Social Science homework help. Proposal and Annotated Bibliography Guide
As we approach your paper proposal, I thought it useful to have a review guide at this point in
the quarter. The hope is that the review guide will help you narrow down your final paper topics
and strengthen the key foundational concepts of this course. Focusing on the key concepts of
Week 1 – 5 will help you frame your final paper arguments. Review the texts on your own or with
a study group. Reflection questions about your paper topics are at the end and might help
you pick a topic. .
Key Terms/Concepts: Try to define these in your own words or find a quote/passage you think
best defines this concept.
– Strategy tip: Remember that you will need citations for your paper. If you think you will
use any of these concepts to frame your argument, it would be smart to find those
important quotes now to work into your paper later. Always note the author, text, and
page number of the quote for later reference.
Week 1
● Social construction
● Social construction of sexuality
Week 2
● Sexual essentialism
● Sex hierarchy
● Sex negativity
● Sex positivity
● Sex panic (moral panic)
● Sex wars
● “Good sex” vs. “bad sex”
Week 3
● Reproductive justice
● Social construction of virginity
Week 4
● Sexual identity
● Sexual desire
● Essentialist homosexuality
● Racialized heterosexuality
● Rape culture
Week 5
● Transactional relationships
● Sexual labor
● Sexual commerce
● The “girlfriend experience”
● Bounded authenticity
Mid-Quarter Study Guide
&
Proposal and Annotated Bibliography Guide
● Transnational relationships and migration
● Paid and unpaid labors
● “Marital privilege”
● Continued wage gaps based on race and gender
● Economic instability of unmarried women
● Correlation between unmarried motherhood and poverty
Picking your topic…
Consider these questions as you select your paper topic. Try to answer them so that you have a
plan on how to approach 1) proposal and annotated bibliography (due WEEK 6, Friday May 8rd
by 5:00 pm) and 2) final paper (due WEEK 10, Friday June 5 by 11:59pm).
Proposal (500 words and annotated bibliography)
– Outline your topic – introduce your topic and begin to describe it in detail. Why is this
topic important to write about? What does this topic question or challenge?
– Include a thesis statement – This is very IMPORTANT. Make sure you have 1 – 2
sentences that answers the question: What am I arguing for or against in this paper?
– Try filling in this blank to get started on your thesis statement
– In this essay, I will be arguing that_____________________________________.
– Video on how to write good thesis statements: https://youtu.be/TotaRoYh60Y
– Outline your sources and framework – What sources are helping you “think through”
this topic? How have other authors framed this topic? Do you agree or disagree with
them?
Annotated Bibliography
– What is an annotated bibliography?
– A bibliography is a list of the research sources you use in your paper (books,
articles, etc.). An annotation is simply a note that summarizes/evaluates a text.
Put them together to make an annotated bibliography!
– Pick a minimum of 3 academic sources
– Cite each source in MLA style
– Annotate each citation with 1 – 3 sentences that answer the following:
– Summarize – what are the main arguments of this text? What topics are
covered?
– Evaluate – Is it useful for your paper? How does it compare with other sources in
your bib? Is this information reliable? What are the goals of the text?
– Reflect – Was this source helpful? How does it help you shape your argument?
How can you use this source in your research project? Has it changed how you
think about your topic?
– Be concise!
– Your source annotations should be concise (1-2 short paragraphs)
Mid-Quarter Study Guide
&
Proposal and Annotated Bibliography Guide
– All of this is on Purdue OWL —> yay! This is a formatted example of what your
annotated bibliography should look like. Pay attention to formatting!
– https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/annota
ted_bibliographies/annotated_bibliography_samples.html
