Binge Drinking And Symbolic Interactionism

GUIDELINES ON ESSAY

Choose ONE of the following social problems (in the Australian context): unemployment, binge drinking, homelessness. Choose ONE of the three key sociological perspectives (functionalism, conflict theory, or symbolic interactionism) discussed in weeks 2-4 to explain the phenomenon. In your answer, you will need to demonstrate an understanding of the nature and extent of the ‘problem’ before applying your chosen sociological theory.  The recommended combination of social problems and theories is as follows:

• Unemployment and conflict theory
• Binge drinking and symbolic interactionism
• Homelessness and functionalism

BEFORE YOU START

There are at least four places where you will find useful information about what needs to go into this essay:

• The Course Site on Learning@Griffith

This site contains the course profile which provides you with your essay question, formatting guidelines and the submission process. Here you can also find an Assessment tab that contains further relevant information such as the guidelines you are currently reading.

The School’s Essay Writing Guide

This guide contains crucial information about the general requirements for an academic essay, as well as tips on how to write a better essay. Be sure to check out the three modeled essays to see what markers are looking for. Follow this link: http://www4.gu.edu.au/arts/ccj/study_guide/

• The Marking Criteria sheet for this assignment (located in the Assessment folder)

This sheet shows clearly how marks will be awarded and what you need to do. You will see that it is broken down into three main sections – content, structure, and writing and referencing. You need to use this sheet as a check list and make sure you have covered the points listed. Below is a brief overview of these three sections (according to the criteria sheet).

SUGGESTED ESSAY STRUCTURE (according to the marks allocated to each section)

- Introduction (5 marks): 150 words (one paragraph)

Outline the social problem you will be discussing, the theory you will be applying and your argument (that the theory can be used to explain the origins of the social problem).

- Social problem in an Australian context (10 marks): 300-350 words (one to two paragraphs)

Give a definition of a social problem (and reference it), and connect it to your chosen social problem. Outline the nature of the social problem (who is most affected – the young, the elderly, men, women, social or cultural groups? What percentage of males and females are affected? What percentage of various age groups are affected? What is the social impact [this is not about the biological or physical effects or personal impacts, but the impact on society as a whole]). Also outline the extent of the social problem (how many people in Australia are impacted? What percentage of the population is this?)

- Theory description (15 marks): 400-500 words (two paragraphs)

Give an overview of the broader theoretical perspective you have chosen to apply in this section – aim for three or four elements of the theory.  While your description of concepts from the theory are marked within this criterion, it is better to in terms of structure to save concepts until the application section (next section).

- Theory application (15 marks): 400-500 words (two paragraphs)

Name and define one concept from the theory and then apply it to explain the origins of the social problem – use research to support this application. Keeping the definition of the concept close to your application of the concept increases the chances that you will apply the concept to explain the origins of the social problem. This is why the recommendation is to define your concepts here and not in the previous section (although your definitions will be marked as part of theory description).

Name and define another concept from the theory and then apply it to explain the origins of the social problem – use research to support this application. 

- Conclusion (5 marks each): 150 words

Outline the social problem you discussed, the theory you applied and your argument (that the theory can be used to explain the origins of the social problem).

CONTENT (see the marking criteria sheet)

Start with three key steps:

• First, you need to select one of the three suggested social problems in an Australian context. You will then search for the appropriate sources (authoritative sources) which will help you describe and frame the selected problem. The more information you have on your selected social problem, the easier it will be to select the theory.
• Second, you need to select one of the three sociological theories covered in this course, which you will need to properly explain before applying it. Here you need to focus on the broader theoretical perspective – provide a proper explanation of the elements of this broader theory in order to demonstrate your understanding. 
• Third, you need to now link the theory and social problem. The links need to be properly supported with empirical evidence, which means here you need to use research in order to demonstrate how theory helps explain how the social problem occurs (use concepts within the the theory to explain the origins of the social problem). 

