In your final paper for the course, you will bring together what you've learned about seeing the world sociologically. Your paper, which will be about 5 pages long, will focus on analyzing a particular issue or topic. In this assignment, you need to submit a short description of the topic you choose, along with 3-5 sources you will use to discuss this topic in your paper.

Some examples of topics you might want to write about include:

• The oil boom in Northwest North Dakota over the past five years

• The rising cost of college education and increases in student debt

• Availability and affordability of health care

You are welcome to write about one of these topics, or another one of your choosing. Keep these things in mind when selecting a topic:

• It will be less work, and probably result in a stronger paper, to write about something you are interested in and have some exposure to. You by no means are expected to be an expert, and will be using outside sources no matter what, but some background knowledge will be helpful.

• You want a topic broad enough to connect to several concepts from the term, but also narrow enough to include specifics.

FINAL ESSAY-DUE FRIDAY 11:59PM

In your final paper for the course, you will bring together what you've learned about seeing the world sociologically. Your paper will focus on analyzing a particular issue or topic, and will consist of four sections:

• Describing the issue or topic
• Discussing the relevance of sociological concepts
• Explaining how one of the major theoretical perspectives applies
• Presenting a research plan

The entire paper should be 5-6 double-spaced pages long. More information about each section, and overall formatting and submission, is provided below. Please read all of this information carefully.

Describing issue/topic: Provide a concise overview of your topic. Assume your readers are unfamiliar, and it's your job to describe it to them. You don't need to go into great detail, though. As you bring in specific details later in the paper, you can bring them up. You don't need to present all the information here; instead, present enough information so that the rest of your paper makes sense.

• What are the key issues? What are the key events?
• What is the time frame?
• Cite news sources in your writing so it's clear where you are getting your information.
• Length: half page to one page

Discuss relevance of sociological concepts: Think about all of the different topics you've read and written about this term. How are they at play in this issue. In this topic, you'll need to address stratification, micro factors, AND macro factors. You do not, however need to address EVERY type of stratification, EVERY micro factor, or EVERY macro factor.

• How is stratification related to your topic? You can describe the relevance of gender, class, and/or racial stratification. You can focus on one of these in greater depth, or describe how two or all of them are related.

• How are micro factors related to stratification? You can describe the relevance of family, religion, and/or culture. Again, you can focus on one in greater depth, or multiple of these ideas.

• How are macro factors related? This would include economic systems, political systems, systems of deviance, and systems of crime.

Explaining how a major theoretical perspective applies: Think about functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. Decide which one can be used to describe your topic most accurately.

• Which theory are you focusing on? Why?
• Make specific connections between the theory and your topic. For example, if you're writing about conflict theory, what are the different groups who are at odds with one another? If you're writing about functionalism, what is the social function that is being fulfilled?
• What might be the problem with this theory? How might the other(s) account for it?
• When you discuss the theories, cite the textbook and any other sources you rely on. There's no need or expectation to use anything beyond the textbook.

Present research plan: If you were a sociologist, how would you study this topic more?
• What research question would you ask?
• Would you use primarily qualitative or quantitative methods? Why?
• What specifically would you do? (Surveys, interviews, historical analysis, ethnography). Be specific--actually describe the instruments you'd use.