The Assignment:
minimum 5 page paper and 1300
The Topic:
Most economists and politicians agree that a large government-funded economic
revitalization plan is needed for the world’s economies to recover from the Covid19 Pandemic. Recently the G7 nations have committed to a “Build Back Better
Plan” that would take this need for investment as an opportunity re-design our
global society in a greener, more equitable, way. What is the Build Back Better
plan? Is it a good idea? Should it be improved? Should it be implemented at all?
Type of Paper: This is a research paper, not an opinion essay. The purpose is to give
you experience in writing and researching a sociological paper. Your job is to display the
available evidence, cite it properly, and make your conclusions based on that evidence. It
must have a clear thesis statement in the introduction.
Content:
All information must be properly cited in APA format. The paper will include
information from:
1) For Topic #1 (environment), cite the following news article:
https://www.voanews.com/europe/g-7-summit-kicks-build-back-better-message
2) AT LEAST Five additional peer-reviewed, academic journal articles must be used
as a source
3) It is useful to quote the theoretical perspective you are approaching the problem
from – Conflict Theory? Structural Functionalism? Something else?
4) You MAY use government websites, news, or magazine articles only if the
information used is not already available in peer-reviewed journals and you must
have already used your minimum number of peer-reviewed journals.
Mandatory Guidelines:
1) Style: May be written in either first or third person
2) Intro Paragraph: Must have an introductory paragraph which contains the
following elements, in ANY ODER that you feel comfortable with:
a. The sell: A sentence or two that convinces the reader that the paper is
addressing and important topic (i.e. make the reader care about your
paper). Example: “poverty rates, as ba!!! (2011) has shown, are rising
dramatically in XXXX, it is important, then, to explore the causes of
poverty in this country.”
b. Topic Statement: A statement about WHAT your paper will explore:
Example: “This paper will explore the causes of poverty in XXXX”.
c. Theses Statement: A strong stance that you will be arguing with regards to
the topic – often contains the word “THAT.” Example: “I will ague THAT
poverty in XXXX is caused by a lack of opportunity available to those
with lower incomes” (Yes, you will be giving away the ending of your
paper here).
d. An Outline: A very brief (one or two sentence) explanation of the form
that your argument will take in the paper. Example: “In the first part of the
paper, current thinking about [the topic] will be explained; this will be
followed by a critical reflection on the issue”.
e. IMPORTANT: Be concise. A good introductory paragraph should be
between ½ and ¾ of a double-spaced page and must NEVER exceed one
page in length.
3) Body Paragraphs: A paper this size should contain 4-8 body paragraphs that are
approximately ½ to ¾ of a page in length. If you are writing a paragraph that
exceeds one page, you should break it down into two separate paragraphs.
4) Topic Sentences: Each body paragraph should have a clear topic sentence
(usually the first sentence) that relates directly to every other sentence in the
paragraph. It is like either a thesis or topic statement for just that paragraph. It
may not have to be cited if it is just your indication of the content of the paragraph
to follow.
5) APA In-Text Citation: Cite properly, according to APA guidelines ALL
INFORMATION YOU WERE NOT BORN KNOWING. You must cite
information whether is in your own words, or is a direct quotation. Examples of
APA in-text Citation are here:
Everything must be cited except:
a. Your topic sentence: Since this is just a statement of what you want to
explore. You also may not need to cite topic sentences of each paragraph
if they are just your indication of the content of the paragraph to follow
(you will have to use your common sense to decide when a topic sentence
needs a citation and when it doesn’t)..
b. Your thesis sentence: Since this is by definition YOUR FINDING after
critically considering all information..
c. Your Conclusion: The conclusion paragraph should be a summary of your
entire paper and especially your findings. NO NEW INFORMATION
should appear. Therefore there should be no need to cite anything. It is
your own very concise summation of the issue.
6) Conclusion: All papers should have a short concluding/summary paragraph in
which you (in any order you like):
a. Re-state your thesis
b. Summarize the main arguments
c. This should be little more than a summary of information and findings that
you have already presented. Somebody should be able to read it without
reading the rest of the paper, and know the main points you made.
d. Keep it very short – including only the most important information.
7) List of References: All papers must contain a proper APA-format list of
References.
8) Overall Outline: Given the information above, the paper should roughly follow
this outline (the number of paragraphs for the body sections are up to the
discretion of the student):
a. Title page
b. Introductory paragraph
c. 4-8 body paragraphs
d. Concluding/summary paragraph
e. Proper APA Reference Page.
Marking Scheme
Organization
Introduction paragraph is concise with clear topic sentence, thesis statement and
indication of the outline and purpose of the paper.
Discussion of general issue: How well and thoroughly does the student explain the
issue? Do they understand their own sources (film, articles, text) and convey this
understanding clearly?
Analysis: How well does student explore the issue critically?
Conclusion: re-iteration of main points and thesis plus some originality and policy
suggestion/s.
Clarity of Argument: How convincing, direct, substantiated, logical, and clear is the
argument as presented?
In-text citation used for ALL information other than thesis statement, conclusion, and
perhaps some topic sentences of paragraphs.
Paragraphs are ordered logically, have clear topic sentences, contain only relevant info,
are less than one page (double-space) in length, with smooth transitions.
General grammar and writing style:
References: Does the student use proper references such as the textbook and peerreviewed journals and avoid pure speculation, “common knowledge”
Reference page: with proper sources, and proper format.
Formatting: Pages are numbered and the paper is generally well formatted.