Directions: Be sure to make an electronic copy of your answer before submitting it to Ashworth College for grading. Unless otherwise stated, answer in complete sentences, and be sure to use correct English spelling and grammar. Sources must be cited in APA format. Your response should be four (4) pages in length; refer to the "Assignment Format" page for specific format requirements.

In Lessons 1-4, you have learned a great deal of information on theoretical explanations of social problems and how topics such as prostitution, pornography, substance abuse, crime, and poverty can be seen as social problems. This written assignment will allow you to provide practical application of concepts learned from Lessons 1-4. This written assignment contains two parts.

First, you will describe the various theoretical explanations of social problems and the relationship of social problems to the quality of life.
The second part of the written assignment requires researching articles within the online library. The art of writing about current events and the news, rather than just thinking about it helps you to understand relevant sociological principles and improve critical thinking skills.

For part II of the writing assignment, you are asked to find a newspaper article or peer-reviewed journal article related to material covered in class or in the text and provide a written analysis of the article that explores a sociological aspect of the ideas or events depicted within the article. Within your written analysis, you need to identify one of the three main theoretical frameworks of social problems discussed in the course and explain how this theoretical framework relates to the article selected. When selecting your article, please make sure the article identifies one of the subjects discussed within Lessons 1-4.

Response should be a minimum of four pages long, submitted according to APA guidelines with applicable reference page and title page (title page and reference page not included in page count).