OPTIONAL Term Paper

Sociology 3321 - Socialization and Social Control

Instructions for Preparing Term Papers

IMPORTANT: DO NOT use Wikipedia as a source for your citations.   While Wikipedia is often convenient, it's a wiki (see: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2006/07/07/what-is-a-wiki.html).  That means it can be edited by many people, not all of whom are true experts.  Sometimes this leads to real inaccuracies in Wikipedia.  Worse yet, lately it has come to light that the FBI and CIA have been editing the entries to suit the current political climate in Washington.

The topic must, of course, have something to do with socialization and/or social control.

The paper should be no fewer than 10 pages long, nor more than about 12 - 15 (including references).

For purposes of the above, a "page" should be considered to be about 225 words (regardless of whether you are writing by hand or typing it out). Please have the paper typed if at all possible. If not, and you write your paper out longhand, please skip every other line, but a "page" is still to be considered as about 225 words.

You should reference your paper in detail. When in doubt, cite sources too often rather than too seldom. It doesn’t matter how you reference your citations as long as your system is careful and consistent. I strongly encourage the sociology majors to look at the inside cover of the American Sociological Review for the ASA reference format and follow it. Or, assuming that you have Adobe Acrobat Reader software installed on your computer (you can download it for free in necessary from www.adobe.com), you can go to the following URL to view the ASA referencing information:

http://www.pop.psu.edu/ASR/Notice.pdf

REMEMBER, TO PUT SOME SOCIOLOGY INTO YOUR PAPER! In other words, don't take a purely descriptive or journalistic approach. You need to discuss the behavioral and/or organizational dynamics of your subject matter. And don't forget about "classical" sociological variables like race, sex, age, rural-urban, social class, educational background, etc. in analyzing the topic of your choosing.

VERY IMPORTANT!!! Your paper should reflect the fact that you have taken this course! In other words, you want to use specific references to course readings and lectures.

You should, in other words, make use of concepts, theories, data, authors, etc. that you have encountered in the course (or will encounter -- if you haven't yet finished the readings list). These should be the "tools" in your "analysis kit." Exceptions might be made, but check with the Professor before proceeding on such an assumption.

IF THE CONDITIONS OF THE LAST PARAGRAPH ABOVE ARE NOT MET, THE PAPER WILL NOT COUNT TOWARDS COMPLETION OF THE COURSE!!!

The student is responsible for keeping a backup copy of the paper, either in computer-readable format or on paper.