midterm

Assignment Overview

The Midterm Synthesis is an opportunity to step back and reflect on how your thinking has changed so far in this course. Rather than focusing on individual chapters, you will connect ideas across multiple weeks to explain how sociology has reshaped the way you understand personal problems and social issues. Your goal is to demonstrate sociological thinking by using key concepts accurately, applying them to real-life examples, and reflecting on the shift from common sense explanations to sociological explanations. This assignment replaces the Weekly Sociology Brief for Week 3 and is designed to show depth of understanding, not memorization.

Assignment Directions

Prompt:

How has sociology changed how you explain personal problems so far in this course?

Students must:

• Use 57 concepts
• Pull from multiple weeks
• Reflect on thinking shift

Length: ~1,200 words

Use this checklist before submitting your Midterm. If you can check most of these off, you are on the right track:

I answered the prompt by explaining how my thinking has changed, not just what sociology is.

I used 57 sociological concepts correctly and explained them in my own words.

I connected ideas from multiple weeks, not just one chapter or topic.

I showed the difference between common-sense explanations and sociological explanations.

I applied sociology to real-life examples (personal experiences, observations, or social issues).

I focused on analysis and reflection, not summarizing chapters.

I clearly explained my thinking shift over the first half of the course.

My writing is organized and easy to follow, even if it is not perfect.

source: https://openstax.org/books/introduction-sociology-3e/pages/7-introduction

(read chapters 1 – 7 to get the concepts)