The paper should be about 4-5 pages in length (not including the bibliography and title page) and
typed in a double-spaced format. The reference page and in-text citations should follow the APA
format guide (see https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/).
The essay should focus on how social control manifests in socialization, schools, religious
institutions and the mass media. The structure of the term paper is as follows.
• Introduction: Summarize what you want to discuss in your paper. What is your topic?
Why are you interested in that area? The theoretical lens you would use to analyze the
topic and the conclusions reached.
• Contextual background: Here, you go into details about how socialization, schools,
religious institutions and the mass media promote social control. It is important to define
the key concepts and provide a brief literature review in this section.
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• Body: What makes the topic interesting or relevant? Or why should anyone care about
the topic?
• Theoretical Analysis: Which sociological theory best explains the topic/theme of your
paper and why.
• Conclusion: Summary of the paper; state your topic, why/what makes the topic relevant
and how the theory used in your paper deepens our understanding.
We will go over expectations in class. Students should pay attention to spelling, grammar,
syntax, and style. Papers for this class are to be written by you for this class alone. Do not
submit a revised version of a paper you wrote for another class.
