Your term paper will allow you to reflect on your own life and examine how stratification systems can impact societies and our personal experiences. Use your “Sociological Imagination” to unpack the myth of the ideology of meritocracy and analyze the broader social contexts and structural and cultural forces that shape our personal opportunities and life experiences, beyond our own personal hard work, and write a reflective paper on these outcomes. Gladwell identifies different themes in “Outliers” (2008) which open or close doors for success. In addition to the ideals of individual goals and hard work, these lessons include historical and demographic factors, socialization experiences, cultural legacies, and opportunities or barriers, such as discrimination or hierarchies, that offer accumulative advantages or disadvantages to different groups. Use the concepts, theories, and data from your course books to explain how the influences of access to property, power, and prestige in society can affect our lives. Rather than framing your reflections through personal opinions, develop your critical thinking skills by analyzing how your ascribed and achieved statuses within social stratification systems have influenced your life.
Use a formal essay style, with:
an introduction stating the overall sociological significance of how social stratification can influence people’s lives, along with a specific focus on how you will explore how social stratification has affected your life (save details and descriiptions of your life for later paragraphs)
well-organized paragraphs that clearly present your thesis and the influence of social stratification on your life
a short descriiption of your personal experiences, giving an example of stratification in your life, framed through our course materials
a clear application of sociological course concepts and theories from our course books to analyze your life experiences
a conclusion identifying the broader sociological significance of your experience. Do not just provide a summary of your paper, and do not include any new details.
On a style note:
Indent each paragraph.
Do not use sub-headings nor footnotes.
Cite our textbooks in the body of the paper and at the end, using the methods below.
Avoid contractions, slang, swearing, typos or spelling errors, as they can impact your grade. Submit papers to the PCC Writing Center for support.
Follow these formatting guidelines:
It is not possible to tell your whole life story in five pages, so focus your paper on one or two examples and keep it within 3 to 5 pages, maximum.
Type in 12-point font (e.g. Times New Roman), with double-spacing and one-inch margins.
Have a title at the beginning of your essay and a bibliography directly at the end of your essay to include your references — do not put on separate pages.
Cite course books in the body of the paper and in a bibliography.
Use the proper ASA (American Sociological Association) or APA (American Psychological Association) format. Do not use footnotes.
For specific quotes in your paper, cite the author(s)’ last name, publication date, and page number at the end of the sentence, in parentheses, e.g. (Gladwell 2008, p. 164), or, for more general references, just the last name and date (Gladwell 2008).
Include the complete citation at the end of the paper in a bibliography, such as: Gladwell, Malcolm. 2008. Outliers: The Story of Success. New York, NY: Little, Brown, and Co.
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