essay on a recent news article related to U.S. family life.

For this assignment you will compose a 5 page essay on a recent news article related to U.S. family life. Summarize the main points of the article and connect them to concepts that we learned in the class (see p. 2 of this assignment for some ideas). Not all of these concepts will apply; choose only the concepts that are most relevant. Carefully define the concepts in your own words. Explain how the article is related to the concepts, and how it departs, challenges, or extends them. One way to identify a point of departure is to complete the following sentence: “This isn’t a perfect example of (the sociological concept) because _________.”

The purpose of this assignment is to apply a sociological perspective to contemporary family processes. This assignment will also help you see the relevance of sociological concepts for understanding real life events that take place outside of the classroom. This is a type of compare and contrast paper.

Articles must have been written in 2019 or 2020. Acceptable news outlets include:

·The New York Times

·The Washington Post

·Los Angeles Times

·Chicago Tribune

·TIME

·Forbes Magazine

·Newsweek

·Reuters

·ABC news

·CBS news

·National Geographic

If you are unsure whether your news article is acceptable, please check with the professor or TA in advance.

Format

·12-point Times New Roman font

·1-inch margins

·Double-spaced (but don’t double space the heading)

·5 pages (include page numbers)

·Use a consistent citation format for in-text citation and bibliography. You must cite your sources.

oA common citation format for the social sciences is APA:

ohttps://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_the_basics.html

·Include a link to the original news article

·Submit file in Word document (.docx or equivalent) on Sakai

oPlease double-check that you have uploaded the correct file, and that it is not corrupted. I will grade the file that is uploaded to Sakai.

Sociological concepts learned in class:

·Definitions of the family

·Sociological theories of the family

oFeminism

oExchange

oSymbolic Interaction

oModernity

·Life course perspective

·Demographic perspective

·Research methods- quantitative vs. qualitative

·History of the family

·Race, ethnicity, and immigration

·Social class

oDemographic changes in families by social class

oParenting styles by social class

·Gender

oCreation of gender roles

§Biosocial

§Socialization (feminism/masculinity)

§Interactionist

·Love and romantic relationships

oCourtship and dating process

·Marriage and cohabitation

oEvolution of marriage

oBenefits of marriage

oCohabiting relationships (and differences by social class)

·Families and Children

oChildbearing patterns

oLGBTQAI+ parents

·Divorce, remarriage and blended families

ochange over time

orisk factors and consequences

·Work and families

olabor force participation among mothers

ocare work

owork-family balance

Note: this list is thorough but not necessarily comprehensive. If you would like to cover a concept not listed, please check with the professor or TA.

Grading Rubric (Scroll to 3rd page)

	A	B	C	D	F
Appropriate topic for analysis (10 pts.)	The article selected is centrally focused on a family topic and includes sufficient evidence (statistics, interview quotes) for sociological analysis.	The article selected is tangentially related family and includes some evidence (statistics, interview data) for sociological analysis.	The article selected references the family, but includes little evidence (statistics, interview data, etc.) for a sociological analysis.	The article selected is not related to the family and is largely opinion-based, rather than citing sociological evidence, such as an Op-Ed.	There is no article selected, or the article is not from a reliable news source (Reddit, Twitter, Instagram).
Interpretation of article (25 pts.)	The paper summarizes the main points of the article thoroughly, accurately, and clearly.	The paper summarizes the main points of the article, but is not thorough or clear.	The paper summarizes some points of the article, but is not entirely accurate or clear.	The paper attempts to summarize the article, but is superficial, unclear, or inaccurate.	The paper does not describe or summarize the article.
Connections to sociological concepts (30 pts.)	The paper draws numerous insightful and clear connections between the article and sociological concepts. The paper discusses how the article connects to course concepts and how it differs, challenges, or extends the concepts.	The paper draws some connections between article and sociological concepts, but connections are not insightful or clear.	The paper draws few connections between article and sociological concepts, but they are inaccurate or unclear. The paper does not both compare AND contrast the article with the concepts.	The paper draws only one connection to sociological concepts, and the connection is inaccurate, superficial or incomplete.	The paper does not explicitly draw connections between the article and sociological concepts.
Definitions of sociological concepts (25 pts.)	The paper clearly and accurately defines all sociological concepts used, demonstrating a strong understanding of course material.	The paper defines most sociological concepts, but the definitions are incomplete or not entirely clear.	The paper defines some sociological concepts, but the definitions are unclear or inaccurate.	The paper attempts to define concepts, but these definitions are superficial, inaccurate, or incomplete.	The paper does not describe or define sociological concepts used.
Writing style and organization (10 pts.)	The paper is clearly organized, the writing style is smooth and engaging, and is mostly free of grammatical, syntactical and citation errors.	The paper is mostly organized, writing is relatively smooth and engaging, but has few grammatical, syntactical, and citation errors	The paper is somewhat disorganized, the writing is choppy, and contains multiple grammatical, syntactical and citation errors.	The paper is complete, but lacks organization, the writing style is unclear, and contains significant grammatical, syntactical and citation errors.	The paper is incomplete, unclear, disorganized, with major grammatical and citation errors.
TOTAL SCORE = X/100