~ Principles of Sociology ~

Sociology had always been a topic of confusion to me, because I didn’t know where it fit in with Psychology and Anthropology and topics alike; the difference was too small for me to notice. This extremely engaging class cleared that up. In the beginning of the semester, we each wrote a research paper on whatever social topic we desired. I have always been used to having strict instructions for papers, with no room for imagination, so this was honestly a bit of a struggle for me.  I found myself going back and forth between topics many times, unable to decide what to write about. I have chosen to include this essay, although not my best work, to show how I attempted to address and conquer an assignment with little specifications. Because of this struggle, I believe if I were assigned another open ended paper now I would be better prepared and skip the indecisive stage.

Although this is not my best paper, I am glad I took the leap and chose to challenge myself. I didn’t cover the easiest topic to access like gun control, but instead chose to focus on how religion influences opinion on abortion. Below, you will find two papers. The first being the research paper, and the second the final exam which was in short answer format. I included both to pinpoint the differences between the two and show how much better I can answer questions now.

Research Paper, Emily Mothersbaugh, November 30, 2017

Sociology Final Exam, Emily Mothersbaugh, December 4th, 2017

I hope to see this type of improvement in all my classes, and am making it a goal to analyze a paper from the beginning and end of next semester to see any improvement. I hope to continue to enhance my writing skills in all subjects and continue to improve myself as a student.