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Linking Reading to WritingWriting for Sociology Workshop

+Social Sciences

Looking at the personal and human with scientific detachment.

Sociological writing can move between these two poles.

Close up or distant, like a scientist.

+The sociological imaginationTrain yourself to look at things in a new way.

When I became a teenager, everything changed. The summer trip to the beach every year was a break from my friendship group. That meant being with just my family which sometimes made me feel nervous, like I was missing out on something. I even missed school.

Peer groups

Socialisation

Identity – sense of self

Employment patterns

Cultural habits - recreation

Schooling

Trips to the beach Sociological imagination

+Distancing – the first step

As I grew into a teenager, my sense of self developed and changed.

My yearly summer trip to the beach

is an example of

the changing focus in the formation of identity.

At this age, I identified more with a school setting and peers

rather than with family.

In this light, the trip away was a break from my friendship group,

which sometimes created anxiety.

+Using your reading to write

Individual identity is derived from social structure.

When I became a teenager, everything changed. The summer trip to the beach every year was a break from my friendship group. That meant being with just my family which sometimes made me feel nervous, like I was missing out on something. I even missed school.

Identity - Your reading P. 105 Identity - Your text (voice)

+Your Sociological Voice

One of classical sociology’s core claims

is that

individual identity is derived from social structure

(Bessant & Watts 1999, p. 105)

.

Combine your reading with your writing

THEORY FIRST method

TOPIC SENTENCES

+Introduce -Elaborate – Show - Close

When a child becomes a teenager, their identity develops.

X’s account of their yearly summer trip to the beach is an example of

the changing focus in the formation of identity.

At this age, X identifies more with a school setting and peers

rather than with family

to the extent that

a break from their friendship group

created anxiety.

Peers and school become more important in creating identity as we grow into young adults.

+Writing task: SELF and the GROUP

Think of a time when you changed your behaviour to conform to expectations of others.

Describe the situation in detail. How old were you? What type of group was it? How did you feel at the time? What was the result?

Re-write your text using the FIRST STEP – the sociological imagination.

Writing Topic (60 minutes)