Sociology 122

Instructions for Short Papers

The papers you will write for this course are intended to both develop your writing skills and to reinforce the substantive content of the course. The papers are short (only 2 pages), but this does not mean that they will necessarily be easy to write--do not take these assignments lightly. The short length of the papers is intended to help you learn to write concisely--representing your ideas in a thorough yet compact fashion. One of the most common problems in student writing is a tendency to include information that is not pertinent to the task as hand ("rambling" to fill up space) and needlessly repeating ideas that have already been presented. When writing the papers for this course, you are encourage to trim the fat and give a lean, compelling presentation of your ideas. You should expect this to be somewhat difficult in the beginning and to become easier as the semester progress.

Paper Format

Length: Your finished paper should be no more than 2 pages long and no less than 1.5 pages long. Your pages should have a 1-inch margin on all four sides of the text. The text should be double-spaced, 12 point, Times New Roman font. Do NOT try to play tricks with fonts, character spacing, line spacing, font size, and so forth to make your paper longer or shorter.

The first line of the paper should contain only your name. The second line will be the title of your paper and should be centered. The text of your paper should begin on the third line. Use headings to set off different sections. Headings should be on their own line and in boldface. Start new paragraphs by indenting one-half of an inch. Do not use extra lines to separate paragraphs. Staple your two sheets of paper together. Do not use page numbers (we can count to two!). Do not use an additional title page.

Example of papers rendered in the proper format will be posted on the course web page.

Grading

Papers are due at the start of class on the indicated due date. Papers turned in after the start of class are subject to a 10% penalty. Papers turned in more than 24 hours after the original due date will receive zero credit. The grading of the papers will concentrate on the substantive content of the papers, but will also consider the mechanics and style of writing, including spelling, grammar, sentence structure, overall organization, and so forth. Grading will include specific comments about how you can improve your grade on your subsequent papers.

Writing Strategy Tips

Before you begin writing, have a clear idea of what you are trying to convey. Before actually writing the paper, try writing a title and a 1-2 sentence summary of the main points. If you cannot clearly state your main ideas, you are not ready to write.

Because this is a very short paper and you want to pack a lot into it, you may find it useful to write a first draft that is a bit too long. After you have this draft, you can work on condensing what you are saying and trimming out the fluff. Condensing your writing can be hard work, but it almost always improves the paper.

Audience is always an important consideration when writing. For these papers, we would like you to assume your audience is your peers--other college students who may not have any detailed knowledge of social psychology. Do not try to impress us with complicated language or technical jargon. If you do, you will be missing your intended audience. Seek clarity above all else.

Do not forget that the purpose of these assignments is to demonstrate that you have command of course material. The papers should reflect content from the text book and from lectures. Do not write a paper drawn only from common sense or your own experiences. Root your work in social psychological theories and concepts.

Style Tips

Use your spell check, but don’t depend on it! To turn in a paper with a misspelled word is ridiculous given the technology at your disposal. However, some of your mistakes in typing can still be in your computer's dictionaries and can produce embarrassing results: A recent paper intended to use the word "public" and instead used the word "pubic." This is not a small difference in meaning!

Write short sentences. They are easier to understand. Use headings to organize your paper. Use stylistic devices to make your organization more clear, such as (a) numbering separate points, (b) diagrams, and (c) concrete examples to illustrate abstract points.

It you need to cite a source (most often your textbook), use parentheses and place the citation at the end of the sentence. Examples: (Michener and Delamater, 1998, p. 234). (Psychology Today, June, 1999). ("Are we becoming more psychologically minded?" New York Times, December 13, 2001, pp. A16-A18).

Re-read and revise your paper. Do not just whip off a first draft the night before it is due and expect it to do the job. Plan ahead and work ahead. "Good student writers spent more time contemplating the writing assignment…, were slower writers, …changed more words as they wrote, … and frequently stopped writing to read over what they had written" (C. K. Stallard, Research in the Teaching of English, 1974).

Take advantage of the Writing Center (listed on our web page) to help you.