Back to Assignment Link             Back to Syllabus

How to Organize and Write Your  Social Policy Topic Presentation
For Gerontology 300/Sociology 335 Sociology of Aging
 

1.   Your FINAL posting you will post a Social Policy Topic worth 25 points for the assignment and 10 points for the replies for a total of 35 points.   Posting should address a social problem that relates to aging that you would like to know more about. Topics must come  from the Annual Edition's text using two other outside resources (not including BLOGS) to make your case. .  Be sure to follow the outline at the Assignment Link for week 16.
Check the due date for submission of your outline. It will be posted to the discussion board as one of our weekly postings.   If you choose a topic we have covered in class you must add to the materials already presented and have prior permission from the instructor (keep the email).

NOTE: Topics that are off limits are elder drivers, and elder abuse. Sorry, too many BLOGS out there on these topics.

2.  Address the "So What" So what if this is a social problem, what are the consequences of this issue, or why should society care that this issue exists?  This is not simply a synopsis of the articles you read but instead a researched posting  with figures, amounts, and data related to what you have learned in class (class theory).  The biggest mistake students make is using sentences like " A lot of people", or " Medicare spending is increasing . . ." Tell us how many, how much, who, dates, amounts etc. Be sure to cite your work at the end of your posting. Yes, I do check references.  You will also need to incorporate class materials to show that learning has taken place.
 

     NO CUTTING AND PASTING FROM THE WEB (I KNOW IT'S TEMPTING, BUT DON'T DO IT) Not even a sentence without citing the source. Each posting is submitted to a program TO DETECT THIS AND I WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO DROP anyone FROM THE CLASS IF they PLAGIARIZE. IT'S OK TO CITE SOMEONE ELSE'S WORK BUT DON'T PRESENT IT AS YOUR OWN. See the electronic handout on plagiarizing.

3.  Your posting must be 5 paragraphs in length (following the outline below) not including your citations, which should list two sources other than the text.  See the handout on citing and where to find research, at the Assignment Link electronic handout section.

     Your posting will be graded as follows--each of the following is worth 5 points each:   You will also earn another 25 points based on your responses to your colleagues papers. The usual reference to class theory is needed in those post.

  1. What is the social issue? – Describes the problem This should contain your thesis statement or historical context in chronological order. How does this relate to what you have learned in class?

  2. Who is affected? This should support the thesis  

  3. When did this problem start of stop? What are the causes?

  4. Why is it a major issue? What are the costs to society? Use specific examples to support your thesis. Use numbers, facts or dates.  Explain its place in society.

  5. Solution Offer your possible solution to this issue. If you were the rule maker for a day how would you fix this problem? Use class theory -- draw from text, lectures and your research to solve the problem. If you want to pay for something explain where the money would come from (i.e. a new tax, diverted funds, new project etc).

Narrowing down your topic.

I think its more fun if you  research something you are interested in and it's better for your career too. For example if you know you are going to be a financial advisor when you graduate then look for  subjects that will add to your knowledge about financial advising either to the elderly or to prepare for retirement. If you know you want to be a nurse, then look for articles that involve Elder Care.  Check the Topic Guide in the front of your Annual Editions Text.

A.  You can also look at the index of your text "Annual Editions" Do any of the titles spark an interest?   Read the ones in a given section and see if you are still interested. If so, research that topic on the web. Be careful not to use Blogs-- Do you know what these are???  They are sites that people author to voice their opinions about a certain field or topic. They are not necessarily based in facts or research. Make sure you know the source of the information you use for this paper. We will review how to do this later on in our web assignments.

B. (or) while you are completing the week's web assignments keep a list of topics that you find on the web sites you visit that interest you.

C. (Or)  investigate possible web sites in topics that interest you using a search engine. We will discuss this process in class.  Be sure these sites are either government, educational, or other reputable sources that pass the creditability test you will learn in this course.

Organizing Your Research 

I offer this as one method of organizing research If you have your own method and are comfortable creating researched materials , by all means use it. This method takes time upfront to put into place but saves lots of time when writing. It also organizes your paper and increases the chance of a good grade. Need help? Please ask.

