Introduction to Sociology Professor Reymers Spring 2013 Sociology ...

B. WRITING STEPS:
1. OUTLINE: Write an outline showing how you are going to organize your essay (the question
presupposes some type of organization). If you don’t know how to write an outline, see any
number of excellent references on the web. Title your paper “Common Sense versus the
Sociological Perspective”.
2. THESIS: This paper should have a general theme (thesis) that sociologists see the world with
a perspective that is different than just every day “common sense.” Your interpretation for this
thesis should be discussed in light of the ideas presented in each research article. Integrate each
of the sources you found above into the body of your outline. Use Garfinkel as an example of a
sociologist who has examined the idea of “common sense.” Give an example of how he has
examined human behavior. Note in your outline where each source would be appropriate to
reference using a citation (see below). You can use the library database, the Microsoft Word
program, or “Citation Machine” on the web (http://www.citationmachine.net/) to be sure you
have an APA-style citation reference for each research source used in your paper.
3. DRAFTS: Write a rough draft of your paper. Do not worry about spelling or grammar yet –
just be sure that what you are writing makes some kind of sense (and is logically consistent). If
you know that you are in particular need of grammar help, write more than one draft and have a
friend, tutor, or your professor (if he/she has time) look it over before finalizing it.
4. CITATIONS: Collect your citations and make a References page. Refer to library documents
regarding APA citation format to learn how to properly cite your researched material. (Note: the
databases used above can provide a pre-formatted citation that you can cut and paste – provided
you remember to save that information for when you are writing your References page). The
References page containing the full citations for the two sources found in your research should
appear at the bottom of the second page of the paper.
In-text (body) citation: If you directly quote the author of “Un-common Sense” to emphasize the
idea in the article that “Common sense is exquisitely adapted to handling the kind of complexity
that arises in everyday situations” (Watts 2011), you should cite the source right there in
parentheses after the quote, noting the last name of the author of the article (Duncan Watts) and
then noting that the article was published in 2011. That’s all the reference you need in the body.
Reference page citation: Now, you must make sure that on the References section you have a
complete citation to Duncan Watts’ article “Un-common Sense” from New Scientist magazine.
Here’s an example of what it should look like:
Watts, D. (2011). Un-common sense. New Scientist, 211(2821), 24-25. Retrieved from
Academic Search Complete (EBSCOhost).
5. FINALIZE: read the final paper aloud to yourself, and proofread/edit it again for grammar
and spelling errors. No cover sheet is necessary, nor do I need your outline or research materials.
Include your name, class and the date on the BACK of the paper. The paper should be 600-800
words, typed, double-spaced, 1” margins, with a 10-12 point readable font. Email copies are not
accepted; a 10-point penalty will be applied to any paper that is received only by email. You
must get me a hard copy of the paper on or before the time due (Friday March 29 at 5pm) in
order to receive full credit.