3-4 pages

Socioautobiography TIP Sheet

Checklist:

The body of my paper is at least three pages, double-spaced.

I included a title page and a references page.

I chose SIX concepts from our course material (textbook or lessons).

I underlined and bolded each of those sic concepts and then where I discussed each one, I included a parenthetical citation of the TCO and the proper source (This can be at the end of the paragraph if you choose).

I did not bold and underline entire sentences of my work, just the concepts I chose

I understand the primary purpose of this is for me to connect sociological concepts to my experiences, not to simply write an awesome autobiography. ;)

I reviewed the document in Doc Sharing titled "APA Tip Sheet" if I am not familiar with APA formatting.

I reviewed the announcements on title pages and references pages if I am not familiar with APA formatting.

I reviewed the rubric, below:

Component	Points
Submission refers to at least six sociological concepts covered in the lectures or textbook reading and uses them correctly.	60
Submission underlines each concept and puts them in boldface and relates them to the appropriate TCO.	60
Submission meets minimum length requirement of three-to-four pages of text not including title page or reference page.	10
Submission is well-written and well-organized and free from mechanical errors (errors in spelling, punctuation, word choice, and grammar).	10
Submission properly referenced course lecture and/or text for the sociological concepts and the Syllabus and/or course objectives for the TCOs in the body of the paper and on a reference page.	10
Total	150

FAQ

Q: For this assignment, do we pick an event that occurred in our lives, and apply sociological perspective? I'm a little confused on what we are supposed to talk about since we aren't telling our stories from birth like a normal autobiography would. If I understand correctly, this is supposed to read like a normal paper, with each paragraph connecting to one another, and not us picking random life events that match a sociological principle/idea, right? Sorry, I'm just confused on what's being asked of us for this assignment.

A: Those are good questions as there is opportunity for some flexibility here. As you inferred, you do not tell the story of your life chronologically necessarily, but really you want to include events, experiences, interactions and more that influenced you, and in a way that fits with our concepts and TCOs. So, I'm okay if you want to include one paragraph per concept and focus on that for that paragraph, what it means, how it applied to your life and to this course. Or, you can make it flow more, like the small sample. So, I think either of your ways could be fine. I think I see your example of choosing the event, experience, etc,. and focusing on that for a bit, as a great approach. It steers you away from the trap of, like you said, treating this like a regular autobiography. 

Q: I am trying to complete this assignment, but I am having a hard time matching the concepts to the TCO's listed in the discussions. In the example paragraph on the assignment sheet, how does TCO 3 fit with either of the two concepts? I think I understand how TCO 6 fits, but I don't understand why 3.

A: You touched on a very good question. Some of our TCOs are broad, but with components that are very specific. Then the discussions or content are tied into those in ways that may not be 100% intuitive.  I will have the TCOs handy as I am grading, but if you want to clarify, that would be totally fine such as in this example: (TCO 6 on non-dominant populations).  This course and assignments were designed by a sociology course designer, and sometimes I, too, have to look at the TCOs carefully to look for the connections. So, if you think I might not get how you made a connection, you can definitely add a bit more in the parenthetical citation. Here is how the syllabus shows the connections, but if these connections don't make sense to you, write the assignment in a way that does make sense and just add a bit of clarification:

Course Schedule

Week, TCOs, and Topics	Readings and Class Preparation
Week 1 TCOs 1, 2, and 3 Introduction to Sociology	Chapter 1: Sociology: Perspective, Theory, and Method
Week 2 TCOs 3 and 4 Socialization, Culture Social Interaction	Chapter 2: Culture Chapter 3: Socialization: From Infancy to Old Age Chapter 4: Social Interaction in Everyday Life
Week 3 TCOs 4 and 6 Social Groups, Organizations, and Sexuality	Chapter 5: Groups and Organizations Chapter 6: Sexuality and Society
Week 4 TCOs 3, 5 and 6 Deviance, Stratification, and Global Inequality	Chapter 7: Deviance Chapter 8: Social Stratification Chapter 9: Global Stratification
Week 5 TCOs 5, 7, and 8 Gender Stratification, Race and Ethnicity	Chapter 10: Gender Stratification Chapter 11: Race and Ethnicity
Week 6 TCOs 3, 5, and 7 Economics and Politics, Family and Religion, Education and Medicine	Chapter 12: Economics and Politics Chapter 13: Family and Religion Chapter 14: Education, Health, and Medicine
Week 7 TCOs 1 and 3 Population, the Environment, and Social Change	Chapter 15: Population, Urbanization, and Environment Chapter 16: Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies

Q: Hello professor I was wondering if we had to include outside sources in the assignment, I did read that if we were to use it to cite and reference. I inferred from that statement that it is not necessary to include outside references in the assignment but simply an option if we wish to do so; would I be correct in this assumption?

A: Yes, you are correct. Outside sources are optional.

Q: If we can't decipher the TCO enough to connect it straight to the example we give, can we put the chapter in parenthesis? 

A: If you unsure, then please do both, the TCO you think, and the chapter. 

Q: Can you give an example of how to cite in text for the book/lesson along with the TCO's.  The example from the guidelines shows:

As I think about my experience growing up, I realized that I was at an advantage compared with some of the other students. I came from a  middle-class family . In my family  gender  didn’t matter, boys and girls were raised with the same expectation that they would be going off to college right after high school. As such, writing and speaking properly was considered a high priority. (TCO 3 and TCO 6). So, if we got the information from the book would the in text citation look like this?: As I think about my experience growing up, I realized that I was at an advantage compared with some of the other students. I came from a  middle-class family . In my family  gender  didn’t matter, boys and girls were raised with the same expectation that they would be going off to college right after high school. As such, writing and speaking properly was considered a high priority (Macionis, 2015). (TCO 3 and TCO 6).

A: Yours is a great example! That citation and TCO example would receive the highest mark in my book. 

Q: Is there some sort of general outline that you could suggest for our socioautobiographies? I feel that mine is poorly organized and I kind of jump from one aspect of my life to the next without really having a plot. Any sort of guideline would be helpful so I can maybe organize mine better. 

A: If yours is organized by course concept, that is fine. It may feel like you are jumping around, but if each section or paragraph makes a connection between lived experience and course content, then that is perfect. You could divide each paragraph with a section heading that is the course concept. That may provide a visual and a structure that you like better. If you are combining three or four concepts in one paragraph, then have three or four paragraphs with just autobiography, for example, I would change that. The other alternative is chronological. Lastly, the guidelines offer some fun ideas to switch it up a bit.    I know it may seem strange, but no need for a plot :)   What's most important: Accurate connections are made (this is what demonstrates your learning), concepts in bold, TCOs and in-text citations, and references used, and used properly.