HINTS FOR THE BEGINNER:
The major downfall of all new  writers is writing before they fully understand the issue. Be sure to read several sources before you start writing. If you include a concept or term in your paper that you do not fully understand it pays to look it up before you put it in your paper.  If you have questions about a concept in your topic, ask. help is available. . 

A.  Research creditable sites on the web for information on the social issue that you have chosen. We did an assignment on how to evaluate web sites for creditability. Make sure it passes that test.

You may also use your text, library resources, (check in the electronic handouts for library data bases and how to access them) and current media (i.e. News articles). 

Once you have collected all the articles sit back and start reading, eliminating the articles you either think don't cover your topic well  or you do not like for some other reason. I like to print the articles so I can highlight as I read and put notes in the margins.

B.  When you have chosen all the articles you wish to use, put a number in the top corner of each one of them and then list them. For example, if you have 5 articles each one should have a number from 1-5 on it.

 Now, list each article by title on a sheet of paper (check the handout in your packet "Sample Entries For Works Cited" on how to list your articles).   This will be your citations.


This process will also help you identify the sources of your information as you write so you can cite (give credit to the authors) your work.

C.  Read your research and as you read either make notes on 3x5 cards of interesting facts you want to include in your paper (don’t worry about order of information yet) or cut and paste to a blank word document (you are using this for info only, never include cut and paste into your final document).

D.  Note in the upper left hand corner of the 3x5  card the  number you gave  the  article (remember you assigned a number to each article? ) that you are now making notations from. This helps keep track of where the information came from so you can cite the body of your paper. 

When you have read all the articles and materials that you gathered and have documented all the important information you want to include in your paper organize the cards into 5 separate piles as noted below:

  1. What is the social issue? – Describes the problem This should contain your thesis statement orHistorical context in chronological order

  2. Who is affected? This should support the thesis  

  3. When did this problem start of stop? What are the causes?

  4. Why is it a major issue? What are the costs to society? Use specific examples to support your thesis. Use numbers, facts or dates.  Explain its place in society.

  5. Solution Offer your possible solution to this issue. If you were the rule maker for a day how would you fix this problem? Use class theory -- draw from text, lectures and your research to solve the problem. If you want to pay for something explain where the money would come from (i.e. a new tax, diverted funds, new project etc).

 

If you need help you can either contact the English department or send me an outline of what you are doing and I will help. 

Write so the uninformed reader can understand your subject, don't write as if the instructor is the audience. Pretend you are writing to one of your peers.  For the first draft wont try to make it sound perfect. Write like you are telling the story to a friend. You can edit it after you get it on paper.

(NOTE: complete grading criteria are listed above and in the syllabus)

After each stack is made, organize your” introductory” information to flow from simple to complex or from beginning to end.  Do the same with the other 4 stacks of cards (what, who, when etc.).

For example:  The stack labeled  “Who” you might be arrange like this.

1.     There are 34.4 million people over the age of 65 in the U.S.

2.     The population will double in the next 30 years

3.     By 2030 there will be about 70 million older persons, twice 
   the number in 1998

4.     Older men are more likely to be married as older women

5.     About 31% of all non-institutionalized older people live alone

6.     The median income of older persons in 1998 was $18,166 
    for men and $10,504 for women.
Notice how the information goes from simple to complex.

Now You Are Ready To Begin Writing and Citing your information.

Read your cards and begin to tell the story. 

 Each time you make a statement that is not common knowledge you must give the source of your information credit. You do this by using brackets with the name of the author followed by a comma and the year of the publication.  For example:
The boomers will not choose to retire all at once (Dychtwald, 1978).  Note that the period goes after the bracket.  (you may use MLA or other style if it follows an acceptable format).

 If you chose to write something word for word use “ quotes” before and after and cite  (author, year) the author.  Quotes should not be more than a few lines long. If you need more, then paraphrase the information in your own words. This citation should be listed in your bibliography under the author’s name in alphabetic order.

DO NOT USE THE EXACT WORDING FROM THE INTERNET AS IF THEY WERE YOUR OWN. THIS IS PLAGIARIZING AND IS CONSIDERED DISHONEST. YOU CAN BE EXPELLED FROM THE COLLEGE FOR THIS PRACTICE.

back to the Assignment link