Social Science 1000 9.0

Introduction to the Social Sciences

First Essay

The assignment: Write an essay in which you describe the personal relevance of some aspect of the ‘traditional’ as this term has been presented in the course readings.

OR

Write an essay in which you explain whether your current life experience better exemplifies the view of ‘mass society’ presented by Shils or the view against which he is arguing.

Purpose: The assignment has two purposes: 1) to focus your attention on the meaning of ‘traditional’ and its examples or on the meaning of ‘mass society’, its examples and interpretations; 2) to direct your attention towards connections between the course concepts and your own personal experience. Your primary goal in writing the essay should be to show by means of illustrations from your experience and interests that you have understood the chosen concept.

Situations in which you have been involved personally may be discussed, but that is not a requirement. You may describe experiences of friends, neighbours or even of people you haven’t met if their experience has been important to you. However, keep in mind that your personal experience is not the focus of the essay, but rather is a means of exemplifying the course concepts.

Length: The essay should be between 500 and 800 words in length.

Due date: The essay is to be handed in at the lecture on Wednesday, October 13.

Format: The cover sheet should include your name, your tutorial leader’s name and a title. Choose a title that is suggestive of the main idea of your essay.

Criteria of evaluation: The following items will be particularly important in the evaluation of the essay:

1. Main points – these should be explicitly stated and should demonstrate an understanding of the relevant course material (D&J Section 1e);

2. Organization – the relationship among your points should be clear. One should be able to create a formal, hierarchical outline from your finished essay (D&J Section 2);

3. Paragraphs – each paragraph should have a theme to which each sentence has an obvious relationship (D&J Section 7a).