How to Write a Sociology Term Paper

Writing a qualifying term paper is an essential stage of students' activity. It requires much more than a few research hours and some words on a paper. Many students choose the most interesting topic for themselves in the first year. Then they collect material on it over the studying process. As a result, the first coursework becomes a full-fledged thesis by the time of graduation. To create a good term paper, you'll need time, planning, and good writing skill. If you find it difficult to understand what an excellent academic paper looks like and — search on Google. Search the phrase “example of a term paper for college”. It will help you to gain a better insight into what professors are looking for in final submissions. After that, you'll understand what example you should focus on.

Basic Steps to Create a Sociology Term Paper

Writing a course paper helps students master the skills of developing and conducting quantitative sociological research. While preparing it, students develop the skills of independent analytical work, complex analysis of empirical and statistical information. But the main task of writing a term paper is to merge theoretical and practical knowledge. While preparing it, students also learn how to conduct independent analytical work. A term paper requires a comprehensive analysis of empirical and statistical information.

So, how to write a sociology term paper that will impress your professor? Start with a plan. To organize the preparation process, students often use the following points:

Select your topic and research it.
Prepare your term paper outline.
Write your proposal sample.
Write your paper.
Prepare your cover page.
Edit and proofread the final copy.

A Term Paper Structure

Before you start writing a course paper, it is better to make a structure. Both the course work and the thesis work have the following points:

Title page.
Table of contents.
Introduction. This is the purpose. It is used to acquaint anyone reading the paper with the argument being explored.
Chapters divided into paragraphs. This section is usually divided into many headings and subheadings, each linked with various components of the topic.
Conclusion. Summary of all the points made and a response to the thesis statement.
List of sources and literature used (bibliographic list).
Applications.

A well-designed structure gives a good start in writing any academic paper. Without it, students often spend a long time asking Google about sociology term paper ideas. But with a clear structure, you don't have to search for them. The ideas come to your head by themselves. You move step by step, closing each point of your own plan.

Sociology Papers Format

The first thing that professors pay attention to is the structure and content of the Introduction. They also check their compliance with the existing format requirements and the title of students’ papers.

The Introduction should contain the following sections, the names of which are highlighted in bold:

Relevance of the study. Relevance is an indication of topic importance. Therefore, when writing Relevance, you need to prove that your topic has the right to exist right now. The main mistake that students make when describing Relevance is their desire to expand this section with definitions, examples, quotations, conclusions, and descriptions. Although it is obvious that nothing like this should be in this section. The Relevance should be brief and take about two paragraphs.
The research problem. The problem is those social contradictions or those difficulties that arise in society from the raised topic. If the Relevance explains why this particular topic was chosen, then the Problem explains what is behind this choice. If a sociologist doesn't understand the research problem, it's better not to start the work. Otherwise, it won't make sense and will turn into a haphazard presentation of facts.
The study objects. The object of sociological research is the social community to which it is directed. For example, the topic of a research paper is "The attitude of American youth to persons who commit administrative offences". The object will be the American youth. All the young people of America will become a general sample when conducting an empirical study, which should be devoted to the last chapter.
The study subject. The subject is the side of the object's activity that a researcher puts in the center of attention. Often the subject is the same as the title of the coursework. For example, the topic is "The attitude of American youth to persons who commit administrative offences". This attitude will be the subject of the entire study.

Let's imagine that your professor has asked a term paper on such a topic, "How much do Americans trust the state banking system?". To better understand what the research goals and problems might be, you can read this example:

The object of a term paper research is the banking system as a social phenomenon. The subject of the research is the trust of Americans in the state-owned banking system. The purpose of the paper: to study the trust of Americans in the state-owned banking system.

The following tasks are highlighted:

To study the methodological approaches to the study of trust in banks.
Describe the features of trust in the American banking system.
Create key indicators for measuring confidence in the banking system.
To study the methods of research of trust in the American banking system.
Organize and conduct a sociological survey using the questionnaire method.
Draw conclusions and recommendations for improving the method of the sociological study.

The Degree of Scientific Development of the Problem

This section is dedicated to the analysis of sources and information. It can take up from three paragraphs to several pages. Students consider it as the largest section of the Introduction.

It includes a short list of documents, names of sociologists and social thinkers. You can also add the names of scientists working in areas that are related to sociology. It's possible if they address the problem of your research in their works. The reference can be direct or indirect.

