Socialization Message Analysis (10 points) SUBMIT ON CANVAS
This is the final copy of your analysis paper. Be sure you have removed comments, underlining and asterisks from the paper before submission.
Identify a message you have received from one or more of your institutions of socialization (family, media, school, religion, peers), about a cultural power subordinate group in the United States to which you do not belong (e.g. “People with disabilities are inspiring,” “Older adults are poor drivers,” or “Pacific Islanders are friendly.”)
Important: Do NOT choose a message about your own subordinate cultural power identity e.g. If you are a woman do not choose a message about women. Do NOT choose a message about a dominant cultural power identity, e.g. Do not choose a message about men, heterosexuals, wealthy people, etc.
Analyze the origins, validity and effects of this message.
Origin Analysis (Prompts: What institutions of socialization promoted or contradicted this message? What do you believe was the intent of the message?)
Validity Analysis (Prompts: Do you accept or reject this message? What support or evidence do you have to promote or contradict this message?)
Effect Analysis (Prompts: How might being socialized with this message affect your interactions on a personal level now or in the past? Do you currently teach this message to others or do you teach others a contradictory messages? Why? )
All papers will be graded using the Analysis Paper Grading Criteria found in the syllabus.
Grading Criteria for Analysis Papers: All papers are expected to contain two to three pages of analysis, typed and double-spaced. Your peer-review copy MUST be submitted by the due date in order for you to be assigned another student’s paper for a peer review. Final papers must be submitted on Canvas on the due dates outlined in the course schedule. PAPERS CANNOT BE TURNED IN LATE FOR FULL CREDIT. If you fail to turn in your paper on time, you can submit it as a revision; the grade for your revision will be averaged with a zero. Please be sure to include your name, the date, the course name and section, and the title (e.g. Socialization Message Analysis) in your heading. All papers will be graded on:
Relevance- The paper must be directly related to a topic being discussed in class over the semester, as well as meet the requirements of the assignment. Papers completely unrelated to the course or assignment requirements will be given a “0.” The author can choose to explain how they think the paper is relevant or write a new paper as a revision which will be averaged with a “0.”
Clarity- Grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, paragraph structure, and spelling are important parts of clear writing. Proofreading your paper, or having someone else proofread it, will help you to avoid unclear or incorrect sentences. Points will be deducted for technical errors. Do not use idioms, colloquialisms, e.g. “it opened my eyes,” “under the weather,” “my mind was blown,” or slang, e.g. “pissed,” and avoid informal language, e.g. “kids,” as these interfere with the clarity of your writing.
Specificity- Remember you are writing to a universal, academic audience and do not make assumptions that your audience shares your characteristics or knowledge about the class. Do not begin papers with phrases such as “For this assignment…” or “In our class…” Avoid generalizations such as “You,” “Women,” “People.” Never use unacknowledged stereotypes, e.g. “Men like hunting.” Do not use phrases such as “in our world today,” “from the beginning of time,” “in our society,” “in this country,” “the media,” as they are not specific.
Ownership- All opinions, beliefs, experiences, values, ethical or morality structures, etc. must be owned throughout the paper using “I think,” “I believe,” “in my experience,” “I was taught…” etc.
Analysis/Support-The opinions, beliefs and experiences expressed in your paper can be analyzed and supported by both personal experience and outside sources. When using outside sources for support, be sure to cite the information using A.P.A. in- text citation. Be careful that your outside sources are academic and valid (NEVER cite Wikipedia as an outside source.)
Depth-Your paper should analyze your response to a single topic deeply, rather than several topics, superficially. Having a narrow thesis will help you to more thoroughly analyze your reaction. You may want to try the following pre-writing exercise to deepen your analysis: Write down a potential thesis and then ask “Why?” Write down the answer as a new thesis and then again ask “Why?” Write down the answer as a new thesis and continue to ask why until you feel your thesis is something you can explore deeply. Be sure to analyze all of the prompts indicated in the assignment description.
Organization-Your paper must be organized with a clear introduction (to give context), a concise thesis (which should appear at the end of your introduction and outline ALL of the points of analysis required by the assignment), topic sentences (related directly to the thesis), and a conclusion (drawn from your analysis). Do not use phrases such as “In this paper I will be writing about…” or “In conclusion…” as a well-organized paper does not require these explanations.
