Your final paper will be a minimum 8 page (maximum 12 page) paper about a topic related to environmental sociology (note that includes both environment AND society). Page count does NOT include sources/bibliography.
The paper should have one-inch margins, be double-spaced, and written grammatically. You will need to use a minimum of 8 academic sources (5 of these may be from the annotated bibliography that you hand in) such as peer-reviewed articles and books. Your text may be used but it may not be counted as one of the 8. ** Do not use websites.** You may not use encyclopedias or encyclopedia-style web sources. Sources must be academic and peer-reviewed (may include up to 3 government reports by agencies and no more than 1 news article as ‘counted” sources…you may use more of these but they may not count toward minimum sources).
You should also use APA style to format your paper (use APA for citations and running head no abstract is required for this paper and if you include one it will not count in number of pages). Sources cited/reference pages do not count in minimum page count, nor does title page only main body of text counts for minimum.
Look to your book for topic ideas. For example, you might examine such issues as Lead Paint: an Environmental Justice Issue in Detroit, Environmental Activism on an Arizona Navajo Reservation in the 21st Century, The Not-In-My-Backyard (NIMBY) Syndrome in Florida Red Tide Issue, Analysis of Climate Change Attitudes among the Upper Classes in the U.S. Through Social Conflict Theory, Gender and the Environmental Protection Movements in India, Hurricane Katrina and Environmental Racism Issues in Temporary Housing or a pertinent topic of interest to you. Your paper should be informed by and integrate theories and approaches that we have discussed in class in addition to your independent research. You may need to go through interlibrary loan to locate some sources so begin the process early.
The paper will be a position paper that is based on research. Read the following guidelines carefully:
This paper is a research and position paper that explores and analyzes environmental challenges/issues. In it, you will do research on an issue in environmental sociology and take a position on an issue. Support your position through the use of sociological perspectives and concepts. A position is different than an opinion. An opinion is I think and is personal rather than scholarly. A position, on the other hand, is a synthesis of research, knowledge and information that is supportable.
You are not graded on your position on any issue but you are graded on your ability to explain the issue, research it, analyze it, consider solutions, and utilize sociological ideas and perspectives clearly.
GUIDELINES:
Here are a few guidelines and suggestions to help you with your paper. Since this is a final paper for a 3000-level class and not a book report I expect original thinking rather than a retelling of information. You need to take a position on whichever topic you choose to research and then reinforce it with sociological perspectives.
This assignment requires critical thinking and clarity of expression.
-you must have a minimum of 8 academic sources for this paper (cited in APA style in the back of paper on a sources cited page that does not count in the minimum page count); you should also cite ALL your sources at least once in the body of your paper after you use it (author, date of publication) as I have demonstrated in parentheses. If you use a direct quote, cite with the following (author, date of publication, page number of quote).
-you may use your class textbook, but it cannot count as one of your required sources
-Do not use I or you in this paper.
-Do NOT use any web pages, non-academic sources, non-peer-reviewed sources, encyclopedias or encyclopedia-style sites. If an article has no cited authors, it probably is NOT appropriate.
-Do use academic journals, books, newspaper articles (limited to 1 newspaper article that counts toward minimum number of referencesyou may use others from newspapers, but they are not counted) and other academic sources. You may use government reports, U.N. reports (up to 3 ‘counted” reports), etcIf you are in doubt about the quality of a source, be critical. If you are still in doubt, email me.
-You may not turn in papers or portions of papers that you have written for other classes as original assignments in this class.
-Late papers and essays are accepted, however the grade will drop 10 points on a scale of 100 for each day they are late.
In addition, I want to know that:
-You understand and can apply a sociological perspective to the issue
-You grasp the ideas of theorists and theoretical approaches to sociology that are a part of this class and can explain these to others
-You are able to use proper paper format in the APA style (citations and running head only no abstract), grammar and punctuation
-You can abstract, apply logic, synthesize your ideas and the ideas of others, and compel people to read your words
Ideas in this paper that are not fully your own, whether from Bells text, my class notes, articles, or book/s must be acknowledged.
If you do use an exact quotation, make sure you understand the APA format and citation for doing this. Be sure to clearly state when ideas are not your own. If you do not, its plagiarism. Plagiarism may cause you to fail the paper and/or the class. See your syllabus.
Do not overuse lengthy quotations in this paper. Be selective. `
You can also make an appointment with Academic Services online or on-campus for writing/outline assistance do this far in advance as they are busy near the end of the term.