The section often begins with a list of classics, gradually moving on to modern authors. Another approach is also possible – writing the problems raised in the work. For example, if the topic of the term paper is "Family values of modern youth", you can start describing the degree of scientific development of the problem with these points:

List the people who have studied the family.
Name those scientists who have studied social values.
Name the youth themselves as a special sociodemographic group.

This should result in at least three paragraphs. Approximately, such a section may look like this: "The family as a special institution of society was considered in their works by several authors. The first author noted the following facts, and the second author emphasized those points,” and so on.

Basic Rules for Making a Hypothesis

A hypothesis is a personal assumption of a research paper author. It is needed to prove when writing a term paper by both theoretical and empirical methods. Without a working Hypothesis, it's better not to start writing a research paper. The purpose of the upcoming work will not be clear without it. You also can't make a Questionnaire for the survey if you haven't figured out which questions and why should be included. That's why your professor should discuss with you at least two or three variants of the Hypothesis. After that, you'll have no problems with starting your research.

When students don’t know how to write sociology papers, they have the most difficulties in forming a hypothesis. There are a few tips to make this process easier:

Avoid platitudes when making a hypothesis. If the hypothesis is self-evident, then it is not clear why it should be put forward at all. For example, it is impossible to put forward such a hypothesis: "Religion occupies an important place in the life of society." Everyone already knows it. If religion wasn't needed by anyone, this social institution would never have developed. And it wouldn’t have existed from ancient times to the present day.
The hypothesis shouldn't be abstract. For example, don't create such a hypothesis: "The political preferences of young people are primarily influenced by socio-economic factors." It is not clear what these factors are. Here, we need specifics that would explain exactly how and why these factors so strongly affect the political preferences of young people.
Don't make the hypothesis too long. It is better to put it in one clear sentence.

Purposes and Methods of Research

The goal of a term paper is the result that a student wants to achieve at the end of sociological research. It is very important that the result confirms or refutes the Hypothesis.

As for the research methods, they can be both qualitative and quantitative: observation, questioning, interviewing, analysis of sources and literature on the selected topic, content analysis, comparative analysis, etc. Use at least three methods. For example, literature analysis, questionnaire survey, and observation.

General Recommendations for Term Papers

In many cases, the topic you are required to write about will be chosen by your professor. However, there will be times when you are asked to choose your own research topic. You will usually be given a week for this. To understand whether you have chosen the right topic, ask yourself these questions:

Is the topic relevant to the course?
Is the topic compatible with the objectives of the course?
Is the topic researchable?
Is the topic too broad to be studied in one term?

When thinking about how to write a sociology research paper, it is also important to pay attention to the citation of some materials. Each quote should be marked with quotation marks. Don’t forget to specify its source, otherwise you will make a gross mistake.

Sometimes in a term paper, you have to give an example of discussion questions. In this case, you need to specify the link to the source, place and year of publication. If there are different theoretical and methodological approaches to solving a research problem, make a critical analysis of them. After that, you can justify your point of view on the disputed issue or agree with one of the above. It's better to present the material of the coursework in the third person, trying not to use such pronouns as "I" and "we".

Help in Writing a Term Paper

One of the best ways to learn how to write a term paper on sociology is to research and review previously written academic papers. Choose only those that received high marks. Analyzing them, you can write a term paper worthy of a passing grade.

If, after that, you still find it difficult to write a term paper on your own — you can use the popular lifehack. Many students turn to special services for writing academic papers for help. There you’ll find writers with specialized education and academic degrees. They write different types of papers for college students every day. Thanks to their extensive experience, they know all the important points in creating good term papers. Custom-written assignments get top marks from professors. No one ever guesses that a paper wasn’t written by a student.

One of such services is midtermguru.com. This website has several advantages: round-the-clock support, free revisions, and compliance with deadlines. The service has managed to prove itself on the good side. Its creators use a secure payment system, and the names of customers are never advertised.

There are also a lot of ways to pay for your paper: Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, JCB. The website has many good reviews from students who have already used the service. If you have never used the help of professional writers, you can read them and make sure of their honesty.

The most important thing in any kind of writing is to give yourself an adequate amount of time to prepare it. If you’ve decided to order it on the service, make it as early as possible. Then you will have time to pass it to your professor by the deadline and get a high score.