Posted: January 17th, 2023

Final Paper, Sociology 1101: Introduction to Sociology Analytic Essay Assignment

Final Paper: Context Matters
*Adapted from Gould 2016
Sociology 1101: Introduction to Sociology
Analytic Essay Assignment
DIRECTIONS
Please read these instructions carefully before attempting to complete this
assignment.
This assignment requires that you utilize substantive and theoretical points
from the course readings, lectures, and class discussions in your analysis and
that you appropriately cite them.
Respond to the prompts of the assignment in an essay that flows logically. Be
sure to answer all of the questions and be specific. This is an analytic essay
so the points you make must be adequately supported with evidence. Your only source for
such evidence is the book, The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace. For info on how
to properly cite, see our course materials page on Blackboard.
Essays are to be typed, double-spaced, in a 12 point font with one-inch margins on all sides.
No title page is required and in addition, do not add your name to the submission document
as grading will be done anonymously. Be sure to include page #’s. Your analytical essay
should be 3-5 pages in length. Do not go over these page limits or points will be deducted.
Your analytic essay is due electronically via Blackboard by 11:59 pm by
Wednesday, May 16th. Late papers will be lose 25 points for each day
late.
To Submit to BB, first click on the Context Matters folder in the Unit 4 tab. Then upload
your document to the Context Matters red link.
II. THE TASK
Using your sociological imagination means examining the relationship between private
troubles and public issues. In the same vein, being sociologically mindful is all about paying
attention to the way our world works to the benefit of some and the detriment of others. As
our society often focuses on individual actions rather than structural influences, your task is a
difficult but necessary one. The story of Robert Peace gives us a lens for exploring how agency
and structure influence an individual’s life chances and outcomes. Your task is to choose one
specific seemingly “personal” problem (i.e. growing up in a poor neighborhood or having a
relative serving prison time) that Robert Peace faced in his life and explore how this issue is
linked to a larger structural context. Your task is to write an analytical essay that answers
the following questions:
A. How did the problem impact Robert Peace’s life? Remember: Appropriately cite the
book, using page numbers for quotes or paraphrased information.
 In what ways did Robert’s quality of life become worse?
Granville-Spring 2018
Final Paper: Context Matters
*Adapted from Gould 2016
 How did the problem impact the lives of those closest to Robert?
B. How did he resolve the problem?
 Did Robert use private or public strategies in addressing the problem?
 How might this situation and solution be different for someone who lived in
another era, another society, another culture, or who had a different
identity/location in the social structure (race, class, gender, ethnicity, age)?
C. What are the external social factors that have caused, or increased the likelihood of
Robert experiencing this problem? Remember: Appropriately cite the book, using
page numbers for quotes or paraphrased information.
 What social institutions (i.e. corporations, government, medical institutions,
educational institutions, religious institutions, the media, family etc.) have
played a part in the causation of this problem? How?
 What larger social forces (i.e. economic structures, institutional discrimination,
political ideologies, cultural norms, etc.) have played a part in the causation of
this problem? How?
 Did social group membership/identity (i.e. race, class, gender, ethnicity, culture,
age, etc.) play a role in Robert’s problem? How?
D. What are the external social factors that have impacted the consequences of this
problem for Robert? Remember: Appropriately cite the book, using page numbers
for quotes or paraphrased information.
 How have social institutions and social forces made it more or less difficult for
Robert and those closest to him to deal with this problem?
 How did social institutions help or hinder Robert in addressing the problem?
 How did larger social forces impact the consequences of this problem for the
Robert?
 What role did Robert’s social group membership/identity play?
To help you work out your ideas, there is a context matters worksheet that is
available in the Context Matters folder in Unit 4.

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