SOLUTION: Kean University Importance of Good Grades in Mathematics Discussion

Writing Assignment:
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You should write two narratives, which explain the same outcome. One narrative will focus on
individual factors, while the second on the social forces that condition those individual factors.
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Narrative that includes individual choices/behaviors/attitudes that led to your attendance at
Rutgers
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Second narrative that describes the social factors which conditioned those individual aspects
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Must include at least one, likely more than one, sociological concept from class.
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2-4 pages typed double-spaced
Writing Tips for Assignment:
Avoid:
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Clichés
Overuse of adjectives
The phrase “hard work”, “hard working”, “drive” etc. These are subjective evaluations, which
tell the reader your impression of effort but little more. Secondly, such depictions are not
sociological since they are not measurable in any sense.
Vague statements about “norms” or “values.” Instead, state exactly what the norm is and how
you came to understand it. What social sanctions were likely if you violated such a norm?
Remember:
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Choices, behaviors, and attitudes of other people (like parents) are individual and not social
forces.
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To critically examine your choices. Ex. How were you aware of different choices? What were the
social meanings attached to those choices? If some of those meanings were negative how did
you navigate them? Did some of the social meanings conflict with your identity?
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Overcoming obstacles requires awareness of the obstacle and awareness of a successful path to
overcome said obstacle.
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Individual characteristics and social forces are largely inseparable. Or as Mills put it, you cannot
understand the biography of a person without understanding the history of their society.
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Individual characteristics often predict outcomes but social forces condition how and how much
individual characteristics matter.
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You can also think of the analysis as using your personal story to provide an illustrative example
of course concepts.
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All good writing involves editing and rewriting!
Additional Tips:
The assignment asks for two narratives. There are different ways that someone could explain
an individual outcome. We could explain it as the result of individual choices and attitudes.
For example, you might note decisions to take AP courses or SAT prep courses. We could
also explain it as the result of larger social forces. For example, you might note the changing
nature of college from a privilege of the upper classes to a normal and expected event in the
lifecourse for most Americans. This structural shift influenced the cultural norms regarding
college and likely conditioned your decision to take an AP course. Furthermore, the
competitive nature of college education (and the inequality between community colleges and
Ivy League schools) may have influenced your decision to take an SAT prep course. I want
you to think about how social forces, not just these large scale ones, but local social contexts,
influenced and conditioned your choices and attitudes.
I will grade the quality of your sociological analysis. For example, noting that college is now
the norm is rather vague. Instead, noting how local neighborhood norms and providing
concrete evidence for those norms constitutes good sociological analysis.
Finally, always keep in mind that social forces condition (and help predict) but do not
determine individual outcomes. So, while our current class structure makes attendance at
college less likely for those from poor families, students from poor families certainly do
attend college. Good papers will move beyond saying that “poor people don’t go to college
and I was poor so it was harder” or conversely, “I was upper class and most upper class
people go to college, so I went.” Social forces are neither irrelevant nor determinative.
Instead, they change the availability of options, the meaning of choices, the knowledge
of choices etc. Good papers will delve into this and use concrete evidence to support the role
of social forces.
Lastly, papers will demonstrate a good understanding of sociological concepts. In other
words, you should be able to use the “data” from your first narrative to illustrate
sociological concepts from the course.
Last minute edits – Writing Tips
Step 1 – Organization
1. Lead the reader from point to point. The reader should never ask, ‘Why is the author
bringing this up?’
2. Identify one idea per paragraph. Remember, if you cannot find the main idea of a
paragraph, neither can your reader.
3. Make sure all of the points in your paragraph support the main idea of the paragraph.
Step 2 – Line Editing
1. Delete non-working words and/or phrases. If you can remove a word or phrase and the
sentence still has the same meaning, delete it.
2. Avoid repetitive statements. Don’t tell the reader what you have already told them in a
slightly different way.
3. Avoid passive voice. Passive voice deletes the subject or unnecessarily adds words to a
sentence. A quick tip is to avoid words like ‘be’, or anything that ends in ‘-ing’. Instead,
let the reader know who or what is doing something.
4. Avoid the overuse of adjectives. Adjectives are subjective. In other words, they tell the
reader how you personally feel but not the criteria that you use to judge something as
interesting, harmful, or negative. Instead, be specific and concrete in your use of
language.
5. Do not start sentences with ‘it’. Ex. It is known that… Instead, tell the reader exactly
who knows this and try to explain why.
6. Avoid the following phrases: “it can be seen that…”, “it was seen…”, “the fact that…”
Rewrite any sentence with these phrases in it.
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