Description

Minor essay – 1800 words

 

Students are expected to write an essay on one of the provided topics listed below:

Choose one of the following topics to write the essay on and please copy the topic in its entirety onto the front page of the essay.

1. Think about the phrase “the personal is political”. What are some of the structural patterns that shape personal gendered inequalities? What are the ruling practices, sanctions or texts that seem to matter in each case?
2. What does Goffman’s understandings of gender portrayals tell us about ‘ everyday’ reproduction of gender roles? What is the significance of framing gender roles as performed versus performative?
3. Has the new millennium brought with it a significant change to male identity in Australia? Argue your case in relation to what Connell refers to as ‘hegemonic masculinity’.
4. Think about the ways heterosexuality and normative gender roles ‘go together’. In what ways are these roles regarded in mainstream society?
5. How do gendered stereotypes of ability and interest in sports get reproduced? And how can such stereotypes be understood damaging for women and/or men?
6. Gender stereotypes are repeatedly and frequently used to sell products, both in reinforcing and challenging norms. Does the commodifying of new gender identities hinder or further gender equality? How so?
7. Identify key aspects of fourth wave feminism. How does it compare to previous waves? What specific challenges faces fourth wave feminism in contemporary contexts?

Assessment aims

 

The first assessment will test your ability to write an essay on a significant contemporary issue relating to gender and intimacy. You will be given the opportunity to choose an essay question from the list provided and explore the issue in greater depth by locating, reading, evaluating and critically discussing the gendered power relations embedded in your topic. Your ability to find scholarly sources, interpret and utilise secondary data and sustain a cohesive and compelling argument will be assessed. Remember that writing should be both immersive and engaging, so be mindful to pick a topic that you find intriguing and genuinely interesting. You will often find that your best written work will result from choosing a topic that you are passionate about.

The criteria and standards employed to assess this assessment are detailed on the provided rubric in uploaded documents.

 

 

The following notes include important additional information and/or clarifications for students regarding this item of assessment:

 

• Students need to read very widely from Sociology books and journals for this assignment: 8-10 academic references would enable the expectations for this essay to be met;
• Students must ensure that all ideas, statistics, facts, and direct quotations used have been adequately referenced;
• Students should demonstrate their research by referring to it throughout the essay
• Students should answer the question directly, explicitly and specifically;
• Students must answer all parts of the question they have chosen;
• Students need to organise their material around an argument, which should be stated on their first page along with the sequence (procedure) of their answer;
• Students should use statistical evidence and must organise their essays around Sociological concepts, and models;
• Students should

(1) analyse the issues thoroughly,

(2) ask the question ‘What is taken for granted?’ while planning their essays,

(3) identify the social constructions and

(4) examine what social function the social constructions serve.

Penalties will apply if students write more than the word limit. In general students can write up to 10% more than the word limit – on this essay that means 200 words more than 2000 words – without penalty, although this might be evidence of a failure to edit out repetitive, redundant, or irrelevant material before submission. Essays under the word limit are generally missing something. If an essay is more than 200 words below the expected number of words the student can most likely expect a poor result based on the marking criteria given on the Feedback Form.

Students should be aware of what is NOT counted in the words for your essay. Title pages, reference lists, and in-text references do not count. On the other hand, quotations within your essay DO count. It is recommended that you only use direct quotations when reproducing the wording of an author is crucial. In general, when discussing secondary sources and textbooks this is not the case, and it generally indicates that the student does not understand the relevant book or article well enough to summarise and paraphrase what that book or article states in their own words.

REMEMBER that ‘referencing’ does not equal ‘quotation’. Students can, and are expected to, include in-text references (complete with page numbers) whenever they derive an argument or fact from a text that they have read.

Essay Specifications

Your essay of 1800 words should include:

• an introduction that:
  • provides the overview or context of the topic;
  • specifies your thesis statement (the focus of your essay or response to the question);
  • lists the three or four main points that will be addressed in the essay; and
  • outlines the structure of the essay.
• a body section that:
  • introduces each main point with a topic sentence;
  • expands on each main point with a minimum of two (2) references to demonstrate to your tutor that you have critically and widely read the literature on the topic;
  • demonstrates critical thinking; and
  • provides examples where applicable to make the arguments clearer.
• a conclusion that:
  • summarizes and recaps the main points; and
  • restates your thesis statement.
• a reference list

 

Teachers Feedback

Make sure you go through the rubric provided in order to address the criteria you will be assessed against. Feedback for the assessment will provide input on six key components:

(1) Introduction;

(2) Literature Review;

(3) Data;

(4) Discussion;

(5) Conclusion; and

(6) Referencing, writing and presentation.

1. Introduction refers to the degree to which you have provided an overview/introduction to the topic. In particular, we will be looking for evidence of a logical outline and structure in your assessment, as well as a clear indication of the method and theoretical framework. A critical component of this assessment will be your ability to communicate the context around your chosen question. Remember that your introduction ‘sets the scene’ for the reader and needs to clearly detail what will follow.
2. Literature Review refers to the degree to which you have skilfully identified key sources and information. Similarly, you will be assessed on your ability to synthesise theoretical and empirical literature. The literature review should indicate that you are aware of who the ‘key players’ are in relation to your argument. If you were writing about the topic of ‘performativity’ for instance, then there would be an expectation that you would address the work of Judith Butler. It can sometimes be helpful to read an ‘Introduction’ textbook relative to your chosen topic, to ensure that you are using the key theorists in your chosen area.
3. Data refers to the degree to which you have drawn from secondary data in order to test or examine the relevant literature. This may include utilising government documents, annual reports or data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This type of data will be useful to utilise in your essay as it will complement the literature that you use to substantiate your arguments. It also demonstrates your ability to independently source for information and critically evaluate the literature.
4. Discussion refers to the degree to which you have critically used the literature to reflect on the limitations of the information used. This section will allow you to demonstrate your comprehension of the topic as well as give you the opportunity to show your creative thinking. The key to a successful discussion section is evidence-based ‘reflection’, which is where you will show your ability to interpret the research literature and effectively evaluate the topic you have been exploring. Are there perhaps creative solutions to the problem/s or issue/s you have been exploring? If there are, can you identify them? What improvements could be made to the ways in which sociologists have explored your specific problem or social issue?
5. Conclusion refers to the degree to which you have provided a summary of contents to your paper. It can be tempting to rush through the conclusion, but I would strongly encourage you to fight this impulse. The conclusion is where you can ‘sell’ the quality of your research and the depth of your insights. Importantly – though this is often neglected in conclusions, you should discuss the limitations of your paper. Perhaps you want to briefly mention what research literature was excluded from your essay, or briefly mention the limitations of the theoretical approaches that you used to evaluate your data. Then take some time to reflect on these limitations. What might future research look like? What research avenues might we want to explore after reading your persuasive arguments?
6. Referencing, writing and presentation refers to the quality of your work. For this assignment, you will need to have a minimum of 12 references. Drawing from high-quality research literature will be particularly important in your literature review section, as it will show your ability to identify, interpret and analyse academic research. Similarly, your ability to effectively signpost will be evaluated. Signposting is the process of developing a clear ‘topic sentence’ that captures the reader’s attention and clearly details what the paragraph structure/argument will entail. When signposting is done poorly, assignments can appear disorganised and underdeveloped. Take some time to read over your topic sentences to see if you have accurately captured what your paragraph will cover. You will also be assessed on spelling, punctuation and expression.

Readings

 

Here are two photos of all the articles my teacher has given me access to for this assignment – my passcode is needed to access them. If you would like any in particular please just message and I’ll upload the PDF for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get Homework Help Now