sociology Essay Prep
A112233A
SociologyEssayOverview.pptxWriting a Sociology research paper
Dr. Lynette Osborne
Keiser University
What is a Research Paper?
What is IS
A five paragraph paper explaining a topic
Based on research papers and scholarly sources
What it is NOT
A personal opinion paper
A paper based on blogs, non-research-based information (e.g., web sites that are not from the government, education, or non-partisan research organizations)
Writing Tips
Phrases to AVOID
“I think…”
“I agree…”
“I saw…
Phrases to USE
“According to Schaefer (2015)…”
“Data collected by the FBI (https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/white_collar) indicate that …”
“Research indicates that…(citation)”
Remember that a research paper means everything you include should come from the sources you read rather than personal opinion or experience.
Where to Start?
Topic: White Collar Crimes
Find out what white collar crimes are
These sources will be the basis for your paper!
Think about what you’d like to write about
What two types of White Collar crime are of interest to you?
Which seem most interesting to explain?
Outline
Why an outline?
Outlines help keep your writing focused
They also help your readers know what the paper is about
Example
Introduction
Identity Theft
Bank Fraud
Health Care Fraud
Conclusion
Introduction
What is an Introduction?
It’s a preview of your paper; a summary of your main ideas from the sources you’ve read
It should be 4-5 sentences
First sentence: statement of main topic (white collar crime)
Sentences 2-3: main concepts/types to discuss
Final sentence: thesis statement (concise summary of the main point of your paper)
It should be clear, concise, written in professional tone, and contain no errors
It should contain in text citations to the research sources where appropriate
Content Paragraph 1
Content paragraphs are the “meat” of your paper
Based on research sources (provided by your professor: textbook and FBI web links)
Content paragraph 1:
Define white collar crime and identify one type of white collar crime
Discuss what white collar crimes are and who they affect
Identify, define, and discuss one type of white collar crime
It should be clear, concise, written in professional tone, and contain no errors
It should contain in text citations to the research sources
Content Paragraphs 2 & 3
Select two additional types of white collar crimes to discuss
For each type of white collar crime, include information like:
What it is
Who it affects
How many are committed each year
Anything else you find from the FBI web links!
They should be clear, concise, written in professional tone, and contain no errors
They should contain in text citations to the research sources
Conclusion
A concluding paragraph should be
3-5 sentences that summarizes your main points (do not add new information in this paragraph)
clear, concise, written in professional tone, and contain no errors
formatted with APA in text citations to the research sources where appropriate
Reference Page
Following APA guidelines, provide a final page in your essay that has a list of the sources you used to write your paper
Review APA guidelines at the Purdue OWL so that you correctly format the
Heading
Reference for the textbook
References for the FBI web links
Order of the references and other basic formatting rules
Proof Reading and Editing
When you’re happy with your content, go back through your paper and proof read/edit for
College level language
Correct sentence structure, grammar, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, etc
Citations and references
Are all instructions followed? If not, correct them!
Save and Upload
When you’ve finished proof reading and editing your paper, save your document and upload it to the Week 4 Essay portal by Thursday of Week 4, 11:59pEST
Late papers are accepted until the final day of the class, with a 5 point penalty for each day late
