SOC776 Writing Sociology

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2010
Extent and Intensity
1/1. 15 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
prof. Bernadette Nadya Jaworsky, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Ing. Radim Marada, Ph.D.
Division of Sociology – Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Soňa Enenkelová
Timetable
Wed 16:00–17:40 M117
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 5 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/5, only registered: 0/5
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This course is intended to help masters students improve their academic writing skills and practice English. This is a writing-intensive course that provides training in the methods of researching and writing Sociology essays in several different styles. The intent is to boost students’ confidence in all stages of the writing process, to prepare students to write well in a variety of academic literary genres, to introduce various perspectives on proper professional writing, and to enhance students’ knowledge and understanding of sociological theory and methods.

By the end of the semester, students will gain experience writing:
- Book reviews
- Expository essays
- Social issue reaction papers
- Reports on quantitative and qualitative research according to social science journal guidelines

Special attention is given to learning effective methods of research and norms for proper citation of sources to maintain academic honesty.

By the end of the semester, students will be able to:
- Organize and plan the writing process
- Preparing and discuss in-class presentations
- Give and receive constructive criticism
- Evaluate and revise first drafts
- Demonstrate knowledge of and practice proper citation
Syllabus
  • The weekly schedule of seminar meetings is as follows:
  • Week 1 - Introductions and course orientation
  • Week 2 - Proper citation, writing guidelines, and outlining
  • Week 3 - Writing an expository essay (5-paragraph essay)
  • Week 4 - Discuss expository essay 1st draft
  • Week 5 - What is sociology? Part I: Modernity & the Cultural Turn
  • Week 6 - Writing a social issue paper
  • Week 7 - No class – reading and research
  • Week 8 - Discuss social issue paper 1st draft
  • Week 9 - Writing a book/article review
  • Week 10 - Discuss book/article review 1st draft
  • Week 11 - Writing a research paper: Writing well and getting published
  • Week 12 - What is Sociology? Part II: The Iconic Turn
  • Week 13 - Discuss final essay - 1st draft
Literature
    required literature
  • A guide to writing sociology papers. 6th ed. New York, NY: Worth Publishers, 2007, xv, 230. ISBN 9780716776260. info
  • American sociological association style guide. 3rd ed. Washington, DC: American Sociological Association, 2007, xvi, 108. ISBN 9780912764309. info
  • BECKER, HOWARD S. Telling about Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007. info
  • STERN, Linda. What every student should know about avoiding plagiarism. 1st ed. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2007, vi, 74. ISBN 0321446895. URL info
  • The sociology student writer's manual. Edited by William A. Johnson. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2006, xii, 260. ISBN 0131928511. URL info
  • ALEXANDER, Jeffrey C. The meanings of social life : a cultural sociology. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003, 296 p. ISBN 9780195306408. info
  • BECKER, Howard. Writing for Social Scientists: How to Start and Finish your Thesis, Book, or Article. University of Chicago Press. Chicago, 1986. info
    recommended literature
  • BECKER, Howard S. Tricks of the trade : how to think about your research while you're doing it. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998, xi, 232 s. ISBN 0-226-04123-9. info
Teaching methods
Teaching methods involve weekly seminars, student presentations, and frequent writing assignments.
Assessment methods
Student evaluations are based on several writing assignments and class attendance and participation, as described below.

Writing assignments
- 5-paragraph opinion essay, approximately 600-800 words in length
- social issue paper, approximately 1000 words in length
- book/article review, approximately 800-1000 words in length
- Final research essay: no more than 4000 words in length, approximately 10-15 pages (double-spaced)

Class participation
- Students are required to attend every seminar meeting
- Active participation in classroom discussion
- Critique of other students’ writing

Students receive a final letter grade (A-F) based on the following criteria:

30% - Essay assignments
35% - Class participation
35% - Final essay
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
General note: Foreign exchange student receive 10 credits for this course.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2007, Spring 2008, Autumn 2008, Spring 2009, Autumn 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2010, recent)
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