social science paper

SOC 101 – Introduction to Sociology Mid-Terms Paper Guidelines

(30 points)

Objectives: • Become familiar with library resources • Develop basic researching skills • Refine academic writing abilities • Learn the essential properties of an academic journal article or book

Assignment: Research one of the topics listed below and write a 4-5 page (12 point font, Times New

Roman, double spaced) research paper summarizing the major findings. You will submit this paper, and receive feedback, through BlackBoard.

Topics (choose one): • The rise of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia • The 99% Movement ("Occupy" movement) in the United States

Requirements: • You must use at least 4 academic sources (scholarly articles, academic books, or

government publications) to support your facts. • In addition, you may use legitimate news sources, but you must also meet the four

academic sources minimum. o “Legitimate” news sources are any respected, relatively objective news source.

Good examples are BBC News, NBC, al-Jazeera, The Associated Press, etc. Bad examples are any blogs, online-only news sources, blatantly biased news sources (e.g. Breitbart News), or non-respected state-run media (e.g., the North Korean state news agency).

• You must use proper academic citations in the ASA style. This includes parenthetical notation in the body of the text as well as a references page at the end of the paper.

o For parenthetical (in-text) citations: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/583/02/

o For reference pages: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/583/03/

• This paper should cover all major aspects of your topic including relevant dates, locations, key actors, interpretation of events, and any disagreements between authors.

• Grammar, spelling, and coherence count as part of the overall paper grade.

Students are required to read all of the plagiarism-prevention material posted to BlackBoard under the mid-term and final papers section before beginning the writing process. This is mandatory reading, and exceptions for "accidental plagiarism" will not be made as a result.

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