This will help you construct your main argument which you need to point out at the very start of your essay (that the theory can explain the origins of the social problem). In addition, you need to continuously relate the information you present back to this argument throughout the rest of your essay. In this instance your argument needs to be grounded in the application of the theory – how does your selected theory explain how your selected social problem occurs. This is a persuasive essay, which means that you need to properly persuade the reader of your argument. In this instance you need to first persuade the reader that your selected social problem actually is a problem (by outlining nature and extent of the problem); second, you need to persuade the reader of your theoretical understanding by properly explaining your selected theory; finally through your application of concepts from the theory, you need to persuade the reader of your argument (that the theory can be used to explain the origins of the social problem).   

For your selected social problem, you need to make sure you follow the tips:

• Provide a general definition of a social problem, this then needs to be linked to your social problem (how is your selected social problem considered a social problem based on the established definition);
• Give an overview of the social problem – here you need to provide statistical information on the extent of the problem in order to demonstrate (according to the definition) that this problem is actually a social problem;
• Properly frame selected social problem in Australian context – who does it most affect, impact on society and so forth.

Before applying the theory, you need to first explain the theory. Here you need to use academic and authoritative sources to define key elements of the theoretical perspective and demonstrate your understanding of theory. It does not matter which theoretical perspective you choose to apply. What does matter is how well you argue your case. Do not simply describe your selected theoretical position, make sure you apply two concepts from the theory to your social problem. You need to make arguments (come up with two main points) that support your discussion and back these up with appropriate research (empirical) evidence. You need to keep in mind that when using empirical evidence to support your claims you need (i) a brief study description (e.g. number of participants, measures used), (ii) the key study findings (relevant to your argument) and (iii) the link back to the essay argument.

Throughout your essay you need to use at least 10 authoritative sources. This means you have to research widely and you can begin your search with the set readings provided. These were selected because they are directly relevant to the course content, so do not neglect them. 

Today, a great deal of research can be done via the Internet, however you need to be selective in what you use. The two main sources of information you need to use for your essay are as follows:

• Online journals: This is probably the best source. Griffith library gives you access to an extensive collection of journals and you should be using this as your primary source. 
• Recognised institutions: Most government departments and research bodies (e.g. Australian Bureau of Statistics) put their publications on the web. 

For this essay you need to avoid the use of the following sources:

• The open web: You will find information on almost anything by simply ‘googling’ it. This is a very poor source of information and should not be used in academic writing. In most cases you have no guarantee that the information is accurate (e.g. Wikipedia). 
• Lecture slides: These are all structured on weekly readings, so you need to use those sources instead.

STRUCTURE (see the marking criteria sheet)

Often the difference between a good and a poor essay is not what is said, but how well it is said. Essay structure is an important part of the essay. The following are some simple tips and rules that can greatly improve your essay.

Introduction

A good introduction is crucial. To navigate through an unfamiliar essay, the reader needs a map or instructions that highlight the points of interest and guides them safely to the end. Your introduction is a brief summary of your essay. It must do the following:

• Set out the problem to be addressed;
• Highlight the main arguments to be made;
• Provide an explicit plan of the essay (the order in which you will present information);
• Provide a direct answer to the question (or instructions).

Discussion

You must give serious thought to the order in which you present your information. There needs to be logic to it – you cannot just present information in a random order. A discussion needs to be well structured and the structure should be obvious to the reader. Keep telling your reader what you are up to. 

Make sure you set out a clear plan in your introduction and then follow that structure in your discussion. Use ‘signposts’ to emphasis that you are following the plan (e.g. The second argument is…). Do not write too short or too long paragraphs (longer than two sentences, no longer than half a page). Each paragraph should have a topic sentence and should only discuss one idea – make sure your paragraphs are not too long. 

 Conclusion

You conclusion is a brief summary of the essay. Do not introduce any new information, and certainly do not leave your answer to the question (or instructions) until the conclusion. You need to avoid the use of quotes here.