Your final project will ideally take one of your discussion board postings (and

Your final project will ideally take one of your discussion board postings (and any replies) to write an essay about an important issue in education. You will present compelling opening sentences to catch the readers’ attention, describe the issue, explain what impacts or causes the issue, argue for recommendations, and close the essay with a passionate call for action. Papers will use research and other sources. I will encourage everyone to send their essay as an op-ed to relevant media outlets. It will be 3 pages, double-spaced. Detailed guidelines will be provided later in the session. (50 points total)
Public Sociology is work that uses the sociological perspective, research, and analysis to share with broader and/or diverse audiences. It’s meant to bridge the gap between academics and various other social worlds.
In this case, we are going to share your knowledge of an important issue in education through Public Sociology and in the form of an “Op Ed.” While you are not required to send your paper for consideration to a local newspaper, you are definitely encouraged to do so after this class ends and once you have the feedback on your final submission for Soc 413.
At every stage of this short assignment, you are using course material and outside resources to present a strong and convincing narrative. Each of your Discussion activities in this class (and perhaps some of your Engaged Readings) have been precursors to this final project. You can use your own writing and input from your colleagues (discussion responses) to help you write portions of this assignment.
Details of the 3-page Paper
Compelling Title
The Introduction (1 paragraph)
(attention-grabbing first sentence/s and describe what this issue about)
The What (1-2 paragraphs)
(provide evidence and other forms of information to convince readers that this is an important issue; this can include more information or data about the population/s impacted by the issue)
The Why and How (2-3 paragraphs)
(share the reasons for why and how this issue is occurring)
The Now What? (1-2 paragraphs)
(present ideas and recommendations for what should be done to alleviate the issue/s; using examples from what already exist, such as identifying programs addressing this issue elsewhere or addressing similar problems)
References
(not part of the page limit; use ASA citation style for any outside sources; for scholarly articles from our class, you can use author, year, title of material, and week it appears in class; for lecture, cite “Dr. Clark-Ibanez, Soc 413, Lecture: [name of lecture]; include references consulted and ones that are actually cited within the assignment)