is closely related to you or
whose experience affected you. You should know the person well enough to write
the essay.
Describe what caused the problem, who were involved,
what were others’ and your roles in the situation, and if a resolution was
reached. This section is all about your account of your situation and should be
no longer than four paragraphs (3/4 – 1 page).
3. Sociological Imagination: In this third content
area, analyze your personal situation by applying sociological imagination,
i.e., examine how society and social forces affected your situation. This
section should be the most substantial portion of your essay. You should use
terms and concepts from at least 3 different chapters from the textbook, and
one sociological theory. You should include at least 3 concepts (i.e.
socialization, gender roles, religion, globalization, etc.)
4. Data/Stats: Utilize at least
2 statistics or research studies from the textbook or outside
sources. The references should be
scholarly and should be relevant to your situation (E.g., Inclusion of divorce
rates in the US if the topic is on Divorce; inclusion of poverty rates, crime
and victimization rates, or suicide rates if the topic is either on Poverty or
Crime). Citing at least one outside source is required.
5. Conclusion: Write a wrap-up conclusion
summarizing the major finding/themes in your paper. This should be no more than
a paragraph.
*Be sure to include both a title page and a reference
page.
Your essay should be 4-6 pages in length
(excluding the title page and the references page) and should be
double-spaced. You will lose points if your essay is shorter than 4
full pages of content. The font should be 12-point Calibri or
Times New Roman. Use APA format for your entire essay, including for references
and in-text citations and edit your work carefully for spelling and grammar.
Your essay should be 4-6 pages in length (excluding the
title page and the references page). It should be double-spaced on
standard-sized paper (8.5” x 11”) with a 1” margin on all sides. The font
should be 12-point Times New Roman or Calibri. Use APA formatting throughout
your essay and cite any sources you use.
__________________________________
1.) This has to be a PERSONAL situation. It can be
your problem or about someone whom you are close to.
2.) You must include a minimum of 3 sociological
concepts (see below).
3.) You must include 1 sociological
theory (see below).
4.) Include 2 statistical data or research.
Citing at least 1 outside source is required.
5.) Be sure to submit in APA and headers for each section
are optional.
Introduction: (Example)
Should
include the definition of Sociological imagination (cite) and then your
interpretation of what it means.
Also,
in this section you should include the general overview of your
problem/issue that you will discuss in your paper.
For
example, I will discuss debt and how it has
Example:
Problem: Debt
Circumstances:
lack
of education (family)
raised
in poverty
Trying
to maintain necessities (housing, gas, food, & etc)
Going
back to school
Historical: How can society play a part?
Recession
(lack of job opportunities or lack of skills)
Great
depression
Concepts:
Family
Poverty/Inequality
Globalization
Stratification
Theory: Can be found in chapters 1 and 2.
Symbolic
interactionism
Conflict
Theory
Feminist
Theory
Introduction: No issues present with the introduction to
C.W. Mills’ concept of Sociological Imagination, overview of how the concept
will be applied, and description of the topic
Personal Explanation: No issues present with the
description of the personal situation/topic, how the situation was handled, who
were involved, roles in the situation, and the resolution, if any.
Sociological Imagination: No issues present with the
explanation of the situation through the application of the sociological
imagination using terms and concepts from at least three different chapters in
the course text.
Sociological Theory: No issues
present with the explanation of the situation through the application of the
sociological imagination using a sociological theory.
Data / Statistics: No issues
present with the application of data from at least two different sources or
statistics relevant to the situation. At least one of the sources is from an
outside source
Conclusion: No issues present with the summary of the major findings and
themes.
APA Formatting & Writing: No issues present with
spelling, grammar, and APA formatting, including in-text citations, and
references.